If you think you have good credit, but have never checked it, you may be in for a nasty surprise. It’s not just keeping up with your payments and being responsible with your loans that hurts your credit score, there are some ways it hurts you that really surprise you. Here are ten of those surprising things that could lower your credit score by a few points.
1. Have a business credit card
If your employer has given you a business credit card, that could be affecting your personal credit score. Most corporate cards are now in a joint name and that means you are jointly responsible for the credit. It also means that if your business pays its bills late, it will have an impact on your credit score.
2. Use your debit card to rent a car
If you pay a deposit on a rental car with your debit card, then the car rental company will probably run a credit check on you. Each credit check performed on you will subtract one point from your credit score.
3. Paying a late parking ticket
No one likes to get a parking ticket and we like to pay them even less. That is why so many people wait until the last minute to pay for them. If you leave too late, the debt will be passed to a debt recovery company and that will affect your credit rating.
4. Take out “buy now, pay later” credit
The amazing deals you can get on furniture, where you pay nothing for twelve months and then no interest for the next three years, could also be hurting your credit score. It sounds like you have a maxed out line of credit that you are not making any payments against for a year.
5. Forgetting to return a library book
Even something as simple as a good library book could register on your credit history. If you forget to pay a library fine, local authorities are quick to transfer that to a debt collection company as well, and that will take more points off your credit score.
6. Waiting for the reminder letter about utility bills
Gas and electric companies are pretty quick when it comes to late payments. If you slip up and miss paying them for too long, you’ll get a letter from a debt collection company and that means another hit to your credit score.
7. Pay off a loan early
Even paying off a loan early can look bad on your credit history. When you pay off a debt early, you save some of the interest, but it may seem like you didn’t pay off everything you borrowed.
8. Underutilize a credit card
Lenders want to see that you use credit wisely and manage your debt responsibly. If you have available credit but never use it, you are still using some of your available credit and there is no history of your ability to manage credit if you never use the credit you have available. It is better for your credit score to use a credit card and pay the balance monthly.
9. Ask about loans
Doing too many loan inquiries or getting loan quotes will also take a few points off your credit score. In fact, any hard credit check you get will lower your credit score for a period of two years, and that includes buying a new cell phone, too.
10. Dispute an item on your credit card
If you dispute an item on your credit card statement and your lender takes the time to investigate, it will still be an unpaid debt against your name and could still hurt your credit score.
