5 Things Hurting Your Credit Score (That You Probably Didn’t Know)
Think your credit score should be higher than it is?
You’re not alone. We talk to people every day who are shocked to find out what’s actually dragging their score down—and some of the reasons are things they never would’ve guessed.
Old Collections You Already Paid
Paying off a collection doesn’t mean it disappears.
In fact, in many cases, it sticks around—and still hurts your score.
That’s why one of the first things we do at Team USA Credit Repair is look for paid collections that are still being reported. If they don’t belong or violate the law, we work to get them deleted.
High Balances on Just One Card
Even if you pay on time, maxing out a single card can drag down your score.
Credit scoring models look at your credit utilization on each card, not just your total. So if one card is at 95%, that could be hurting you—even if the others are at zero.
Authorized User Accounts That Are Misbehaving
Being added as an authorized user can help you… unless the primary user misses payments or racks up debt.
That negative activity shows up on your credit too. We’ve seen clients unknowingly tank their scores because someone else was mismanaging their account.
Closing Old Accounts (Thinking It’ll Help)
A lot of people close their oldest accounts thinking it’s a good thing. But in reality, you’re shortening your credit history, which can lower your score.
Unless an account has high fees or security issues, you might be better off leaving it open—even if you don’t use it much.
Reporting Errors You Don’t Even Know Are There
One in five credit reports has an error.
And those mistakes can cost you loans, homes, jobs, and peace of mind.
We regularly find incorrect balances, duplicate accounts, or even accounts that don’t belong to our clients at all.
That’s why the first step in fixing your credit is reviewing it carefully and disputing anything that shouldn’t be there.
Want Help Fixing These Issues?
If any of this sounds familiar, you don’t have to figure it out on your own. Our team specializes in finding what’s hurting your score—and fixing it fast.