No credit to bad credit?

[Cream Soda]

You did something wrong. You should not be entering any credit card information anywhere.

I didn't. That's just the message I ended up getting.

[chiyio]

I didn't. That's just the message I ended up getting.

guess you just aren't in their system at all. If you've never had a CC, bank account, or a service in your name seems likely.

[Cream Soda]

I have a bank account. No CC or anything in my name though

[shaddix]

I had the same shit. AT&T & AFNI and I never had any kind of service with them. They were telling me I had a landline in 2001. Transunion and Equifax removed it pretty easily, but Experian was a bitch, they wanted me to call the cops and get a police report showing where my identity was stolen and all this extra crap. I just kept calling them every other day and eventually they took it off, never heard back from AFNI either.

[Vuitton]

If this isn't showing up on any credit reports just fucking ignore it. Sounds like a scam.

[Jeryhn]

BG Financial seems as good a place to ask as any.

I have bad credit. Only credit cards though, one was a bank-issued card and the other a store-bought card. Was hit by the recession back in 2007 pretty hard when the technology company I was working for laid me off and eliminated my position, and I stopped paying on the cards around then as well. I was goign through a divorce at the time as well, which compounded the problem - the cards were all in my name though. Since then I've gone back to school (currently in science/engineering related fields, close to an AS, but not quite a BS), but taking full time classes generally means I have to take work that allows for flexible scheduling. I'd say I'm about $10k total in debt.

I'm in the state of California if it matters. I know there's a statute of limitations in CA on debts of four years from the point of first non-payment on credit card debt (not necessarily default), but no research I've done seems clear on whether or not I can simply elect to have things removed from my credit report. In my own situation the statute of limitations has passed, so if my creditors attempt to sue me, I have an affirmative defense to prevent a judgment from being carried out on me. I also know that if I begin repaying my debt, the "timer" on the statute of limitations resets, and my creditors will be able to sue me and possibly win a judgment, which would also consequently lower my score further.

I'd like to have these things cleared up though because bad credit may impact my living situation in the summer. A few questions:

- Where should I begin paying off my debt should I need to? Old bank card or store card?
- If I pay off a debt completely, how soon will it be removed from my credit report? Is there a way to expedite the process?
- If I don't "legally" owe the debt, can I simply have it removed from my report by contacting the Big Three? Or just wait 7 years or whatever?
- Is debt consolidation worth it, or just another scam?
- Bankruptcy a "good' option? I don't own any assets besides a shitty car I sue to get to work and school.
- Some of the collections agencies have contacted me offering to settle the debt for anywhere from 1/3rd to 1/4th the actual debt I owe. Legit? This seems shifty as all hell, but if its legit I might try to pursue that as an option. Although currently, I don't really make enough money to throw cash at a lump sum payment.
- Should I just wait until I graduate and then pay it all off quickly? I could possibly get student loans and use some of that to pay it off, but that's just transferring debt which doesn't seem like good practice to me.

Any advice?

[Cream Soda]

Speaking of credit cards. Would it build credit if I got one, paid w/ everything w/ it then immediately pay it off w/ the debit card I would have bought it with originally?

[Vuitton]

Speaking of credit cards. Would it build credit if I got one, paid w/ everything w/ it then immediately pay it off w/ the debit card I would have bought it with originally?

Yes, this would build your credit. What builds and maintains your credit score is on-time payments. Many people have credit cards where they earn points, airline miles, or amazon.com credit. They use their credit card all month and then pay the entire thing off. This way they earn/maintain their credit scores and also enjoy all those perks they earned by using their credit card.

Also, many credit cards give you 12-18 months of interest free (no interest), so if you needed to do a large purchase but couldn't pay it off in a single month, this would allow you to pay it off over time without paying any interest. The key to juggling a credit card is to try and pay as little to no interest as possible. For me, once a credit card is out of the no interest period I stop using it and get a new credit card.

You also build credit for having lines of credit (credit cards), and for keeping them for a long time. So I never cancel any credit cards I open. I just make sure they have $0 balances and never use them, and use my 1 new interest free card as the card to use.

(BTW, I have an excellent credit score.)

[Cream Soda]

any recommendations for a starting card? Airline miles would be cool, but open to other bonuses as well.

[Vuitton]

Hmmm, if you have no credit you won't have many options for those nicer cards. You'll need to get a starter card to build your credit score. These starter cards usually have very small lines of credit (like $500). My first credit card was one of these. After some time of being responsible with it I was able to get access to the better cards.

