Fun fact about your Canadian credit and moving here

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Morning all - haven't been on the forum in a while, hope all is well with everyone.

I wanted to share a fun little fact that I've learned the hard way iswhat somewhat surprising. Recently we decided to buy a house and need a mortgage loan, the American bank did indeed take my SIN down and got my canadian credit history which is in fine shape, not the highest since I only have small things such as good bill paying history *I've never had a car loan or my own mortagage) so the rating was in the mid 600's...decent, but not stellar.

My 'ok' history isn't as good as my husband's and on top of that, they don't consider foreign credit ratings to be that reliable, so basically I hurt the interest rate we'd get, thus the overall monthly payment. So now....my name will be on the dee to the house, but not the mortage (for now) since paying an extra 18K over the 30 yr life of the loan, just doesn't make sense, ya know??? All this would apply, if I had bad American credit as well.

My point is....despite being listed as joint owner/ account holder of our bank accounts (savings and chequing) and having my name on most of the bill accounts(electric etc...) I have not accrued any type of history and I am still considered a risk.

I went into my bank (Wachovia) yesterday to get a secured CC (how insulting since I didn't even need that 18 yrs ago when I first got a card at college in Canada) only to find out there are very few banks whic offer them anymore....Bank of America is one, so I went online to take care of that and of course you need to have a BofA bank account first before you do that........very inconvenient since I don't really need another bank account or another credit card.

I wanted to smack the chick at the bank who said so sweetly....you could get a joint CC with your husband and he would be the co-signer.......ok sweet pea - THIS IS NOT 19 F-ing 50.

Basically I am now back financially to 18 yrs ago when I was getting out of University, creditless unless I want to ride on my husband's coattails.

Does this bother anybody else? I have been independent and successful on my own and now that I've moved to the 'land of opportunity' I am being treated like a 2nd class citizen............guess I have PMS today, but this really rubs me the wrong way. Please, don't anyone say 'well, that's teh way it is, live with it'.......I know i'm stuck and have to follow the rules, I'm just venting.

Beckie

PS: what I feel worst about is that I ranted to my husband last night, loud and long and I've made him feel horrible too

[Emancipation 2]

I hear you.. been there felt that.. there are so many levels where this moving to the US has bugged me, and this is one HUGE one that my hubby has heard rant after rant about I think what frustrates me the most is I know how things work in Canada, and at times like this -it points out ever too clearly that we're in a new country and we have to learn many of the "for granted" rules all over again. I love that they don't think Canada's "foreign" credit rating is reliable..

That's what I find funny.. Canada appears to be more "international" to the US than the US is to Canada.. I think (may be wrong cause i've never immigrated to canada) that CDN's seem more open to US business, banking etc. than the US is to Canada's. HELLOOOOOO global economy train.. all on board !!! (Uncle Sammy that includes you)

[Mephys 2]

Well I had not apply in any of those JCpenney or Target credit card while I was still with my canadians papers, and I was afraid it would be a little hard.

We opened our joint bank account with Chase in December, and after many months of processing (and also waiting for nothing because they had closed my application due to the guy on the phone telling me the documents I sent were ok but they were not and thought I abandonned the applicationm neways ) I just finally got my first credit card through them ! Its a Chase freedom, only 500$, but hey it's a start. And Hubby didn't have to cosign or nothing. They did ask me for one of my Canadian credit card for verification or ID I guess on top of DL , etc. So maybe they looked into my Canadian credit ? I don't know. I did have a good file up there, paying on time and also had a car loan on my name only that was always paid on time. Who knows...

[Flames9_RN 358]

One doesn't have to be on the mortgage. i wasn't on our USA mortgage at first. We explained to the bank dude our situation, so he didnt even bother looking up my credit rating, he said if he had to look it up, would charge us $20,lol But i was on the deed/title

We refinanced our mortgage last oct. and for fun we got them to check my credit rating, and it was excellent. I have never worked in the USA (here since dec 2004) Just put on a few utility bills and a credit card. i was on the car loan, but not sure if that helped, as we only had the loan for like a month,then paid it off. I guess credit is like the government, there is no rhyme or reason to it,lol

[Udella&Wiz 325]

One doesn't have to be on the mortgage. i wasn't on our USA mortgage at first. We explained to the bank dude our situation, so he didnt even bother looking up my credit rating, he said if he had to look it up, would charge us $20,lol But i was on the deed/title

We refinanced our mortgage last oct. and for fun we got them to check my credit rating, and it was excellent. I have never worked in the USA (here since dec 2004) Just put on a few utility bills and a credit card. i was on the car loan, but not sure if that helped, as we only had the loan for like a month,then paid it off. I guess credit is like the government, there is no rhyme or reason to it,lol

yep - we'll eventually refinance the mortgage and then i'll be on it. It worries me that we'll got get the 10 yr GC and Immigration'll be like...'how come you're not on this big loan...' so i'll have to explain to them. My name is co-migled on everything else, so should be all fine.

