Utility and phone companies do not report payments to the credit bureaus. Since utility bills are not reported to the credit bureaus, missing a payment on a utility bill will not affect your credit. If you pay your utility bills late you might get hit with penalties from the utility company but it won’t hurt your credit score.

There are very few phone companies which will report even a 30-day late payment to the credit bureaus, but most don’t.

It won't help your credit score either

Since utility bills don’t get reported to the credit bureaus, paying your utility bills on time won’t help you build credit either. This answers the question that many ask “How come I don’t have good credit? I pay my utility on time every month! 

More recently, Experian introduced Experian boost that can help you build credit by paying your utility bills on time. You can read all about Experian boost here.

Utility bills can hurt your credit if not paid for a long time

If you do not pay your utility bill for a few months, the company will eventually sell the debt to a collection company. The collection company will most likely report the collection to the credit bureaus, which will of course, affect your credit score.

Remember to shut off your utilities when you move

I find that many people who get hit with a collection on their credit report from utility bills is simply due to them forgetting to shut off their utilities after they move. Moving is an overwhelming time and you can often forget things. So keep in mind when you move to remember to shut off your old utility accounts.