[tempestn]

I agree that it could be handled more delicately, and that doing so would probably be more fruitful (and just more pleasant). I'm not sure it's none of the creditor's business why a payment was late though. It's certainly in their interest that payments be made on time, and to have the ability to estimate the likelihood that future payments will be late. Given an obligation to pay an amount by a given date, it doesn't seem completely unreasonable for an explanation to be requested if the amount isn't paid.