I am going to try the Department store route...Targhey or somewhere I guess

[Emancipation 2]

yep - we'll eventually refinance the mortgage and then i'll be on it. It worries me that we'll got get the 10 yr GC and Immigration'll be like...'how come you're not on this big loan...' so i'll have to explain to them. My name is co-migled on everything else, so should be all fine.

I am going to try the Department store route...Targhey or somewhere I guess

Just bring along some denial letters for credit cards.. that should make things obvious to them!

[Udella&Wiz 325]

yep - we'll eventually refinance the mortgage and then i'll be on it. It worries me that we'll got get the 10 yr GC and Immigration'll be like...'how come you're not on this big loan...' so i'll have to explain to them. My name is co-migled on everything else, so should be all fine.

I am going to try the Department store route...Targhey or somewhere I guess

Just bring along some denial letters for credit cards.. that should make things obvious to them!

SNORT! very funny....

[SpiritAlight 1]

Morning all - haven't been on the forum in a while, hope all is well with everyone.

I wanted to share a fun little fact that I've learned the hard way iswhat somewhat surprising. Recently we decided to buy a house and need a mortgage loan, the American bank did indeed take my SIN down and got my canadian credit history which is in fine shape, not the highest since I only have small things such as good bill paying history *I've never had a car loan or my own mortagage) so the rating was in the mid 600's...decent, but not stellar.

My 'ok' history isn't as good as my husband's and on top of that, they don't consider foreign credit ratings to be that reliable, so basically I hurt the interest rate we'd get, thus the overall monthly payment. So now....my name will be on the dee to the house, but not the mortage (for now) since paying an extra 18K over the 30 yr life of the loan, just doesn't make sense, ya know??? All this would apply, if I had bad American credit as well.

My point is....despite being listed as joint owner/ account holder of our bank accounts (savings and chequing) and having my name on most of the bill accounts(electric etc...) I have not accrued any type of history and I am still considered a risk.

I went into my bank (Wachovia) yesterday to get a secured CC (how insulting since I didn't even need that 18 yrs ago when I first got a card at college in Canada) only to find out there are very few banks whic offer them anymore....Bank of America is one, so I went online to take care of that and of course you need to have a BofA bank account first before you do that........very inconvenient since I don't really need another bank account or another credit card.

I wanted to smack the chick at the bank who said so sweetly....you could get a joint CC with your husband and he would be the co-signer.......ok sweet pea - THIS IS NOT 19 F-ing 50.

Basically I am now back financially to 18 yrs ago when I was getting out of University, creditless unless I want to ride on my husband's coattails.

Does this bother anybody else? I have been independent and successful on my own and now that I've moved to the 'land of opportunity' I am being treated like a 2nd class citizen............guess I have PMS today, but this really rubs me the wrong way. Please, don't anyone say 'well, that's teh way it is, live with it'.......I know i'm stuck and have to follow the rules, I'm just venting.

Beckie

PS: what I feel worst about is that I ranted to my husband last night, loud and long and I've made him feel horrible too

Dear Beckie,

I only read your post and hit the reply button, as this topic and your feeling is where I am at at the moment too.

I thought: no big deal living in the U.S.

And damn them if I am going to be made to feel like I just hatched.

I have had an account with Bank of America for 3 years; way before I ever lived here as I have travelled in and out for a long time.

And so when I got my SSN and have been living there since January, I thought it was high time to get a U.S. credit card now.

I applied at the bank with a super nice bank manager.

She thought I would be approved right away.

There is money in there and I have been a good client, etc etc.

I got a letter stating that I could only apply and get one of those you described.

I had never even heard of such a thing.

And I have had a U.S. cellphone with Verizon due to a great North American plan since November of 2005! and AT&T (yes my sweetie and I got iPhones) would not allow me to have the account under my name unless I gave a $500 deposit.

I refused, and asked them to do what Verizon had done and check my CDN credit history.

They refused.

Well!

So we got a family plan with AT&T under my partner's name.

