Credit Score Showing 0 After 1 Year

[-Shana- 152]

I was wondering if I could get some insight on this.

I'm moving from Colorado to Atlanta with my husband (came on K-1 visa, married, adjusting status, have green card interview on May 11th) and we're here for 1 week to look for an apartment. Today we found the perfect place for us, so we applied for it. They needed documentation of my immigration status, which is fine, but what concerned us was that my credit score showed up as 0 on their report.

I moved exactly 1 year ago tomorrow, I've been paying a Verizon phone bill since May 2015 every month, all payments have been on time. I also have a Capital One Platinum Mastercard since January with a $500 credit limit. All payments made on time, I've utilized 30% of my credit limit as suggested by multiple sources.

On Credit Karma (I know this isn't an official credit union service) it says that my credit score is 665(ish), so I'm really confused why when the apartment complex checked my score it came out as 0.

Any ideas?

[at long last 58]

You haven't established it for long enough. I've been here 3 + years now and just starting to establish the credit score.

[-Shana- 152]

I thought if you were paying bills and those payments were getting reported to credit places then a score would be created?

[Amhara 460]

Since there are three credit bureaus, the apartment may only be checking one. Or, their service may be limited - they need to pay to access your credit score, when really it's your credit history that matters. Your bills and cell phone do not count in your credit history nor score.

[-Shana- 152]

Since there are three credit bureaus, the apartment may only be checking one. Or, their service may be limited - they need to pay to access your credit score, when really it's your credit history that matters. Your bills and cell phone do not count in your credit history nor score.

Forgive my ignorance, but what does count towards credit history? I primarily thought that having phone bills, credit card bills, car payments, house payments etc would count towards a credit history/score.

[Rebe y Justin 9]

The credit check service that the apartment complex uses may not show your accurate score. I am a Realtor / property manager and I get "score not available" or 0 score on reports quite often.

The services we use also do not access full credit reports. Most reports I see only show the negative items and not the accounts in good standing.

Open a "no annual fee" card that gives you your credit score every month. More accurate than anything other service except for getting your information directly from Equifax, Transunion and Experian.

Edited April 19, 2016 by Rebe y Justin

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Some companies only report quarterly or semi annually to the credit agencies. I've even heard of some only showing annually. There's a chance that items may not have been reported yet.

[Hypnos 6,577]

There are many different credit bureaus, including the big three (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax), as well as numerous smaller agencies, such as Innovis, LexisNexis, and many others. Each calculate their score a little differently using different models.

As someone with a short credit history, it's entirely possible that under some models you won't have enough activity to generate a score yet.

You can always ask the landlord which bureau they used, as well as obtain a copy of the relevant report for free if it led to an "adverse action" against you.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you are also entitled to a free copy of your credit report at every agency once per year. See http://www.annualcreditreport.com for more information.

[Amhara 460]

Forgive my ignorance, but what does count towards credit history? I primarily thought that having phone bills, credit card bills, car payments, house payments etc would count towards a credit history/score.

Phone bills do not help. Credit cards do - are you the account holder or the authorized user? Account holder helps; authorized user does not so much. Who is your car lender? If you pay at your car dealer, then no. If you are on the car loan and not the borrower, it doesn't help so much. How did you buy a house after being here just one year?

[andy78 178]

Forgive my ignorance, but what does count towards credit history? I primarily thought that having phone bills, credit card bills, car payments, house payments etc would count towards a credit history/score.

I have paid my phone and utility bills for many years and never had a credit score. I only started having a credit score after applying for a credit card and car loan few years ago.

My credit score today only shows my credit cards, car loans, and mortgage. It doesn't say anything about phone and utility bills, probably because they are not considered loans or "credit" that gets to be reported in a credit score.

[Deagle 508]

I dont know why but I came to the US a year ago and after 3 month of entering the US I leased a car my wife was the co-signer, my first credit score back then was 7.8

[Amhara 460]

I don't know why but I came to the US a year ago and after 3 month of entering the US I leased a car my wife was the co-signer, my first credit score back then was 7.8

Your credit score was better than mine! Lol!

To add to this conversation, what matters is the decision maker in the lending process. They use tools such as your credit score and credit history to make those decisions. A casual user, like a property leasing agent, may not use these tools in a sophisticated manner. Rebe y Justin had the right answer there.

For larger decisions, financial institutions will dig deeper and look at the accounts more closely. They may remove accounts where you are the authorized user in their decision because you aren't responsible for any debt. They look at loans where you have a co-signer in a lower light, but that helps to be the primary person. For example, getting a secured credit card is a great place to start. The USC spouse should just be an authorized user to show the new spouse's ability to pay on their own. Getting added to a loan, such as a mortgage is good for legal protections, but again, the lenders tend to think that the lender would have made the loan without you being on there if you have little to no credit. Sometimes people are added to the deed, but not the mortgage because that would require them to refinance and pay large closing costs.

Phone bills matter when you DON'T pay because then they can appear on a credit report as a negative factor. The credit score is only a mathematical algorithm with certain factors that are inputs. The decision maker, such as a lender, will often choose to ignore some of these factors and use the same algorithm to recalculate what your score would be in their eyes.

Don't worry too much about the issue. Rental agencies want to make sure you don't have any foreclosures, attachments for past due rent, eviction history and see if you have had any bankruptcies. This makes your credit history more important than the score anyways. If your CreditKarma is showing a credit score, then that's cool. You get a free annual credit report each year and can choose to pay for the credit score from each agency.

[-Shana- 152]

Thanks for all your input, guys. It's been really helpful!! I've learned a lot today and knowing is half the battle

[ExPatty 502]

Forgive my ignorance, but what does count towards credit history? I primarily thought that having phone bills, credit card bills, car payments, house payments etc would count towards a credit history/score.

All of those except th phone do.

Essentially any time you borrow money the lender will report each month to a bureau. A phone is a contract but not a loan so it won't show up.

I would have expected your MasterCard to show up. Google "free annual credit report". You can check your actual report but not your score for free each year.

[Cathi 5,771]

You haven't established it for long enough. I've been here 3 + years now and just starting to establish the credit score.

that wouldn;t explain a zero. And FYI, my husband built his credit enough in 18 months to buy our house. He arrived here in Jordan in October 2012 and he bought our home exactly 18 months later by himself in April 2014, I am not on the mortgage nor did he need a co-signer

Edited April 20, 2016 by mimolicious