1. What factors have an effect on my credit score?

Many different factors play into your overall credit rating, but there are a few that stand out as most significant and worth focusing on. These factors, in order of importance, are your history with making your payments on time (and the presence of collections on your file), your overall debt to available credit ratio (for revolving accounts), and the average length of items on your credit history. For more information on factors which affect your credit score, see this article: Credit Score Factors.

2. Does paying my regular household bills such as electricity, cell phone, or cable on time have a positive effect on my credit score?

No. Some people believe that any bill has an effect on their credit score, and this is not the case. For the most part, only loans and credit cards have a permanent place on your credit file. Things such as your electricity bill are not loans, and will normally have no bearing on your credit score.

However, your bills can have an indirect negative effect on your credit if you do not pay them on time in the form of collections claims. If you go a significant amount of time without paying your balance on say your electricity company account, you can be placed with a collection agency in which case the debt will most likely be reflected as a collection, seriously harming your overall credit score.

3. Why are my three scores with the different credit bureaus different?

The three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and Transunion) all use slightly different methods for calculating your score. However, the three main factors (see the answer to question #1) are consistent throughout the bureaus.

What's an even more significant reason as to why your scores differ between the three bureaus is that it typically costs money for a company to file a report with the credit bureaus. What this means is that collection agencies will often opt to only file your debts on one or two of the bureaus.

With different information, it is only natural that your score will be different on the different bureaus. It is significant to note, however, that most major credit cards will update your payment history every month (usually around your statement date) on all three bureaus.

4. How can I increase my credit score?

You can increase your credit score by having more "positive" factors and less "negative" factors, in a nutshell. In order of importance, you should look to do these things in this order:

• Resolve collections (ideally, have them removed from your credit report completely)
• Ensure that you pay every revolving bill on time to the best of your ability. Pay your installment loans on time, and never under any circumstances let a loan or credit card go over 30 days late.
• Keep your credit cards and loans accounts open for as long as possible to build substantial credit history.
• Avoid opening too many new accounts in a short period of time.

5. Does checking my credit report hurt my score?

Checking your own credit report does not hurt your score. Having third party companies check your credit report too frequently will hurt your score, but if done in moderation it is rarely enough to make a good score bad. For more information on this, read this article: Does Checking My Own Credit Report Hurt My Score?

6. Where can I get my free credit report and score?

Under federal law, you are entitled to one free credit report every 12 months. Please note that only ONE site is authorized to fill orders for the free credit report, and that is annualcreditreport.com.

For more information regarding your free annual credit report, see this page on the FTC's website: FTC on Your Free Credit Report.

This website (IncreaseMyCreditScore.org) has no affiliation with annualcreditreport.com or the FTC. Those links are provided to aid in your education.

Note: Your free credit report does not include your credit score. If you want your credit score, you need to use a third party service. Here is one that IncreaseMyCreditScore.org recommends: Check My Credit Score.