I like feeling youthful, but this being treated like a child when all they have to do is pick up the phone and dial a number to my CDN bank to check up on me is so debilitating. Aarrrrrrrrrrrr!!! And unnecessary. I, too, am completely an independent woman, and this old fashioned attitude from the bank and phone company is harmful.

Hence why I am going to start action to move back to Canada as soon as the dust clears in the U.S. for me and my sweetie.

(Well this is my fantasy world at the moment.)

Canada does recognize banking and credit from the U.S.

It is so simple...they HAVE a system that has connected all banks.

They are just too lazy to use it.

I know because of money transfer from the U.S. to Canada over the years....and back and forth.

How do college students get a credit card in the U.S.?

Something to look into...

I absolutely hate the feeling of dependence on my partner in this way and, yes, guess who gets to hear it.

I have chewed his ear off as well.

It make me feel sick afterwards, and so I will be refraining from taking out all my frustrations (about immigrating fully) on him in the future.

Well, I can fantasize about that as well.

Hee, hee.

"Feed the good wolf."

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Dear Spirit - thanks for your kind vent-acceptance! newly-hatched is a nice way to put it.

Here I am, raring to go...have a NICE paying job, doing what I used to do back in ON, only for 20K more....thinking about becoming a US citizen in the distant future.

I went down the fantasy road of moving back to Canada some day, but I guess we won't have a recent credit history there either, since we've moved here and there's no Cdn activity I was about to close my Canada trust card and account when I went back in August, but obviously I'm keeping it for now.

Thanks to all for kind words.......I am going to change things here someday, I swear. They can call me a Tree hugger and an activist if they like, but I want equality and fairness.

[Lona.C. 16]

hey udella nice to see you again , but sorry your goin trough this bull

me too i went trough this bull tryed to aply for a JC penny card , lol what a joke first the cashier got my DOB wrong ,

then the credit buro writes me to confirm my DOB wich I did

then they wrote me again to say it doesnt match my SIN , hehehe

idiots never changed the DOB on the puter , then finaly I got a letter saying I can reaply again with a aplication they included ,

lol all cool only thing was the aplication was in spanish i dont talk a word of spanish , lol

so my husband and I went to our bank ( yes us too bank of america) the manager was great

told us we can open a secure account ( on my name alone no co signer ),

and once they see that i pay the bills on time in few month I would be aproved for a reg CC ,

well it wasnt even a month later ( actualy it was when we resived the first bill and went to pay it at the bank ,they informed me that I got aproved for a reg CC if I like to aply for it i could do so now ,

I was like well yeah cool lets go for it , had my CC send to me within 1 week ,

( still no news about the JC penny card , maybe I should call them and talk to them in french see how they would like to deal with another language they dont understand ,lol )

anyhow to make a long story short , I love our bank of america they at least give service you can realy on ,

[Lona.C. 16]

hey udella nice to see you again , but sorry your goin trough this bull

me too i went trough this bull tryed to aply for a JC penny card , lol what a joke first the cashier got my DOB wrong ,

then the credit buro writes me to confirm my DOB wich I did

then they wrote me again to say it doesnt match my SIN , hehehe

idiots never changed the DOB on the puter , then finaly I got a letter saying I can reaply again with a aplication they included ,

lol all cool only thing was the aplication was in spanish i dont talk a word of spanish , lol

so my husband and I went to our bank ( yes us too bank of america) the manager was great

told us we can open a secure account ( on my name alone no co signer ),

and once they see that i pay the bills on time in few month I would be aproved for a reg CC ,

well it wasnt even a month later ( actualy it was when we resived the first bill and went to pay it at the bank ,they informed me that I got aproved for a reg CC if I like to aply for it i could do so now ,

I was like well yeah cool lets go for it , had my CC send to me within 1 week ,

( still no news about the JC penny card , maybe I should call them and talk to them in french see how they would like to deal with another language they dont understand ,lol )

anyhow to make a long story short , I love our bank of america they at least give service you can realy on ,

oh by the way does anyone know how to check a credit score from here and canada for free ??

[bowflex 0]

I actually opened up a Best Buy card and bought a nice big tv back when my wife was still in Canada and just had her added on it as well. When she moved over here she already have a credit score of 700 just for that. There are certain banks that will use international credit, but of course there are those that won't as the Canadian credit system is no where near as strict as America's.

I definitely feel for y'all having to go through this though, good luck!

[J&K 0]

In Canada, you have to pay for your credit score.

