Credit scores don't just look at the last two years of credit history

Dear RSK,

The answer to your first question is no. Credit scores do not look at just the last two years of your credit history. Credit scores weigh your entire credit history, from the most recent information to the oldest information it contains.

There are two general points that are almost always true. First, the longer your credit history is with no negative information, such as late payments, the better. Second, the older negative information is, the less significant it becomes.

Paying on a negative account will affect credit scores, but far more positively than negatively. Scores sometimes dip a bit when you make a payment because there is new activity on the account that creates instability in the credit history. It doesn’t make the negative information go away. However, if you bring the account payments current your credit scores will improve substantially over time.

If your credit scores are low already, the initial dip will be insignificant in terms of your ability to get credit, but improvement from making the payments eventually will result in higher scores. It is always more beneficial to pay your debts if you can, even after they have become seriously delinquent.

Thanks for asking.