Title: Which Bills Affect Your Credit Score? | The Simple Dollar
Headings: Which Bills Affect Your Credit Score?
Which Bills Affect Your Credit Score?
Bills That Generally Don’t Impact Your Credit Scores
Bills That Can Impact Your Credit Scores
Beware the Exception to the Rule
John Ulzheimer

Content: In order for an account to impact your credit scores, it first has to show up on your credit reports. If an account isn’t reported to the credit bureaus, then it can’t impact your scores in any way. The reason is simple: Credit scoring models are designed only to consider the information that’s present on your credit reports. Bills That Generally Don’t Impact Your Credit Scores
Utilities (e.g., gas, water, or electric service)
Cable, satellite, or internet service
Insurance premiums (e.g., auto, homeowners, health, and life insurance)
Childcare
Medical bills
Rent
Mobile phone service
Gym membership dues
The accounts listed above are generally not reported to the three credit reporting agencies (Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian). This means that if you fall behind or miss a due date on one of these financial obligations, your credit scores won’t be impacted negatively. Of course, even if your credit scores aren’t immediately impacted, you could still face late fees, account closure, suspension of services, cancellations of membership, and a host of other negative ramifications. Unfortunately, paying these bills on time won’t do anything to help your credit scores either. And, if you miss several payments and eventually go into default, there’s a real possibility that the original creditor will send your account to a third-party debt collector, and they almost always report to the credit bureaus. Bills That Can Impact Your Credit Scores
Credit card payments
Personal loans
Student loans
Mortgages
Auto loans
Home equity loans and lines of credit (HELOCs)
These represent some of the most common types of accounts likely to show up on your credit reports.