How Common Credit Myths Tanked My Score – And How to Fix Yours

Your credit score dropped 40 points last month. You have no idea why. You paid your bills. You did not miss a payment. You did not open a new card. And yet, there it is: a number that just quietly tanked, taking your mortgage rate, your car loan, and possibly your next apartment application with it.

This happens more than people admit. And the reason is almost always the same: most of what people believe about credit scores is simply wrong. Not slightly off. Fundamentally, structurally wrong in ways that actively cost them money.

So let us fix that. This post is not a beginner’s guide to credit. We are not going to explain what a credit score is or why it matters. You already know it matters. What we are going to do is dismantle the seven most dangerous myths about credit scores, the ones that financial institutions, well-meaning relatives, and half-baked internet articles have been quietly spreading for years.

Some of these will surprise you. A few might make you angry. All of them are costing real people real money right now.

First: A Quick Framework for Understanding How Scores Actually Work

Before we torch the myths, you need a working mental model. Not a detailed one. Just enough to understand why the myths are wrong.

There are two dominant credit scoring systems in the US: FICO and VantageScore. In the UK, the major bureaus are Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Each uses its own formula. Each produces a different number. This alone is a source of enormous confusion.

FICO, which is used by 90% of top lenders, breaks down like this:

FICO Score Factor	Weight	What It Measures
Payment History	35%	Do you pay on time, every time?
Amounts Owed (Utilisation)	30%	How much of your available credit are you using?
Length of Credit History	15%	How long have your accounts been open?
Credit Mix	10%	Do you have a variety of credit types?
New Credit (Inquiries)	10%	Have you applied for a lot of credit recently?

VantageScore weights these factors slightly differently and uses a broader data set in some cases. UK scoring systems are not percentage-based in the same way, but they similarly evaluate payment behaviour, credit utilisation, account age, and application history.

Keep this table in your head as we go. Every myth below attacks one or more of these categories.

Myth #1: Checking Your Own Credit Score Hurts It

This is probably the most widespread myth in personal finance. People genuinely avoid checking their own scores because they believe it will lower them. As a result, they go months or years without monitoring their own financial health. And that avoidance creates real problems.

Here is the actual truth. There are two types of credit inquiries: hard inquiries and soft inquiries. They are not the same thing. Not even close.

A hard inquiry happens when a lender pulls your credit to make a lending decision. Applying for a mortgage, a car loan, or a new credit card triggers a hard pull. Yes, this can temporarily affect your score.

A soft inquiry happens when you check your own credit. Employers checking your background, pre-approval offers from lenders, and account reviews by your existing card issuers also fall into this category. Soft inquiries do not affect your score. At all.

Why This Myth Is Especially Costly

When people avoid checking their scores, errors go unnoticed. Identity theft goes undetected. Incorrect derogatory marks sit on reports for months, quietly dragging scores down. The CFPB has reported that a significant percentage of credit reports contain errors that could affect scores.

Use AnnualCreditReport.com to pull your free official reports from all three bureaus. In the UK, you can use CheckMyFile or each bureau’s free statutory report. Check these regularly. It costs you nothing and potentially saves you hundreds of dollars or pounds in interest.

Checking your own credit is not a risk. Not checking it is.

Myth #2: Carrying a Balance Each Month Builds Your Score

This one is almost poetic in how wrong it is. The myth goes like this: if you carry a small balance on your credit card from month to month, lenders see you as an active, responsible borrower. And that, supposedly, improves your score.

None of that is true. According to Alliant Credit Union, there is no benefit to maintaining a balance from month to month. Credit scoring models do not reward you for paying interest. The algorithm does not know or care whether you carried a balance or paid in full. It only sees the reported balance relative to your limit.

What Actually Happens When You Carry a Balance

You pay interest. That is the only guaranteed outcome. If you have a $5,000 limit and you carry a $2,000 balance, your credit utilisation rate is 40%. That hurts your score because utilisation accounts for 30% of your FICO score. You are not building goodwill with the scoring model. You are damaging it while simultaneously handing money to your card issuer in interest charges.

Pay your balance in full each month. Always. This is not a matter of strategy. It is the mathematically correct behaviour for both your score and your wallet.

The myth likely originated from a misunderstanding of how lenders evaluate creditworthiness during a manual underwriting review, where they might want to see that you actually use credit. But that is a human evaluation, not an algorithmic one. Your FICO or VantageScore does not think that way.

Myth #3: Closing Old Credit Cards You Do Not Use Is Smart Housekeeping

You have a credit card from 2014 collecting dust. No annual fee. You never use it. The logical move, right, is to close it and simplify your financial life?