Take a look at these cards and compare them.

http://www.creditcards.com/no-credit-history.php

You want NO annual fee and and NO intro APR (interest rate). Some of them will have scary interest rates after the initial interest free period ends. This is both bad and also something you can safely ignore if you're smart. Make sure you can pay the balance off every month thereby avoiding the interest rate.

[archibaldcrane]

any recommendations for a starting card? Airline miles would be cool, but open to other bonuses as well.

https://www.pricelinevisa.com/app/ja...13&legacy=true

Dunno what kind of credit you need to get it, but this is 2% cash back on everything you buy, no annual fee. I've used it for 2 years now, gotten thousands of dollars back (I use it for everything). It's as good as you're gonna get for cash back.

[Vuitton]

https://www.pricelinevisa.com/app/ja...13&legacy=true

Dunno what kind of credit you need to get it, but this is 2% cash back on everything you buy, no annual fee. I've used it for 2 years now, gotten thousands of dollars back (I use it for everything). It's as good as you're gonna get for cash back.

The good cards tend to have credit score minimum requirements (this is how people get pre-approved and/or need to apply for cards). For someone like CS with no credit, he could try and get that card, but I am thinking he'd get denied. Doesn't hurt to try though! Well, actutally...

If your credit score gets checked too often, this will hurt your credit score. Something to keep in mind if you apply for a lot of credit cards. They each check your credit score.

[noblemountain]

If you want to jump your score up fast, go to a bank with cash (500-1000) and get a tradeline secured by the cash you brought. They will report like it isn't secured. Keep a ~10% balance, no more than 15%, this will jump it up a lot as well. If you're just paying it off completely every month you will get a slight bump in your score, but if you keep around a 10% balance, it will go up more because it shows you're actually using the credit line. I had no credit 5 years ago and I did that...had an 800 in 6 months. If you have 15% or higher balance, it starts to negatively affect you, especially higher than 30%...it hits you hard then...so keep it around 10% and pretend like you don't even have it for awhile.

[Cliron]

Its scary how important credit is in this country.

I went to the bank to get cheques and talked about maybe getting a loan. The guy said I wouldn't be able to get a 200 dollar loan or CC with the credit I [dont] have since Im so new to the country [6months].

Because my pay (about 700 a week) is given in cheque form rather than to my account apparently my credit will build super slowly. It boogles my mind that I can be earning 700 a week with no negative history and not even be able to get a CC.

(My bank is Chase btw).

[dejet]

If you have to do a secured CC. Be smart with that shit and in 6 months to a year you have a real CC/loan.

Also even if your not a student you can apply for a student card. It really is a good card to go after as you almost never get more then a credit limit of 1k(meaning keep that shit under 500)

CS I do not think you could get a card that has airline miles really, your best bet is go with a student card. Some student cards have points but you wont get much each month to start with. Best cards are at like 5% cash back

[Vuitton]

Its scary how important credit is in this country.

I went to the bank to get cheques and talked about maybe getting a loan. The guy said I wouldn't be able to get a 200 dollar loan or CC with the credit I [dont] have since Im so new to the country [6months].

Because my pay (about 700 a week) is given in cheque form rather than to my account apparently my credit will build super slowly. It boogles my mind that I can be earning 700 a week with no negative history and not even be able to get a CC.

(My bank is Chase btw).

No credit is almost worse than bad credit. You should be able to get a 200-500 credit card though, lol at what that guy told you. Everyone starts somewhere, and I started with a $500 credit card years ago when I had no credit. You should try applying for a Chase credit card online.

[shaddix]

Citi is pretty friendly for a short credit history. Don't know if they still have them but Citi forward is almost 5% on movies restaurants bookstores including amazon.

[Melena]

My first card years ago was a macy's card with a $100 limit. Just don't go overboard applying to a bunch of shit at once.

[dejet]

Citi is pretty friendly for a short credit history. Don't know if they still have them but Citi forward is almost 5% on movies restaurants bookstores including amazon.

They do, promo has changed a tad. But a lot of student places fall under their point system. That card is looking at around a $750 limit. if you never did apply for credit you should get this one.

bring a school id and a number of a friend that can say "yup he goes there"

[Zauriel]

Get a hold of a phone and just call them. Any debts 10 years or older can be written off you credit history without hastle.