What generally happens if you miss a payment on a loan?

If you miss a payment on a loan, it's common to face penalty fees and a drop in your credit score. Loan agreements typically require timely payments, and when those payments are missed, lenders often impose additional fees as a penalty for the late payment. Furthermore, missing a payment can negatively impact your credit report, which is used to assess your creditworthiness. This score drop can affect your ability to secure future loans and may lead to higher interest rates on new borrowing.

In contrast, the other outcomes provided in the choices suggest beneficial or neutral consequences that don’t align with standard practices in lending and credit management. For example, an account being credited or the interest rate being lowered upon missing a payment contradicts the penalties commonly enforced by lenders. Likewise, the idea that nothing significant occurs fails to acknowledge the real financial repercussions and impacts on credit scores that borrowers face when they miss payments.