Wrong. This is one of the most common ways people unknowingly damage a score that was otherwise in good shape.

Two things happen when you close an old card. First, your total available credit decreases. If you were carrying any balances on other cards, your overall utilisation ratio immediately increases. That directly hits the 30% utilization factor in FICO.

Second, and this is the one people miss, you potentially shorten your average age of credit accounts. Length of credit history makes up 15% of your FICO score. That 2014 card is not dead weight. It is an anchor pulling your average account age older, which scoring models interpret as a sign of stability.

The Exception Worth Knowing

There are legitimate reasons to close a card. If it carries a high annual fee that you are not recouping in value, closing it may be the right financial decision even if it briefly dents your score. Similarly, if the temptation to overspend on an account is a real problem, the psychological benefit of closing it may outweigh the scoring cost.

But do this with eyes open. Know the trade-off. According to UK Credit Union research, closing an account, especially an older one, can shorten your credit history and reduce your score in both the short and medium term. If you have no pressing reason to close the card, leave it open. Use it once a year on something small to keep the account active, then pay it off immediately.

That is genuinely all it takes.

Myth #4: A Single Late Payment Is No Big Deal

People underestimate this one constantly. The thinking goes: you were 15 days late, maybe 25 days, it was not a huge amount, and the credit card company never said anything. So surely it did not register?

Here is where the timing matters. Late payments are only reported to credit bureaus once they are 30 days past due. So being 15 days late will not typically show on your report. But the moment you cross that 30-day threshold, it becomes a formal derogatory mark.

And here is the brutal part: that mark can stay on your credit report for up to seven years. One late payment. Seven years. That is not a rounding error in the system. That is the system working exactly as designed, because payment history is the single most weighted factor at 35% of your FICO score.

How Bad Can One Late Payment Actually Get?

The damage depends on your starting score. Someone with an 800 score can lose 90 to 110 points from a single 30-day late payment. Someone with a 680 score might drop 60 to 80 points. Neither of those recoveries is quick or painless.

The fix is prevention, not recovery. Set up autopay for at least the minimum payment on every account. You can always pay more manually. But the autopay ensures you never accidentally cross that 30-day line on a bill you forgot about. Many lenders, including Chase and Capital One, make this straightforward to set up.

Also, if you do miss a payment and it has not yet hit the 30-day mark, call your lender immediately. Many will work with you on a first-time basis. That conversation is worth having.

Myth #5: Your Income Determines Your Credit Score

This one confuses a huge number of people, and honestly, the confusion is understandable. Income and creditworthiness feel like they should be related. A person earning $200,000 a year seems like a better credit risk than someone earning $40,000, right?

Your credit score does not see income. At all. Income is not reported to credit bureaus. It does not appear on your credit report. It is not factored into FICO, VantageScore, or any of the major UK bureau scores. As Alliant Credit Union confirms, you could earn $200,000 a year and carry a low score, or earn $40,000 and have an excellent one. It entirely depends on how you use the credit you have.

Where Income Does and Does Not Matter

When you apply for a loan, the lender uses your credit score alongside other factors, including income, to make their decision. So income matters to the lender, but it is separate from the score itself. Your debt-to-income ratio, for example, is a lender calculation, not a credit bureau one.

This distinction matters because it tells you exactly where to focus your energy. You cannot change your income overnight. But you can change how you manage your credit utilisation, your payment history, and your account mix starting today. Those are the levers that actually move the number.

High earners with poor credit habits routinely get worse loan terms than moderate earners with disciplined credit behaviour. That is not a flaw in the system. It is the system doing exactly what it was designed to do: measuring behaviour, not income.

Myth #6: Opening New Cards Lowers Your Score Permanently

This myth is the overcooked version of a real truth, which makes it particularly dangerous. Yes, opening a new credit card does temporarily affect your score. But the word “permanently” is where the myth falls apart.

When you apply for new credit, the lender performs a hard inquiry. That inquiry typically causes a small, temporary dip, usually between 5 and 10 points, in your FICO score. According to Experian, hard inquiries generally stay on your credit report for two years but only impact your score for about 12 months.

Additionally, the new account itself will lower the average age of your accounts initially. So in the short term, yes, a new card does create some downward pressure on your score.

But Here Is What Happens Next

The new card also increases your total available credit. Assuming you do not increase your spending, your utilisation ratio drops. Over time, as the account ages, it contributes positively to your credit history length. The hard inquiry falls off. And if the card has a rewards structure, you are building credit while getting value back.

