So over the course of the past say 2 years I have tried to:
Get a Gap Card
Get a Best Buy Card X 2
Get a $2000 Scooter
Get a Car
Get something else named____ that a homeless person could get
Meanwhile I have friends who have gotten all the above things. These are not rich friends, no, they are just like me; Fresh out of school with only debt being student loans. Hell, one of my friends who didnt even have a job at the time got approved for a Scooter. I got denied with a co-signed even.
I have no idea what is so fucked on my credit but it is rather frustrating. I want to build credit but I cant get anything on credit. It would also be nice to you know, have a car/transportation.
I have checked out some of the 'free' credit report sites and they all require you to sign up for something and half of them look shady to start with.
I know everyone is entitled to 1 free credit report a year but I have yet to find where to get it. So how do I get this magical report? Is my credit just fucked because of student loans?
My theory is that because my father and I have the same name, somehow his awful debts got mixed up with my credit.
Anyways, halp!
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If this is the case, you can dispute the reports and get the incorrect data removed.
Currently painting: Slowly [flickr]
make sure there are no red flags. You might be in a situation where you just have no credit history instead of bad credit. Are the student loans in your name?
If that's the case, get a secured credit card to start building your credit.
If there are red flags, take care of them immediately. Since it doesn't sound like you're aware of anything that would be a major issue, this shouldn't be too hard.
With a secured card, you should qualify for a traditional revolving credit account after a few months.
He might as well get all three from Annual Credit Report. If there is a red flag on one, it may not appear on the other two.
Currently painting: Slowly [flickr]
I'm of the opinion that it's best to get one every four months than all three every twelve.
if there's something stopping him from getting any revolving credit account at all, it will likely show up on all three.
But yes, there's no real harm in getting all three.
Good luck!
Currently painting: Slowly [flickr]
Once you get said report - look for any red flags. Even more important, look for any falsehoods. Even if you have been a saint it's not uncommon for shady family members to open a credit line in a minor's name, then wreck said credit.
If there are no red flags on your credit - well, start building a good credit history. A basic low-limit card can help. Charge a small amount, pay it off.
If you can't get a basic card, get a secured card. This will require a cash deposit - which hurts, no doubt. But when you want to buy something big in the future it will be worth it.
As far as getting loans for automobiles,etc.. always find out which of the three agencies the lender uses and find out the minimum score they require for their best rates.. you'll want to find a place that will potentially use your highest score..
EDIT: But yes, I can almost guarantee you're having such trouble simply because you don't have any history.
Currently painting: Slowly [flickr]
Equifax. Not sure if you can do it online with them, but you can do it via the phone very easily.
There's no reason not to go back to zero every month. You gain nothing by keeping a balance other than paying interest.
It's a good way to do a "soft pull" of your credit report for free. It's only one of the three bureaus, but it's something at least.
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Also, it's totally possible debt collectors trying to collect on Sr's debts found you in some database (or in the phone book) and tried to collect his debt off of you. If you aren't good about checking your mail you could have easily missed the notice where they were pinning the debt on you; you have 30 days from receiving such a notice to let them know it's not your debt, but after that the process involved in resolving the dispute does get harder. Clark Howard's website or the Consumerist might be able to give you some tips on fighting them.
Try getting a gas card if you cannot get any other form of unsecured credit. Use it every time you fill up and pay it off every month and you'll be on your way to establishing good credit history.