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Credit problems...HELP?!?*

Okay so I'm only 20 years old and up until now I just assumed I didnt have any credit. The only things that MIGHT be on my credit..is i had a 1 year contract with T-mobile (that i fulfilled and cancelled after my contract was over) and I have rental history for 2 years but I was rarely ever late for a payment. Well my boyfriend and I just recently tried getting another phone plan and I was declined when we tried it under my name for verizon and t-mobile. I was so angry that my credit wasn't good enough so I applied for a couple credit cards (target and Walmart) that I would use to get things that we needed and I was declined for them also! Then I applied for credit cards for people with bad credit NONE of them approved me. One of them said that I wasnt approved because of a "loan that i took out in 2004" ?!?!? What the hell?! I was only 16 years old in 2004!! Im not going to waste any more money on credit report sites...What should I do about this? Any other way to build my credit?!?

Answers:

1) You could be the victim of identity theft.

2) First of all, you have the right to get your credit report for free one a year. Go here first to find out what is really on your report. https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp Make sure you understand what it says. If unsure, go to the bank and speak with a loan officer. If anything is not right, have it removed from your report. There is a free form on the following link that you can print out and mail to do this quick. http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/forms/credit-report-error-fix.asp It may take 3 months to clear up the discrepancies, but it will be worth it.

3) First you need a credit report immediately; you need to check and see whats on it. Any account that you are unfamiliar with you need to let the credit agency that its with know. Second if you were only 16 in 2004 you are a victim of identity fraud and you need to contact the credit agencies, your back and your local law enforcement agency. Time is very important and the faster you get started the better off you will be. You must pay for a full credit report and Monday report everything. Good Luck and be patient and aggressive.

4) First of all, you don't need to waste your money on credit repair. You can do it all for just the cost of postage. By law, any creditor who denies you credit has to provide in writing the reason for the denial as per the FCRA. You must be told if information in your file has been used against you. Anyone who uses a credit report or another type of consumer report to deny your application for credit, insurance, or employment – or to take another adverse action against you – must tell you, and must give you the name, address, and phone number of the agency that provided the information. If you have those credit denials look to see what they list as their reason. This will help you to file a dispute with the Credit Reporting Agencies if this inforation is indeed incorect. It if is due to that loan taken out in 2004 then ithere is no doubt someone used your information to obtain it. Here is a link to the FTC on how to dispute items with the CRA's http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/menus/consumer/credit/reports.shtm You can prove it was not your debt by sending them copies of your birth certificate and Social Security Card to verify your age. The CRA's will then have 30 days to validate the debt as being yours. Identity theft victims and active duty military personnel have additional rights. For more information, visit ww.ftc.gov/credit. Hope this answers your question LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The advice contained herein is for informational purposes only. It is not to be construed as Legal Counsel nor Legal Advice.

5) You should start by pulling your credit history from all three agencies to see what is on it - sounds like there may be errors. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com

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