[...] Lenders are frequently just as happy to receive a payment on the 31st as they are on the 1st, especially if they receive a late fee of some sort if received on the 31st. [...]
If I remember correctly it took "a few more days" (than 1), and OP
did not pay the "late fee" (last time I checked)...
Further more, OP states he;
[...] always was in contact of the lender [...]
and - again, if I remember correctly - this was
not the case: IMHO if you're going to be late you should contact the lender
in advance, not
after the fact...
Well lenders (especially those who are not holding any kind of collateral to secure repayment) will frequently waive late fees in order to entice borrowers to repay. It is also not uncommon for lenders to waive and/or reduce the amount of interest owed (and sometimes even portions of the unpaid principal balance).
I guess my point is that the removal of negative trust after late repayment of a loan to the lender's satisfaction is a collection tool that lenders can use to entice repayment of money owed to them. This is especially important because this is probably the only collection tool that most lenders are going to have considering that most loans made are written in a way so that most courts would probably not enforce them (I don't think courts would grant a judgment against a borrower whose identity is known, and the receipt of funds for the loan and lack of repayment is not disputed).
If it becomes the norm for negative trust to be given once a loan is one day late (or any other period of time late), then borrowers will probably stop repaying money they owe once they are even a minute late.