I have credit, but can't get my report

[pocheros 101]

Hi all, I immigrated here on a K1 visa in September 2011. Since then I have obtained two credit cards, bank accounts at a credit union (joint with DH and my own account), taken out and paid back a signature loan, paid off medical bills, got and held a job, filed taxes, etc. However my SSN was issued after summer 2011 which if I understand correctly, causes some kerfuffles (it did with my background checks when I applied for jobs. Pain in the butt.)

I KNOW I have a credit rating because I applied for a mortgage at the bank and I asked them what my credit was and they told me. However, whenever I go to request my free annual credit report online it can't find me. I haven't yet requested my report over the phone or in writing yet, but I want to know what other VJers experiences are. Does requesting your report over the phone or through the mail yield useful results? Or is it useless? Is there an easier way to find out my credit rating?

Thanks in advance.

[Taureti 12]

I did it yesterday and it worked. Used this web, it's free https://www.creditkarma.com/

[pocheros 101]

Sorry if this sounds rude, but is it legit? I only try the 3 credit companies listed on annualcreditreport.com. I don't want to get scammed. Pretty sure annualcreditreport is the only real one.

Edited October 7, 2014 by pocheros

[NikLR 13,227]

You can request your credit reports for free from all 3 credit bureaus which is what I would do in your shoes. You likely have to call or request the reports by mail.

[Hypnos 6,576]

Some confusion in here.

You are entitled to one free copy of your credit report a year. Note that this is your credit report only, and contains no credit scores. You can get this report from here: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action

There are also other services (some free, like the aforementioned Credit Karma, some paid) which will give you access to your credit scores at one or more of the three major credit bureaus (TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax). I use Credit Karma (they pull from TransUnion) and the service is as described, free access to your TransUnion score, and now free access to your TransUnion report also. I have nothing bad to say about them.

There is also Credit Sesame (which pulls from Experian) and another that I forget the name of right now, which pulls from Equifax. Credit Sesame couldn't verify my identity and so wouldn't let me sign up, and if I rack my brain some more I can probably come up with the third.

(Edit) The third is Mint, which pulls from Equifax.

Edited October 8, 2014 by Hypnos

[Taureti 12]

I registered yesterday and saw all credit inquiries banks made in the past, when applying for the mortgage,car loan and so on. And it shows all credit cards I have. All info is accurate. But I don't know if the credit score is really accurate on this website. I hope someone knows better than me.

Edited October 8, 2014 by Taureti

[perfect 39]

Remember also that your credit "score" is weighted differently depending on what purpose it's being used for.

If you're applying for a car loan, your credit score may well be different than if you are applying for a mortgage loan or store credit card. The lenders weight the score depending on your history with that type of debt.

For instance my son's "Credit score" with the 3 reporting bureau was 776 but when he went to buy a car it was only 714 because he had never had a car loan before which of course completely changed the rate he could get!

Confused and irritated the heck out of me for a long time. My score should be my score no matter what but they use it to ensure they make the most profit!!

[pocheros 101]

Thanks for the replies, folks, that clears a lot up. I didn't know scores could be flexible like that. Also the distinction between scores and reports is important!

Edited October 9, 2014 by pocheros

[sma1488 155]

Also remember that you get one free report (NOT score, as someone mentioned already) per year from EACH of the three companies (Experian, Equifax, and Transunion). You do not have to request all three at the same time. Spacing them out like that could help you keep a constant eye on your credit and help catch things like identity theft without having to wait a whole year.

[kzielu 1,149]

To add - for more than a year I could get my credit report from Experian but not from the other two - was getting exactly same message as OP and at the time had some substantial history/# of credit accounts.

As for the score - people often got hung up on them, especially if after 6 months they see something like 750 on Credit Karma - that is unfortunately not very relevant - as one of the posters above mentioned, history and its length make huge impact...