The people who truly damage their scores in this category are the ones who open multiple accounts in a short period. As the UK Credit Union notes, opening too many accounts in quick succession can be viewed as risky behaviour by lenders. The compounding effect of multiple hard inquiries and multiple new low-age accounts is more damaging than a single new card.

Strategy matters here. Open accounts when you genuinely need them. Space applications out. Do not go on a credit card application spree because you want the sign-up bonuses.

Myth #7: Paying Off a Debt Wipes It From Your Credit Report

This might be the cruellest myth on the list, because it sounds so logical. You owed money. You paid it. It should go away. But that is not how credit reporting works, and learning this the hard way is genuinely painful.

As Equifax makes clear, late or missed payments remain on your credit report even after the debt is paid. A late payment stays on your Equifax credit report for up to seven years from the date you missed the payment. Paying off the debt does not reset that clock. It does not remove the mark. The account will show as “paid” or “settled,” but the history of the delinquency remains visible to lenders.

The Nuance Around Collections

There is an important caveat here for collections accounts. Under FCRA rules in the US, a collection account can remain on your report for seven years from the date of first delinquency on the original debt, regardless of whether you pay it or not. However, FICO Score 9 and VantageScore 3.0 and above both ignore paid collection accounts entirely. So whether paying off a collection helps you depends completely on which scoring model a given lender is using.

This matters a lot if you are preparing for a major credit application. Ask your lender which version of FICO or VantageScore they use. That one question can change the value of paying off an old collection before you apply.

Also worth noting: there is something called a goodwill deletion request. If you have a strong payment history and one late mark, some creditors will remove it as a goodwill gesture after you pay the balance and write a polite, well-reasoned letter. It does not always work. But it costs nothing to try.

The Hidden Eighth Myth: You Only Have One Credit Score

We said seven myths. Here is a bonus one, because it sits underneath all the others and makes everything more confusing.

You do not have one credit score. You have dozens. As Main Street Bank notes, different lenders use different scoring models, and scores can vary depending on which bureau’s data is being used. FICO alone has over 60 variations, including industry-specific scores for auto loans, credit cards, and mortgages.

VantageScore is now on its 4.0 model, which incorporates trended data to see how your balances have moved over time, not just a snapshot. UK scorers face a different challenge because TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax UK each use different scales and methodologies, so the same person might have a very different score at each bureau.

What This Means Practically

When a lender says your score is 720, ask them which score. Which bureau? Which version of FICO or VantageScore? The score you check on a free app might be a VantageScore 3.0 via TransUnion. The score your mortgage lender pulls might be a FICO Score 5 via Equifax. They can differ by 40 or 50 points for the same person on the same day.

This is not a conspiracy. It is a feature of a complex, multi-layered system. Understanding it stops you from being blindsided when your score “suddenly drops” during a loan application, even though you did nothing wrong.

The Utilisation Trap: Going Deeper on the Factor That Surprises People Most

Payment history gets all the press. But in practice, credit utilisation is the factor that catches the most people off guard, because it can move your score dramatically in either direction within a single billing cycle.

The commonly cited guideline is to keep utilisation below 30%. That is a reasonable floor. But the people with scores above 800 typically keep utilisation below 10%. That is the real target if you are optimising seriously.

The Timing Problem Nobody Warns You About

Here is something that genuinely surprises people. As Alliant Credit Union explains, even if you pay your balance in full every month, high utilisation can still temporarily lower your score if the balance is reported before your payment is processed.

Most card issuers report your balance to the bureaus on your statement closing date, not your payment due date. So if your statement closes on the 15th showing a $3,000 balance on a $5,000 limit (60% utilization), and you then pay it in full by the 25th due date, the bureaus still see that 60% for the period between the 15th and your next statement close. Your score takes a hit even though you technically did nothing wrong.

The fix is to pay down your balance before your statement closing date, not just before the due date. Or request a credit limit increase from your card issuer. Both lower your reported utilisation without requiring you to spend less.

Credit Mix: The Misunderstood 10%

Credit mix is the factor people think about least and misunderstand most. The FICO model rewards having a healthy mix of credit types: revolving credit (credit cards, lines of credit) and instalment loans (auto loans, mortgages, student loans, personal loans).

The myth here is that you should actively take on debt to improve your mix. That is bad advice for most people. Do not take out a personal loan you do not need just to add an instalment account to your report. The 10% weight is real, but the interest you will pay and the financial risk you will take on rarely justify the score benefit for someone who otherwise manages credit well.

