Once a file is begun on you (i.e. once you open a bank account or have bills to pay) then information about you is stored on the record.  If you are late paying a bill, the clients call the credit bureaus and note this.  Any unpaid bills, overdue bills or other problems with credit count as “dings” on your credit report and affect your score. 

Information such as what type of debt you have, how much debt you have, how regularly you pay your bills on time, and your credit accounts are all information that is used to calculate your credit score. 

Your age, sex, and income do not count towards your credit score.  The actual formula used by credit bureaus to calculate credit scores is a well-kept secret, but it is known that recent account activity, debts, length of credit, unpaid accounts, and types of credit are among the things that count the most in tabulating credit scores from a credit report.

Tip #2: Keep the contact information for credit bureaus handy.

The three major credit bureaus are important to contact if you are going to be repairing your credit score.  The major three credit agencies can help you by sending you your credit report.  If you find an error on your credit report, these are also the companies you must contact in order to correct the problem.  You can easily contact these organizations by mail, telephone, or through the Internet:

Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc

Address: P.O. Box 740241

            Atlanta, GA 30374

Telephone: 1_888_766_0008

Online: www.equifax.com

TransUnion LLC Consumer Disclosure Center

Address: P.O. Box 1000

            Chester, PA 19022

Telephone: 1_800_888_4213

Online: www.tuc.com

Experian National Consumer Assistance Center

Address: PO Box 2002

            Allen, TX 75013

Telephone: 1_888_397_3742

Online: www.experian.com

You may want to note this information wherever most of your financial information is kept so that you can easily contact the bureaus whenever you need to.  Your local yellow pages should also have the contact information of these credit agencies as well.