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Can I fix my credit history? Should I?

ocha-no-mizu — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:17:40 -0800

Botched online credit card applications: can I have them removed from my credit history since they were due to an unresponsive website, and does it really matter anyway? I tried to apply for an American Express credit card online, but the website was behaving badly and would be unresponsive for several minutes after I submitted the application. I tried several more times throughout the day, and on the 3rd or 4th attempt it finally gave me a response (more or less immediately). Since I've only been in the US for a few years, my credit score is apparently still too low, and I was denied.

Fair enough, that was not completely unexpected. The problem is that one of the reasons I was given for the denial was something like "too many credit applications in the past 12 months". Concerned that all of those earlier applications that got lost in the tubes actually made it to American Express, I called their customer service. Sure enough, they were all recorded and now 3 or 4 denied credit card applications will show up in my credit history. I was told unequivocally that American Express couldn't remove them from my history, despite the fact that most of them were due to their dodgy website.

Can I fight this? Should I fight this? Despite having a low credit score, I have already successfully applied for a car loan and a mortgage through my employer's credit union, so I don't have much need for a glowing credit history. I'm only interested in the credit card for the cash back benefits; I wouldn't be too upset if I never got a credit card. Is there any reason why I'd benefit from not having this string of denied credit card applications on my record?

Legit landlord or identity thief?

Asymptote — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 08:33:11 -0800

What personal info does my future landlord need from me to make sure I'm legit? How do I make sure he's legit? This is my first time renting an apartment. Before I sign the lease, the landlord wants (among other info) my social security number and a copy of my driver's license. He says he wants these to run my credit history and do a background check on me. Because my parents will be cosigners on the lease, he wants the same information from them.

Is this reasonable? Or am I just setting myself up for identity theft?

Furthermore, how should I go about checking him out? Is getting his background check and credit history a good idea?

Background:
The landlord lives in NY and the apartment is in CT. I have not yet met him in person, but we've talked over the phone. I've seen the apartment and met with the current residents, who say the landlord is great. I've done some preliminary web searches to check up on him, and he's almost certainly who he says he is.

How do you establish your credit rating and rental history in one country when you're from another one?

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 21:03:58 -0800

How do you establish your credit rating and rental history in one country when you're from another one? Cue the song "go for credit in the straight world..."

MeFi’s, help me figure this one out… and sorry, there's no 'finance' category, so 'grab bag' it is...

Here's my situation – slightly tricky to deal with. I lived my entire life in one country, have a great credit history there (paid off a student loan very quickly, paid taxes etc.) - but have no credit history in my current country. Unfortunately I'm separating from my spouse, so I'm trying to prepare for renting a place on my own.

The problem is being 'invisible' - having no credit history in the U.S. We shared bank accounts and credit cards - most accounts written jointly - and I don't have my own credit card here. I *do* have a Canadian credit card that's all paid off - just maybe a $100 bucks to make sure they don't close it on me. I opened a personal U.S. bank account on my own, and suppose I could try and get a credit card on that personal account – although I don’t know what I should do to help establish credit, since suddenly spending money on a credit card for spending’s sake is not something I want to do, unless I can pay it back immediately. I don’t like debt, and want to find a way to translated this fact into reliability for a prospective landlord. I'm at a steady white color job, and the prospects for employment in my field are currently pretty good *knocks wood*.

So the question is, what can I do to establish that I’m a good solid, not-in-debt citizen? I can show prospective landlords my credit report from my home country (believe me, in my area of the country landlords are asking for credit reports and first borns). I would love to be able to show my rental history, but I lived at home with my parents, and we rented an apartment, usually with a check paid with my mum’s name on it. Once I started working I helped pay for rent – although my mother and I had a shared bank account, and she inevitably would sign the checks, so that’s kind of useless. I could ask the landlord (who’s known me for at least ten years – owners of the building even more) at my mother’s place to see if he could write me a letter of reference – basically saying I’ve lived in one place my whole life, we always paid our rent on time, were members of our tenant’s association – but wonder if that’s going to be hokey to a new landlord.