Here is the nuance, though. If you have only ever had credit cards and you take out a car loan or a mortgage that you actually need and can afford, do not be surprised to see your score improve over time as you make on-time payments. As UK Credit Union research confirms, managing instalment loans responsibly by making on-time payments can improve your credit score. The keyword is responsibly. The mix benefit only shows up when the payment behaviour is clean.

The Paradox of Paying Off an Instalment Loan

Here is a real scenario that confuses people. You finally pay off your car loan. You feel great. Your score drops slightly. Why?

Because you just removed an active instalment account from your mix. Alliant Credit Union notes that completing an instalment loan can cause a small dip because you are removing a type of active credit from your mix. This dip is typically temporary and recovers. But knowing it is coming prevents unnecessary panic.

Hard Inquiries: The Rate Shopping Exception You Need to Know

We established that hard inquiries temporarily affect your score. But there is an important exception that most people do not know about, and missing it costs them either money or unnecessary score damage.

When you are shopping for a mortgage, an auto loan, or a student loan, the credit scoring models are smart enough to recognise what you are doing. Experian confirms that rate shopping for instalment loans is treated differently from multiple credit applications. FICO groups multiple inquiries of the same loan type within a 45-day window and counts them as a single inquiry. VantageScore uses a 14-day window.

This means you should be aggressively shopping for the best mortgage or auto loan rate. Apply to five lenders. Apply to ten. As long as you do it within the rate-shopping window, your score takes a single small hit rather than five or ten separate ones. The financial benefit of finding a 0.5% lower interest rate on a 30-year mortgage vastly outweighs the temporary 5-point dip from the inquiry.

What This Looks Like in Practice

For mortgages, work with a mortgage broker or use a rate comparison service. Get multiple pre-approval quotes within the same 30 to 45-day window. Compare not just the rate but the APR, which includes fees. The credit cost is the same whether you get one quote or ten. The financial upside of comparison shopping is significant.

The same principle applies to auto loans. Get pre-approved by your bank or credit union before you step into a dealership. Know your rate. Then let the dealer try to beat it. This positions you for negotiation and protects you from high dealer-financing margins.

What “Dispute an Error” Actually Means and How to Do It Right

Credit report errors are more common than people realise. A Federal Trade Commission study found that one in five consumers had an error on at least one of their credit reports. One in twenty had errors significant enough to bump them into a different score tier.

Disputing errors is your legal right under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) in the US, and the UK GDPR right to rectification in the UK. Each bureau must investigate your dispute within 30 days and correct or remove inaccurate information.

How to File a Dispute That Actually Gets Results

The process is straightforward but benefits from precision. Start by getting your full reports from all three bureaus. Compare them against each other, because an error might only appear on one. Then:

Write to the bureau in question: Equifax disputes, Experian disputes, TransUnion disputes
Include a clear written explanation of what is wrong and why
Attach supporting documentation: account statements, payment records, correspondence
Send via certified mail if disputing by post, or keep screenshots if using their online portals
Follow up with the original creditor directly as well

Bureaus are required to forward your dispute and supporting evidence to the data furnisher (the original creditor). If the furnisher cannot verify the information, it must be removed. This process works. Use it.

The Bankruptcy Myth: It Is Not the Permanent End People Think It Is

Let us address the elephant in the room. Many people believe that filing for bankruptcy destroys their credit permanently and irrecoverably. That belief prevents some people from using a legal tool that might actually be the right financial solution for their situation.

The reality is more nuanced. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy stays on your credit report for ten years. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy stays for seven years. Yes, those are long periods. And the impact on your score immediately after filing is severe.

But credit rebuilding can begin almost immediately after discharge. Secured credit cards, credit-builder loans, and becoming an authorised user on a trusted person’s account are all legitimate tools. With disciplined behaviour, many people reach scores in the 650 to 700 range within two to three years of a bankruptcy discharge.

We are not suggesting bankruptcy lightly. The legal and financial consequences are significant and complex. Talk to a USCTP-approved credit counsellor before making that decision. But do not let a fear of permanent damage prevent you from exploring options that might genuinely be in your best interest.

Building Credit From Scratch: The Fastest Legitimate Path

For completeness, because a portion of people reading this may be starting from a thin credit file, here is the most efficient sequence that actually works.

