Gail -- I'm confused as to why my credit score is so dreadful: it's 540, which is rock bottom, yet I never pay late, miss payments, nor have I ever missed rent, hydro or other payments. I have a good ratio of available credit to debt: I have two lines of credit (one for 10,000 and one for 5,000) both of which are empty, and one 1,200 credit card that's paid in full every month. I've paid off $25,000 of a $50,000 student loan: I still have half left to go. I have an excellent, stable job that pays $83,000 a year. Why, given this, is my credit score so crappy? I have one black spot -- an old Master card that I paid off and closed up in 2001 after months of struggles with payments -- but this seems awfully old to keep me down this low. Is there something else on it that the report doesn't show? Will I have to pay off ALL my debt to get the dang thing to come up above 600? I ask because once I've paid off the loans I'll be saving for a mortgage, and at this rate my rate will be 15%.