The three major credit bureaus do not necessary use the same system, and use different names for it, therefore it should not come as a surprise if the scores the churn out are a bit different. Go To annualcreditreport.com Next, go to annualcreditreport.com, which is the only authorized Web site of the FTC. Here are five ways to hurt your credit score. Late Credit Card Payments and Large Balances Late credit card payments not only burden you with additional surcharges and fees, but it can also put a black eye on your credit history. According to credit report experts, poor payment history accounts for 35% of your total credit score, and even a single late payment can quikcly chop-off 100 points from your score. The basic elements can offer a lot of insight on how to improve your credit score. How To Improve Your Credit Score According to credit experts, there are a lot of methods for improving your credit score. Among the strategies include making sure that you pay your bills on time. If ever you missed some payments in the past, do all you can to pay your current bills on time. 2 To Repair Your Credit Score, Simply Pay-off All Your Debts The truth is that your credit score will be influenced, and determined by your past credit history, and not by your current amount of debt. While you may be currently quickly paying-off your credit card debts, and settling any other outstanding obligations, your previous history of late or missed payments will still reflect on your score. If you wish to shop for a loan, try to do it on a short period of time, because inquiries that are done within only a few days of each other, are usually counted as just one inquiry. You can also reduce the number of inquiries you make on your credit score, by going to lenders whom you've already done research on, or show an inclination for doing business with you. To steer clear of any delinquencies, try setting up your bills for automatic withdrawal from your personal ckeching account, so that you won't have to deal with any collection agency in the future. Balance Your Credit Card Spending Regardless of whether you have one, two or three credit cards, remember to spend wisely and balance your credit card obligations.