Step	Tool	Time to Impact	Cost
1	Experian Boost (US) or Rental Exchange (UK)	Immediate	Free
2	Secured credit card (e.g., Discover it Secured)	3 to 6 months	Security deposit required
3	Credit-builder loan via Self or a credit union	6 to 12 months	Small monthly payment
4	Authorised user on a family member’s old, low-utilisation card	1 to 2 months after being added	Free (with trust)
5	Upgrade to an unsecured card after 12 months of a clean history	Ongoing improvement	Varies

Experian Boost in the US allows you to add utility payments and streaming subscriptions to your Experian credit file, which can give a thin file an immediate lift. The UK equivalent, the Rental Exchange, lets renters add rental payment history to their Experian report. Both are free and can add meaningful positive data where there was none before.

The Psychological Dimension: Why We Believe These Myths

It is worth spending a moment on this because understanding why myths persist is part of how you stop falling for the next one.

Credit is deliberately opaque. The scoring formulas are trade secrets. The bureaus do not explain in plain language why your score went up or down. Lenders do not always tell you which score they used or why your application was declined. Into that vacuum, myths rush in to fill the gap.

Add to that the fact that credit advice is sometimes given by people with financial incentives tied to your behaviour. A car dealer who profits from your financing deal has an interest in keeping you confused about your score. A credit repair company charging monthly fees benefits from you believing rebuilding is complicated and slow.

It is not complicated. It is not fast, either, but it is not complicated. The fundamentals have not changed in decades:

Pay on time, every time
Keep utilization low
Do not open accounts you do not need
Do not close accounts unnecessarily
Check your reports regularly for errors
Be patient with the process

Every piece of legitimate credit advice traces back to one of those six principles. If a tip you read does not connect to at least one of them, be sceptical.

A Word on Credit Repair Companies

This section exists because it needs to. You will see advertisements for companies claiming they can remove negative items from your credit report, raise your score by 100 points in 30 days, and give you a “fresh start.” Some of these claims border on fraud.

Legitimate negative information cannot be legally removed from your credit report before its natural expiration. Any company claiming otherwise is either misleading you or planning to use tactics that could expose you to legal liability, like creating a new identity via a different tax identification number, which is a federal crime in the US.

What credit repair companies can do, you can also do yourself for free. You can dispute errors. You can write goodwill letters. You can negotiate pay-for-delete arrangements with collection agencies (which some will accept and some will not). None of this requires a middleman who charges you $50 to $150 per month.

If you want legitimate help, look for a non-profit credit counsellor through the National Foundation for Credit Counselling in the US, or a Money Advice Service adviser in the UK. These services are either free or low-cost and are regulated.

How Long Does Recovery Actually Take? A Realistic Timeline

People want a specific answer to this question, and the honest one is: it depends on the severity of the negative marks and your starting score. But we can give you useful benchmarks.

Negative Event	Estimated Recovery Time	Score Impact Range
Single 30-day late payment	9 to 18 months with a clean history after	60 to 110 points
High utilisation spike (one month)	1 to 2 billing cycles after paydown	20 to 50 points
Account in collections	3 to 7 years (remains on report)	100+ points
Multiple hard inquiries	12 months as inquiries age off	10 to 30 points cumulative
Foreclosure or repossession	3 to 7 years for meaningful recovery	100 to 150 points
Chapter 7 bankruptcy	2 to 3 years to reach 650+, 7 to 10 to fully rebuild	130 to 240 points

The numbers in that table reflect general patterns, not guarantees. Your actual recovery depends on the actions you take after the negative event. Clean behaviour from the date of the incident forward significantly accelerates recovery. Continued missteps extend it.

Utilisation is the fastest lever in the system. A high utilisation that drops in a single billing cycle can recover your score faster than almost any other action. That is worth knowing if you have the financial means to pay down a balance quickly before a major application.

Monitoring Your Score Without Paying for It

You do not need a credit monitoring subscription to stay on top of your score. There are robust free options that cover most people’s needs adequately.

In the US, Credit Karma provides free VantageScore 3.0 scores from TransUnion and Equifax, updated weekly. Capital One CreditWise is free even if you are not a Capital One customer. Discover’s Credit Scorecard provides a free FICO Score 8, which is closer to what many lenders actually see.

In the UK, ClearScore provides free Equifax data. Credit Karma UK offers free TransUnion scores. MoneySavingExpert’s Credit Club provides a free Experian score.

None of these is the precise score a given lender will pull. But they are directionally accurate and useful for tracking trends over time. Watch the direction, not just the number. Are you trending up or down? That trend is often more informative than the specific point-in-time score.

