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There’s a wealth of information online about what will affect your credit score – and what you can do to prevent these mistakes from being made.  However, like many things on the internet, it’s important to consider the source of the advice, and whether or not that information can seriously hurt your credit rating.  What’s the worse part of all this misinformation that’s floating around the web? A large portion of it comes from lenders themselves, whose mistakes can seriously cost you down the line should you apply for a new loan or a credit card.

Here are the biggest myths about what will help or hurt your credit score:

Ordering Your Credit Report Can Hurt Your Score.  This is pretty standard advice on preventing low credit scores; however, the type of credit report that you order makes a big difference in the health of your credit rating.  If you order your own FICO report, your credit score will generally stay the same (unless, of course, you order several copies in a short period of time).  In fact, ordering a credit report will only knock off about five points from your score, which shouldn’t hurt your rating’s overall health.  Additionally, the hundreds of reports that are ordered by credit lenders won’t hurt your score either, unless you choose to accept the pre-approved credit card offers that inundate your mailbox and inbox daily.

Close Any Old Accounts.  Once upon a time, financial experts believed that closing credit accounts could boost your rating; however, this school of thought has quickly changed in light of new information on how old credit card accounts affect your score.  Since a large portion of your rating is composed of available credit versus credit used, having an old account will help to make this ratio significantly smaller.  In other words, you’ll appear to be less dependent on credit, which will ease any worries that future lenders may have regarding your financial responsibility.

Credit Counseling Hurts Your Score.   If you’ve been avoiding credit counseling because you believe that it will adversely affect your credit score, then it’s time for a wake-up call: getting credit counseling does not lower a credit rating.  Regarding credit counseling, your score can only be lowered if your credit counselors make late payments on your accounts.  However, many lenders can shy away from a potential borrower who has a history with credit counselors, as they regard this in the same vein as filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.  While some banks will still lend to you, it’s very likely that you’ll have to grapple with higher interest rates.

There’s Only One Kind Of Credit Report.  There are three different bureaus that offer separate credit reports, and each comes up with a different score based on various factors: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.  If you’re applying for a large loan in the near future (say, a mortgage), then you’ll want to order a credit report from all three bureaus and fix any mistakes that may appear.  This way, you can breathe a little easier knowing that all potential lenders have the most accurate information regarding your finances as possible.