BritGuyTN

- you just need some patience!

i have been here since August last year and have scores of in the low 700's from the 3 credit agencies

all you need to do is get a couple of secured credit cards and start using them or alternatively get 1 card in your own name and get on as many of your spouses (if they are american with a reasonable history) credit cards as an authorised user as possible

Now i know how it all works I actually like the US system for credit -

I have been turned down for all sorts of credit in the UK despite earning a good salary and payting all my bills on time - all UK lenders seem to have their own way of scoring and you can't check in advance

I heartily recommend that you pull your file from all 3 agencies every 6 months to see how things are going

www.experian.com
www.equifax.com
www.transunion.com

I applied for my first non-secured piece of credit (a target card) last week and was approved - small steps all add up in the big picture

My secured card is with bank of america - they only charge 29 bucks a year for the privilege

Also, getting a secured loan helps as potential lenders like to see a mix of revolving credit (cards etc) and instalment credit (loans mortgages etc)

Also, FYI - utilities bills haven't seemed to have impacted my report or score at all (i paid hefty deposits so I could have them in my name)

A mortgage is not something we bhave looked at yet - we rent as I didn't need the extra turmoil of moving to add to the ones of moving continents and jobs!

Anyway, good luck!

Muswell Hill

What is considered a good credit score anyway?

BritGuyTN

mid 750s is good - the best you can get is 850

Scorchio

Is it true that simply getting a credit report can affect your credit score?

waxwabbit

yes its true

BritGuyTN

NO - pulling your credit report will in no way alter your score or report

this is a 'soft' inquiry, the same as the one that are performed by amex, mbna etc when they try to work out whether to send you pre-approved offeres

also, the three agencies do not have idential info or scores so you really need to be getting details from all three as there is pretty much no way of knowing what agency a potenital lendor will pull

Duncan Roberts

THe only way you can (loosly) check your credit score and it affect it is if you apply for a lot of credit in a short space of time. eg multiple car dealerships checking it, multiple credit card companies checking it etc etc.

BritGuyTN

correct - and one more point...

if you are shoping for a mortgage (not sure if this appliens to car loans)

all enquires within a 7 day period are treated as 1 so people don't get penalised for shopping around

NC Penguin

I attended a homebuyer's fair a couple of weeks back and there was a lady who made a presentation on getting credit and understanding one's credit report.

The owner of the credit report does not affect (neither postively or negatively) their credit score when they request or view their credit report.

However, when others (possible lenders) who've been authorized by the credit report owners request/view your credit report, it knocks two points off your credit report.

crazi_daizi

What happens to us folks whose spouses are British too?! I have read in a different thread on here that a secured credit card makes no difference to your credit history at all?

BritGuyTN

nope, thats rubbish

secured cards actually make more difference than if you are an authorised user

if you become an authorised user then although you get the benefit of a duraction of credit history, without a line of credit in your own name you can't seem to have a credit score of your own

lendors apparently like to see two or more lines of credit at least (some need more)

just get two secured card or a secured card and a secured loan


right now I have
1 x secured card with B of A
1 x target guest card in my own name (just got approved)
2 x authorsied user cards

if i didn't have the ability of becoming a authorised user then i would have opened another secured account

monster

I heard this then read about an expat who trusted this and found it not to be true.

BritGuyTN

Fair Isaac is the company behind the FICO score

According to Fair Isaac, all 3 CRAs are now using the same program to calculate inquiries. Here are the exceptions made for auto loans and mortgage inquiries:

An inquiry buffer is in place and all AUTO and MORTGAGE inquiries within 30 days from Scoring are IGNORED.
AUTO and MORTGAGE inquiries in any 14 day period count as one inquiry, this is called de-duplication in the industry, like you really wanted to know that.

DaveC

I saw this in the paper yesterday and, as the paying in full vs carrying a balance issue has been raised before, I thought I'd cut and paste the article (how gauche!) in its entirety.

" Your credit score is vital to determining whether you get a loan and what price you pay for it.

A favorable credit score, or FICO score, after the Fair, Isaacs Co., which provides the data, is best achieved by paying bills on time and in full.

But other actions that are not necessarily incorrect can still damage your credit score.

One of them, according to a recent study by Experian Consumer Direct, a unit of credit bureau Experian, is carrying credit-card balances of more than 50 percent of your complete line of credit.

For example, if you have five credit cards that offer you a total of $20,000 in credit, you should not exceed $10,000 in balances. Even if you make payments on time, using more than half your available credit will harm your credit score.

Experian found that 16 percent of credit-card users exceed 50 percent of their total line of credit. Their credit scores average 631, compared with a national average of 678. The best score, determined by many factors, is 830.

Closing a credit-card account, however, will reduce your overall line of credit and could push your balances above the 50 percent mark."

nathan barley

I got a Target card with no pre-existing credit in the US at all.