The Authorised User Strategy: Piggybacking Done Right

Being added as an authorised user on another person’s credit card account is one of the most powerful and least discussed credit-building tools available. When done correctly, it allows you to benefit from the primary cardholder’s good credit history, including their payment history and utilisation on that account, without needing to qualify for credit yourself.

FICO counts authorised user accounts in score calculations. VantageScore also incorporates them, though with somewhat less weight. The strategy works best when the primary account has a long history, low utilisation, and a clean payment record.

The Risks Are Real Too

This strategy works both ways. If the primary cardholder misses payments or maxes out the card, that negative history can appear on your report, too. Choose your primary cardholder carefully. And if you are the primary cardholder adding someone else, understand that you are taking on full financial responsibility for that account. The authorised user is not legally liable for the debt.

Also, be aware that some lenders have policies that reduce or eliminate the score benefit of authorised user accounts. As the credit industry has become more sophisticated about manufactured credit profiles, some models weight AU accounts less heavily than they used to.

The Final Framework: A Credit Score Action Plan

We have covered a lot of ground. Let us compress it into a practical priority framework, because knowing what matters most is what separates people who improve their scores from people who read about improving their scores.

Priority	Action	Score Factor: It Addresses	Time to See Impact
1 (Critical)	Set up autopay for minimum payment on all accounts	Payment History (35%)	Ongoing protection
2 (High)	Pay down utilisation below 30%, ideally below 10%	Amounts Owed (30%)	1 to 2 billing cycles
3 (High)	Pull all three reports, dispute any errors	All factors	30 to 60 days
4 (Medium)	Do not close old accounts without a good reason	Credit History Length (15%)	Ongoing protection
5 (Medium)	Avoid opening multiple accounts quickly	New Credit (10%)	Ongoing protection
6 (Lower)	Maintain a mix of revolving and instalment accounts over time	Credit Mix (10%)	Long-term

Start at the top. Fix the most weighted factors first. The lower-priority items matter, but not nearly as much as getting payments right and utilisation under control.

The system is imperfect. It does not fully capture financial capability or character. But it is the system that exists, and understanding its actual rules, not the myths about it, is what lets you work it in your favour rather than against yourself.

Your next move is simple: pull your reports today at AnnualCreditReport.com (US) or via CheckMyFile (UK). Read them carefully. Find the errors. Fix the habits. The number will follow.

Spend some time for your future.

To deepen your understanding of today’s evolving financial landscape, we recommend exploring the following articles:

Kenya Built the World’s Most Successful Financial Inclusion Platform. The World Watched and Did Nothing.

China’s “Lying Flat” Generation: What Happens When Young People Opt Out of Capitalism Entirely

The Portugal Golden Visa Collapse: What Happens When a Country Sells Residency to the Rich

I Didn’t Notice the Leak — Until My Bank Statement Told Me

Explore these articles to get a grasp on the new changes in the financial world.

Disclaimer

The information provided in this article is intended for general educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, legal, or professional advice. Credit scoring models, lender policies, and consumer protection laws vary by country, state, and individual circumstance. Always consult a qualified financial advisor, credit counsellor, or legal professional before making decisions about your credit, debt, or financial situation. The author and publisher are not responsible for any actions taken based on the information provided in this article. Accuracy of third-party data referenced herein is subject to change. Readers in the UK should note that credit scoring systems differ materially from US-based FICO and VantageScore systems.

References

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Alliant Credit Union. (2024). Credit Score Myths. https://www.alliantcreditunion.org/money-mentor/credit-score-myths
UK Credit Union. (2024). Credit Score Myths. https://www.ukcreditunion.org/blog/credit-score-myths
Equifax. (2024). Credit Facts and Myths You Should Know. https://www.equifax.com/personal/education/credit/score/articles/-/learn/credit-myths-facts
Main Street Bank. (2024). Five Common Credit Score Myths. https://www.bankmainstreet.com/understanding-banking/credit/five-common-credit-myths
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. (2024). What is a credit score? https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-is-a-credit-score-en-315/
myFICO. (2024). Credit Education: What’s in my FICO Score? https://www.myfico.com/credit-education/credit-scores
VantageScore. (2024). VantageScore 4.0. https://vantagescore.com/consumers/vantagescore-4-0/
Federal Trade Commission. (2013). Section 6(c) Study: Comprehensive Study of the Accuracy of Consumer Reports. https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/reports/section-6c-comprehensive-study-accuracy-federal-other-consumer-reporting-agencies/787.pdf
Federal Trade Commission. (2024). Fair Credit Reporting Act. https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/statutes/fair-credit-reporting-act