Title: How Utility Bills Might Affect Your Credit History
Headings: Does Paying Utility Bills Affect Your Credit Score?
Does Paying Utility Bills Affect Your Credit Score?
Alternative Credit-Scoring Methods
Utility Accounts in Collections
Service Provider Payment History Checks
Building Your Credit
Monitor Your Credit
Fix Errors in Your Credit Reports
Keep Paying on Time
Get Current on Bills That Affect Your Credit Score
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Content: You'll generally need to sign up for the service to get the benefits. Utility Accounts in Collections
The second way that your utility bills can affect your credit scores is if you have bills that are significantly past due. Just like with your loan payments, paying a few days late is not likely to cause major problems (although late fees may apply). When payments are more than 30 days late, those payments will get noticed, and a utility company may turn your debt over to a collection agency if you’ve stopped making payments for several months or more. The agency will then send a record of your account to the major credit bureaus, which will make it part of your credit file and damage your credit. 2 ﻿
What’s more, unpaid debts can evolve into legal judgments. 9 ﻿ On top of all that, you may have to pay additional fees as a result of a collection account. That may seem like an unfair deal: Utility providers can indirectly damage your credit if you don’t pay, but you don’t get any benefit (besides the service provided) for paying your bills. While many utility companies never report positive information (that you’ve always paid on time, for example) to credit bureaus, they may indirectly lead to negative information in your credit reports.