In the US you can get a free score, but it isn't the same score that is looked at by most lenders. The free score is lovingly referred to as a FAKO rather than the true FICO score.

Fico's can get expensive, but if you keep an eye out they put discount codes out all of the time, and this one CPPSAVINGS will get you 20% off.

[Flames9_RN 358]

One doesn't have to be on the mortgage. i wasn't on our USA mortgage at first. We explained to the bank dude our situation, so he didnt even bother looking up my credit rating, he said if he had to look it up, would charge us $20,lol But i was on the deed/title

We refinanced our mortgage last oct. and for fun we got them to check my credit rating, and it was excellent. I have never worked in the USA (here since dec 2004) Just put on a few utility bills and a credit card. i was on the car loan, but not sure if that helped, as we only had the loan for like a month,then paid it off. I guess credit is like the government, there is no rhyme or reason to it,lol

yep - we'll eventually refinance the mortgage and then i'll be on it. It worries me that we'll got get the 10 yr GC and Immigration'll be like...'how come you're not on this big loan...' so i'll have to explain to them. My name is co-migled on everything else, so should be all fine.

I am going to try the Department store route...Targhey or somewhere I guess

As i stated before, YOU dont have to be on the mortgage. You can still be on the deed/title. if your Spouse has excellent credit, etc, your set. now if your USA spouse has crappy credit, well thats a different story. When we refinanced, we didnt do it to get me on the mortgage. I received my 10 yr greencard just fine without being on the mortgage,but sent the paperwork with me being on the title

I guess I just look at things differently (easy to do when ya got an excellent credit rating,lol) It has never bothered me when i came to the USA that i would have to start fresh, I expected that. I have had to start from square 1 with school and I hate school,lol Hope you get it sorted out soonest.

[shawna7 4]

Morning all - haven't been on the forum in a while, hope all is well with everyone.

I wanted to share a fun little fact that I've learned the hard way iswhat somewhat surprising. Recently we decided to buy a house and need a mortgage loan, the American bank did indeed take my SIN down and got my canadian credit history which is in fine shape, not the highest since I only have small things such as good bill paying history *I've never had a car loan or my own mortagage) so the rating was in the mid 600's...decent, but not stellar.

My 'ok' history isn't as good as my husband's and on top of that, they don't consider foreign credit ratings to be that reliable, so basically I hurt the interest rate we'd get, thus the overall monthly payment. So now....my name will be on the dee to the house, but not the mortage (for now) since paying an extra 18K over the 30 yr life of the loan, just doesn't make sense, ya know??? All this would apply, if I had bad American credit as well.

My point is....despite being listed as joint owner/ account holder of our bank accounts (savings and chequing) and having my name on most of the bill accounts(electric etc...) I have not accrued any type of history and I am still considered a risk.

I went into my bank (Wachovia) yesterday to get a secured CC (how insulting since I didn't even need that 18 yrs ago when I first got a card at college in Canada) only to find out there are very few banks whic offer them anymore....Bank of America is one, so I went online to take care of that and of course you need to have a BofA bank account first before you do that........very inconvenient since I don't really need another bank account or another credit card.

I wanted to smack the chick at the bank who said so sweetly....you could get a joint CC with your husband and he would be the co-signer.......ok sweet pea - THIS IS NOT 19 F-ing 50.

Basically I am now back financially to 18 yrs ago when I was getting out of University, creditless unless I want to ride on my husband's coattails.

Does this bother anybody else? I have been independent and successful on my own and now that I've moved to the 'land of opportunity' I am being treated like a 2nd class citizen............guess I have PMS today, but this really rubs me the wrong way. Please, don't anyone say 'well, that's teh way it is, live with it'.......I know i'm stuck and have to follow the rules, I'm just venting.

Beckie

PS: what I feel worst about is that I ranted to my husband last night, loud and long and I've made him feel horrible too

Udella..Ive just been through the same thing!! SOOOOOOO frustrating! The bank thought I would be aprroved for sure..blah blah..all they offered me was the secured card..

On the up side I had a very funny moment in Target this week..They asked if I wanted to apply for a crad..I said sure(KNOWING I wouldn't get it..but what the hell right?lol) they approved me!!I got so excited..(and then realized I was thrilled over a teeny 200$ limit..) but I WAS approved.

That just goes to show you how little I have come to expect in the land of opportunity and credit! I feel your pain..I was completely self reliant and the fact that if I want to do anything over 200$ I need my husbands signature! apparently it gets better...(crossing fingers) hehe

S