CREDITBUDGETINGLIFESTYLE & TRAVEL

Utility Bills on My Credit Report

Many people talk about the importance of having a good credit score, and it is important for many reasons: to have a good rate on a new auto loan, when buying a home, or even just a lower insurance payment. But not everyone is aware of what is on their credit report.

Many think that if utility bills or phone bills are paid on time every month that it will be reported. When you get a new phone they pull your credit, so why wouldn’t they report that you always pay on time. Unfortunately, they do not.

However, if you do not pay your bill and have an outstanding balance, that can be charged off or reported to a collection agency, which they will be sure to report to the credit bureaus. In December of 2018, Experian introduced a new service called Experian Boost that allows people to have positive utility or telecom payments factored into their FICO score. It works by allowing Experian to connect to a person’s bank account and identify past utility and telecom payments.

This could definitely help if you are a person who makes sure that your utility and telecom payments are on time. There’s no extra cost to you, but if you’ve missed a payment on one of these bills in the past, then you may want to rethink getting Experian Boost. It works by allowing Experian to connect to a person’s bank account and identify past utility and telecom payments.

Considering if it’s right for you?

Pull your Experian credit report from annualcreditreport.com to make sure your information is accurate and your utility payments have been included. This is the best way to help avoid fraud as well as stay on top of maintaining a good credit score.

Sources:

Experian.com