 TITLE: How to Improve Your Payment History CONTENT: How Payment History Affects Your Credit Score\n---------------------------------------------\nPayment history is the single biggest factor that contributes to your FICO® Score☉ , the credit score used by 90% of top lenders; it's responsible for about 35% of your score.\nThat means establishing and maintaining a spotless record of on-time debt payments is the single most important habit you can adopt to promote a strong credit score. It also means that—except for major credit missteps such as allowing unpaid bills to be turned over to collections, foreclosure or bankruptcy—nothing hurts your credit score more than a late or missed payment.\nFor the purposes of your credit reports and the credit scores based on them, a late payment is one that's 30 days overdue—and the first time one appears on your credit report, it can cause a significant drop in your credit score. Late payments typically remain on your credit report for seven years, but their effect on your credit scores wanes over time.\nWhile lenders won't report payments made a few days late to the credit bureaus, they may charge you a penalty for missing the due date, so there's ample reason for getting your bills paid on or before their due date. END