• There is a bankruptcy (or other Public Record) on your credit report.

Bankruptcy (or other Public Record) is a proven indicator of risk with future payments and causes a significant drop to your credit score over an extended period of time.

What You Can Do:

Make all future payments on time. The impact on your credit score from the bankruptcy (or other Public Record) will diminish over time.

  • You have too many delinquent or derogatory accounts.

You have had too many accounts with payments that are at least 30 days late and/or on which a lender has reported a derogatory status. Late payments are a proven indicator of increased risk. People with late payments are at risk of being overextended, putting existing credit with lenders at risk.

What You Can Do:

Paying bills on time every month is important to maintaining a good credit score. If you remain behind with any payments, bring them current as soon as possible, and then make future payments on time. Over time, this will have a positive impact on your score.

  • Lack of sufficient credit history.

Your credit file does not contain enough information about your use of credit. A credit file with older accounts and/or more accounts reflects more experience with handling credit and can have a positive impact on your credit score.

What You Can Do:

Maintaining open and active credit accounts in good standing can help improve your credit score

  • The date that you opened your oldest account is too recent.

Your oldest account is still too recent. A credit file containing older accounts will have a positive impact on your credit score because it demonstrates that you are experienced managing credit.

What You Can Do:

Don’t open more accounts than you actually need. Research shows that new accounts indicate greater risk. Your score will benefit as your accounts get older.

  • You have too many inquiries on your credit report.

If a lender runs a credit check when you apply for credit, an inquiry is reported to the credit bureaus. This can lower your score a small amount, typically by 10 to 20 points. The credit score model takes rate shopping, e.g., for a mortgage or car loan, into consideration. All inquiries for mortgages, auto loans and major credit cards that appear in your credit file within a 14-day window are interpreted as a single inquiry. Another time inquiries never count against your score is when you check your own credit or obtain your own credit score.