Another 0 Fico score question

[Anonymous]

Currently my FICO score is not reporting because of lack of recent credit history. (Paid off my car over 2 years ago, no credit cards, no other debts) To the mortgage lenders this is showing a 0 score. My average consumer credit score is 715. Unfortunately, the lenders don't look at this. I'll be buying my first home through a VA loan, but I'm still looking to buy a rental shortly after. I sucked it up and have started using a credit card this month, had my sister add me as an authorized user on her cc. -My questions are this , will my old score come back? -If it does, will it come back on the first report date of the cc company to the CRA or will I have to wait 6 months? -Are there any ways to hurry this process up? I apologize if I'm repeating the same question asked on here for the 12th time, I assure you, I did search first.

[RobertEG]

Bilge, there is no such thing as a zero FICO score.  The minimum FICO score is 300.  FICO is basically a risk analysis of your likelihood of repaying debt within the next two years.  Lack of any credit activity over the past two or more years makes any such analysis, in the opinion of FairIsaac, of little predictive relevance, so they do not return a score under such conditions.

However, your CR still contains your account data,  Inactivity, unless it reaches approx ten years or rmore, will not cause the account history to disappear.  FICO has stated that it takes six months of active credit history before they will return a FICO score, so I would expect that it will take six months from the date the first active report is received by the CRA before any FICO score will be returned on that CRA's CR.  Rapid rescoring will not help, since that does not change the internal workings of the basic FICO algorithm.

So I think you will have to wait six months.

However, I would show the lendor, if you have it, you most recent CR that did return a FICO score, along with a showing of your credit history since then, and maybe they will understand and afford you the score that you had achieved.

Message Edited by RobertEG on 05-18-2008 07:48 PM

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the input. I was afraid you were going to say that. Know of any way to have myfico tell me when I even have a score? As it stands now, I can't even apply for any product without a score.

[smallfry]

You are using your sister's card? IF you have decent income and can substantiate it maybe a credit union such as Penfed would give you a credit card. Worth a call at any rate. Good luck.

[RobertEG]

While six months will most definately get you a score, it might not take six months after the first activity.  It depends on what FICO uses as its trigger to either generate or not generate a score.  For someone with no credit history, then it will take six months of history before any FICO score is reported.  But that is not your case.  Once the first new activity hits the CRA, then the prior credit history will still be there.  If FCIO keys in on only the newly active account to determine when a score will be generated, which logic leads me to believe it will, then you will wait six months.  However, if FICO some how picks up on the older, inactive but reported accounts, then it may triggger the report of a FICO score against  your whole CR.  I have no idea what the FICO algorithm uses to trigger a report or no report decision, so cannot answer your question other than to say it might take six months, and that is what I would expect.

[haulingthescoreup]

Since you're AU on your sister's card, which is presumably 6 months or older, you should be back on the credit grid now.

The credit bureaus and FICO don't keep a calendar going that says that in April, you had no current history, so by golly, it will be October before you exist once again. All they know is that once there is an account there (your sister's), which is older than 6 months and has been used within the last 6 months, then congratulations, you exist once again! (Or you should.)

I agree with the others: use this opportunity to get at least one card in your own name. You need to determine when the next statement posted (or will post) after you added on, and give it a week-10 days for all the credit bureaus to display it on your reports. Then pull at least one to confirm.

Since a quick review of your reports will show a lender that this isn't really your credit, I would go to several local credit unions in your area, explain what happened, and ask if they would be willing to issue you a card in your own name. As most credit unions use Equifax (EQ), I would pull your FICO EQ report to assure yourself that you now have a score. Print it out and take this score report to the CU's, point out that it's FICO, and ask for their opinion. (Be sure to say that you are NOT authorizing a hard inquiry at this point!) When you find a place that you like, go ahead and let them pull your report themselves (there's your hard inquiry) and them presumably offer you their card. They might offer you a secured card, which is fine, but do ask if they will convert it to unsecured after a set period of time, and if you will keep the original issue date. Unsecured is better, but secured will work.

BTW, even though I'm pretty allergic to AU cards except between spouses and long-term couples, I think this is a great reason to use one. OP did once have his own credit, but there's nothing current, and he's going for a mortgage. This gets him in the running.

"Bilgefisher"? You have fish in your bilgewater? sounds icky...