A free credit report from any credit bureau can be requested by law once a year through www.annualcreditreport.com.
Since the mentioned companies work independently, there may be differences in the different credit reports for the same person. If someone denies you credit ...based on your credit report, you must be told the reason and the credit bureau that issued the credit report. For a relatively small fee, you can always order your own credit report from these companies to compare the information and see if everything is in order. As a rule, doing this once a year should be enough. If you find errors, then you can dispute them. If the error can be proven, then the relevant information will be removed. However, write not only to the credit bureau, but also to the originator, such as the lender who reported the erroneous information to the credit bureau. Send all letters as certified mail with return receipt. Give the credit bureau one month to review the facts. Follow up if you have not heard anything by then.
Lenders, landlords, etc. can obtain information about a customer's credit history in two forms: credit report and credit score.
The credit report includes: Information about you, such as name, address, Social Security Number, date of birth, employer; your credit history, including credit cards, their balances and available credit lines, other current and paid-off loans, information about late payments on bills, loans, credit cards, etc.; data on any court judgments, garnishments, bankruptcy declarations; a list of those who have received your credit report; statements objecting to certain information in the credit report.
Tips for a good credit report: always pay at least the minimum amount of your monthly credit card bills. Mail your check on time. Always allow a week for mailing. Don't apply for too many credit cards and other loans within a short period of time. Inquiries from potential lenders about your credit report will be recorded on it. Too many inquiries give the impression that you need money urgently. This can scare off other potential lenders. The same goes for having too many unused credit cards or their unused credit lines. While owning a few credit cards is good for building a credit history, unused credit lines are seen as a risk by other potential lenders because they carry the risk of suddenly becoming heavily indebted. After all, in theory, you could suddenly max out all those credit cards and then declare bankruptcy. But also avoid using your cards' available credit limit to the fullest, as that will also be taken as a warning sign. Ideally, credit card debt should be less than one-third of the available credit.
If you can't show a good credit history, you won't easily get new credit. It's even worse if you have no credit history at all. For most newcomers, this is a problem comparable to the chicken and the egg: no credit, no credit history, and no credit history, no credit. Any proof from the immigrants' country of origin is usually not recognized.
What to do. Try to get a credit card as soon as possible. The bank where you have an account is the best place to start. Ask there for a secured credit card. With this, the bank takes a certain sum, e.g. 500 dollars, as security. The credit limit of the card is then also 500 dollars. In this way, the bank does not take any risk and you can prove your creditworthiness by using the card and reliably paying the credit card bills. It is then only a matter of time before the first application forms from credit card companies start flooding into your house.
The companies that send you credit card application forms (credit card applications) have obtained your name and address from the credit bureaus mentioned above. Although your credit history has not been disclosed in detail, you have been deemed creditworthy. This is why the promotional letters often state that the credit card is pre-approved. So such promotional letters are definitely a sign of a good credit history.
