Sorry but the answer is yes they can, and yes they do. In fact if you loan any money from any financial institution and get into arrears, it goes onto your credit file.(posted 8315 days ago)When credit scoring, however, arrears don't necessarily count for much unless they are significant.
Finally, once you pay the arrears, the fault doesn't disappear from your credit file although it will show that you are now up to date.
If you get your credit record from equifax or experian it explains this in more detail.