4 ms·
Having your name on bills does not affect your credit rating unless they are delinquent, which will severely negatively affect your credit.
by falsestprophet 12y ago
Having your name on bills does not affect your credit rating unless they are delinquent, which will severely negatively affect your credit.
- peterjmag 12y agoExactly. I had this myth drilled into my head when I was growing up, but I was disappointed to eventually discover that years of religiously paying utility bills on time had no positive impact on my credit rating. Not that there aren't other advantages to paying bills on time, but still.
- yebyen 12y agoYes. I was once presented an option of paying either the Gas and Electric bill for our half of the duplex house that I was living in, or paying the rent and a share of the utilities (since nobody else would do it.) We renewed 18 month leases two or three times, with either four out of six or four out of eight tenants signing. None of this ever appeared on any credit report. I don't think I actually believed it would improve my credit score, but when the rental company came and threatened to evict every tenant for the third time (presumably because it was a dilapidated, drafty old flophouse and nobody wanted to sign a lease renewal), everyone took the opportunity to move out and I was stuck with the entire bill for half a house, for the extra two months I needed. (I managed to split it with someone and get the hell out.) In the cold winter months, gas heat cost more than the rent for the entire half of a house. In the summer, I could get away with paying sometimes $50 or even sometimes $0 for a month, due to past estimated bills that were over actual usage. That was nice, but it really sucks getting stuck with all the bills when everybody splits because someone convinced you it would be a good idea to put your name on as many things as possible.