What if I don't have a score?

[Anonymous]

I just spent $50 to find out what kind of debt (I know I have some some unpaid bills from a few years ago) would show on my credit report and found that none of the reports are accessible.
I have no credit cards or loans which I guess = no score. What does that mean for me if I want to try qualifying for a mortgage?

[Anonymous]

It means that the loan company has no information to go by.  People with no credit history or low credit history need to start building some sort of credit.

When I started out, I looked for a company that offered me a starter credit card.  They issued me a card with only a $300 CL, which didn't help much, but it was a start.  Then I went to a bank and took out a small loan for $3000.  I had to place the $3000 into a savings account and borrow against it.  Then I took the $3000 I borrowed from that bank and went to another bank and did the same thing.  I had read this advice somewhere. 

I would do a Google search and read all that I could to find advice on how to build credit.  It doesn't happen over night.

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I just spent $50 to find out what kind of debt (I know I have some some unpaid bills from a few years ago) would show on my credit report and found that none of the reports are accessible.
I have no credit cards or loans which I guess = no score. What does that mean for me if I want to try qualifying for a mortgage?

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Hi, alaskan, welcome to the forums! Was this $50 spent on one of the myFICO products? (I'm guessing Credit Complete or Suze Orman.)

If you haven't had any credit reporting within the last 6 months, or none of your credit lasted for 6 months or more, you don't have a score. Call myFICO customer service and ask for a refund. I think they do this if you couldn't get your score reports.

If you don't get anywhere, please post back here and let me know, and I'll see if I can find you some help. If you don't hear back from me, please pm me by clicking the envelope at the top right of your screen, copy/paste in my screen name (sorry it's so long!) and let me know. The forums have been flooded in the last two weeks, and we love having all the new faces, but somethings posts are getting buried.


Edit: by the way, the next time that you want to pull your score reports here, first Google FICO coupon or FICO discount code for at least 15% off.

Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on 02-29-2008 04:38 PM

[Anonymous]

Thanks! I appreciate the feedback and the tip on the discount as well!

[Not_the_Point]

Hi Alaskan, I was in a similar situation as you six months ago. Go to a bank that offers secured credit cards (i went to WaMu) and open up a secured credit card (you have to give them a security deposit equivalent to your credit limit.. say $500). You then use that as a means to establish your credit, pay your bills well in advance every month, and pretty soon you'll be seeing a decent credit score.

I'm at 735 right now after 6 months following the above method. Give it a try!

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you don't have enough data to make a score-

This does not mean you don't have a credit report-

go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com

and pull your reports-