Real FICO score

[Anonymous]

Utilization would be the total amount of balances reported on your statements, divided by the total of your credit limits. Sometimes, people who have high overall utilization on their various accounts will try to reduce it by opening a new account, so the additional credit limit will lower the percentage.

In re-reading your posts, I realized that when your lender was talking about "new credit" he actually meant "active accounts". It is true that you need to have activity on at least one account reporting to the CRAs within the last six months, and that's probably what he was getting at. Do you have any accounts other than the 6-month-old card? If not, then it would be desirable to get that account reporting and maybe open another account as well. You can charge a purchase or two on the 6-month-old card, and then pay it off. It's best if the balance that reports on your statement is less than 10% of your credit limit.

You might look into getting a credit builder credit card or a personal line of credit or a personal loan at a credit union. They understand people trying to build credit and many have products specifically for that purpose. You do want to confirm that any new account you open will be reported to all three CRAs, not just one or two ...

[Anonymous]

Thanks, I think I get it now.  My utilization is 0 then.  No balances anywhere.
He suggested charging a small amount on that card.  I was thinking it would be a waste of time since its not showing on Kroll anyway..

Yes it is the ONLY "active" account, currently.  Thats why I was concerned about it not popping up on the Kroll.  So, in essence Kroll shows NO active credit since last year... which would drag my score down,right?

He suggested just that... a line of credit a local credit union that he works with sometimes.  he said they report at the first of the month to all agencies hence wanting me to rush the app there this week so it would show in June.

Also, after talking to him about the Kroll omission today he said he would look into it.

Again, thanks for your time in explaining.

I'll do as he suggested with the credit union and hope he can rectify the active account situation with Kroll so it appears.