What can I do to show them I’m reliable and not a flake – a good credit report (paying off $27K in 3 years has to count for something!), resume, personal references from 3 or 4 people in lieu of a US credit history… anything else? I have a feeling if I could sit down and explain my situation it would be ok – but if a landlord sees ‘no credit history’ they might freak – and I don’t blame them.

Help! Any ideas? Who should I talk to about this? The idea of living in a motel because I can’t get into anything else is not looking fantastic…

University tuition and crappy credit history

icarus — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 15:00:14 -0800

I'm about to go back to university and I have all of the tuition money for the next 2-3 years (yay me). What's the best way to pay it so that it improves my credit history? I immigrated to the U.S. fairly recently and have very limited credit history in the U.S.

I have 1 credit card (a crappy one from capital one with a $500 limit) and the few times I've applied for other cards with higher limits/better terms I've been rejected. I have never exceeded the limit, I've never made payments late and I've been generally pretty good about paying as much as I could on it every month.

I'm about to go back to school and I know I can pay the tuition fees right off the bat (no loans, no nothing). Is there any specific way I should go on about doing this that may improve my credit history/score?

Should I switch from a bank to a credit union?

starbaby — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 09:39:28 -0800

CreditFilter: Does opening a new account look worse on your credit than keeping an older one? I have a savings account with a very credible, very loan-friendly credit union. I also have several checking accounts [among my boyfriend and myself, not just alone] through a not-so-nice bank. I have heard that the credit union is the way to go when I finally decide to purchase a house. I have also been told that they are more likely to give me a loan if I do my checking with them, as they can see my withdrawals and deposits.

The bank I am currently using and I have not been getting along. They have been charging us overdraft charges when I don't think they should have been, and I have more than once had to actually call them and clear up some problems with our accounts.

I would like to switch my checking account from the bank to the credit union. I am worried, however, that a switch in my account history would end up hurting my credit. Does anyone know if this is a valid fear, or is to so small as to not matter on a credit history?

What other factors might I be missing when considering switching from a bank to a credit union?

[For the record, I have had the bank account for around three years, and the savings account for about two.]

Thanks in advance.

Starting to build credit

ubernostrum — Mon, 28 Mar 2005 20:12:31 -0800

As a young person with a pretty much blank credit history, I'm looking for ways to start building solid credit for the future (more inside) Quick summary of the situation:

I'm 24, been out of college for two years. I paid my way through with scholarships and grants, so I don't have any loans in my history. I own my car outright.

After college I spent a year at home (family medical issues, I needed to be around to help out), but last October I moved out on my own for the first time. I had a decent job during that year, but I'm now self-employed (web geek) and loving it.

Since moving out I've paid my rent and other bills promptly (only smudge is a $1.86 fee on my cell-phone bill because the USPS got my payment there one day late), but I'm looking at my future and wondering what the best way is to build up a strong credit history for things like buying a house, getting car loans, etc.

One suggestion a couple people have made is that I should get a credit card (I've never had one) and occasionally put something small on it and pay it off; I've got an offer from my bank for a decent-looking card, and that's certainly on my mind as an option, but I've never cared for credit cards and I'd like to know what else is out there.

A quick glance at the archive revealed lots of people asking about credit consolidation and such, but nothing that I could find about how to start a good credit history, so: what do you know about building credit?

How will old credit cards affect my otherwise excellent credit score?

RobbyB — Wed, 08 Dec 2004 20:36:05 -0800

Credit Reports. I've just received mine from the big three via MyFICO.com. I've got above average scores (750+), but I see a bunch of old credit cards that may or may not affect my score. You see, I'm getting my finances in order to go home loan shopping for the first time. What's steps should I be taking to make loan officers like me?