Not sure about finance companies but your utility bills really prefer it if you ring and make an arrangement and not just pay late.
I've often done this with electricity bills as they always seem to be higher than we budget for (apart from the last bill which was HEAPS lower than we expected)
We are going to try and get a consolidation loan to start making a dent in the debt we have but until thats sorted we are just living pay check to pay check.