# How can I have no credit score history? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 19, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-no-credit-score-history/641503 "2012-11-19T13:59:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-no-credit-score-history/641503/1 "2012-11-19T13:59:40Z")
I have a checking account and several bank accounts, I once did an overdraft of $1500 for surgery and paid it back. I managed to get a credit card, unsecured with a $300 limit. Yet I still have no credit history or score 😕 I managed to get one bank account by having someone with credit co sign for me, than I took them off the account. Then I opened other bank accounts and through mergers and buyouts they got transferred to other banks, I got the savings account that way because I already had an account with them. Basically I am annoyed I am still not “in the system”:mad:. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-no-credit-score-history/641503/2 "2012-11-19T14:04:39Z")
Bank accounts do not build any credit history. Loans and credit cards do. An overdraft is not a loan, and could count against you if your bank reported it. Not sure why your one credit card is not reporting your creditworthiness. How did you determine you don’t have a credit score? ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-no-credit-score-history/641503/3 "2012-11-19T14:07:02Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Bank accounts do not build any credit history. Loans and credit cards do. An overdraft is not a loan, and could count against you if your bank reported it. Not sure why your one credit card is not reporting your creditworthiness. How did you determine you don’t have a credit score? I did the free annual credit report check, I don’t have the link handy here but yes it was the real one. Also from applying for things like other credit cards or accounts and being told they are seeing I have no credit. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-no-credit-score-history/641503/4 "2012-11-19T14:12:10Z")
Sometimes it takes 2-3 months for credit events to make it into your credit report. How long have you had your credit card? ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-no-credit-score-history/641503/5 "2012-11-19T15:15:47Z")
Also credit reports aren’t perfect. My own credit report omits several things I’d like it to contain (paying back credit cards and loans) and includes many things it shouldn’t (e.g. court judgements against a sibling). Yes, I’m trying to get all this sorted, but it’s proving to be a pain because the burden of proof is on me. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-no-credit-score-history/641503/6 "2012-11-19T16:26:39Z")
One possibility is that you only looked at one credit company’s report, while the credit card company you use reported your credit history to another credit bureau. My understanding is that there are three credit history companies. TranUnion, Equifax and Experian. Any particular creditor might only report your history to one or two of those companies. Also, when you apply for credit, they might only check one or two. Meaning lots of particulars will be missed, both during reporting and checking. Okay, I researched and actually, there are more than three. There are 4 “big names” (the three I said plus Innovis) and quite a few smaller players, all of which may or may not be involved in your credit history. > **[Credit bureau | United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_bureau#United_States)** > > Following the Panic of 1837, the first commercial credit reporting organizations formed.: 55  By the 1850s, coded reference books were available to wholesalers, merchants, banks, and insurance companies that subscribed. In 1875, typed reports replaced handwritten ledgers for storage and retrieval.: 104  By the end of the 1880s, surveillance of retail customers existed in major urban centers.: 149  > By the late 1890s, credit management was professionalizing, with retailers and bureau operators sys... ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-no-credit-score-history/641503/7 "2012-11-19T16:36:38Z")
The only thing you mentioned that would build credit is your credit card. How long have you had it and when was the last time you used it? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-no-credit-score-history/641503/8 "2012-11-19T20:18:47Z")
**grude** , do I recall correctly that you are in Trinidad? Does the US credit reporting system capture credit activity taking place outside the US? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-no-credit-score-history/641503/9 "2012-11-20T00:01:51Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > The only thing you mentioned that would build credit is your credit card. How long have you had it and when was the last time you used it? This. You effectively have no credit history because your use of loans has been very minimal. A “credit history” is your history of taking and paying back loans over time. It does not reflect (directly) the cash flow in and out of your bank accounts. You need to get a credit card attached to the main bank you use make purchases and pay them back over time. If you just want a credit card for payment convenience most banks will have VISA debit cards you can get that are attached to the bank account. You can also get prepaid cards you put cash into and use until they are depleted and need refilling. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-no-credit-score-history/641503/10 "2012-11-20T00:04:17Z")
dup post deleted ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-no-credit-score-history/641503/11 "2012-11-20T05:44:40Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > **grude** , do I recall correctly that you are in Trinidad? Does the US credit reporting system capture credit activity taking place outside the US? Nope, mine was virginal when I moved there. Then again, my US history doesn’t affect my Spanish history at all. The only time I’ve had a bank ask about information from another country it was when opening an account in the French part of the Three-Borders region, when the banker asked whether I had one in Switzerland as that’s where I was working - but it wasn’t an official check, it’s just something that’s common in that un-common region. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-no-credit-score-history/641503/12 "2012-11-20T15:36:15Z")
Everyone above is right - your bank accounts have nothing to do with your credit history. The only thing you mentioned is the credit card. Did you ever use it? You have to incur a balance and make a payment(s). This needs to occur for 3-4 months (minimum) to establish a history. If you buy one thing and pay it off, there is no payment history being established. Credit cards, auto loans and mortgages are the main players on a credit report. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-no-credit-score-history/641503/13 "2012-11-20T15:42:20Z")
And student loans. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-no-credit-score-history/641503/14 "2012-11-20T16:01:38Z")
A CC with a limit of $300 sounds like it might not be from a standard source that does reporting. Is that the case? Is your SSN on it? ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-no-credit-score-history/641503/15 "2012-11-20T16:07:55Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Nope, mine was virginal when I moved there. That was a huge pain for me when I moved to the US from Canada and found I had zero credit. Especially annoying, since it’s the same credit bureaus in both places, and the bank I was using was essentially the same in both countries (TD bank). I had to start with a secured card, using it and paying it off a lot, and then I worked my way up to a good credit score in a few years. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-no-credit-score-history/641503/16 "2012-11-20T16:11:28Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > One possibility is that you only looked at one credit company’s report, while the credit card company you use reported your credit history to another credit bureau. > > My understanding is that there are three credit history companies. TranUnion, Equifax and Experian. Any particular creditor might only report your history to one or two of those companies. Also, when you apply for credit, they might only check one or two. Meaning lots of particulars will be missed, both during reporting and checking. > > Okay, I researched and actually, there are more than three. There are 4 “big names” (the three I said plus Innovis) and quite a few smaller players, all of which may or may not be involved in your credit history. > > [Credit bureau - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_bureau#United_States) My experience was that when I had three credit cards, one with a credit union and two with commercial banks, the commercial banks reported on all 3 of the reports, but the credit union reported on only one [Equifax]. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-no-credit-score-history/641503/17 "2012-11-20T19:00:09Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > A CC with a limit of $300 sounds like it might not be from a standard source that does reporting. Is that the case? Is your SSN on it? That was my first thought, too. Or it could be a pre-paid card, which would also do nothing to establish **grude** ’s credit history. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-no-credit-score-history/641503/18 "2012-11-20T19:05:08Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > That was my first thought, too. Or it could be a pre-paid card, which would also do nothing to establish **grude** ’s credit history. The OP said it was an unsecured card. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-no-credit-score-history/641503/19 "2012-11-20T19:16:09Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > The OP said it was an unsecured card. :smack: Never mind.