This is the biggest category, and the first one that lenders will look at. They want to know if you are paying your current bills on time before deciding if they want to take your account on.

Are you paying your accounts as agreed?
A few late payments are not an automatic score killer. A good overall on-time payment record can override a few slips.

Where does this information come from?
Most creditors use three categories of credit to compile your Payment History. The first category is major credit cards, sometimes called bank cards. These include VISA, Master Card, American Express, Discover and the like. The second category is retail accounts—credit issued by stores like Sears, Kohls, Target and others. The third category is installment loans like auto loans, mortgages and finance company accounts. In many areas, local utility companies (gas, electric, phone and cable) also report your payments to the credit bureaus.

What about public records?
Other items that affect your Payment History come from the public record. If you have declared bankruptcy, been in foreclosure, have been involved in a law suit and had a judgment against you, had a lien placed on your house or business or have had wage attachments for alimony of child support, these all show up in the public records. They also become part of your Payment History. Even if you pay up and settle the accounts, they will stay on your credit report for several years. For example, a bankruptcy will stay on your credit record for 7 to 10 years.

How past-due are the accounts?
The score looks at several aspects of past-due accounts. How many payments ran late and how late were those payments? If you ran 60-days late, it’s less severe than if you ran 90-days late. Obviously, the bigger the payment, the more weight it has toward your Payment History. Also, creditors are more interested in what you have done in the past year than what you were doing three years ago.

Actions for Better Credit:

• Get current on your payments, even if you can only pay the minimum due.
• Many creditors will make arrangements to get caught up if you present them with a reasonable plan to make regular payments. Get current and stay current.
• Pay your bills on or before the due dates.