Q: I had my first “secured VISA” Credit Card from a Federal Credit Union planning to build my credit.
But now when I go to apply for a Non-secure VISA Credit Card the system doesn’t show any records about my credit.
The bank says that the credit card that I was using reports the credit history, but it doesn’t show anywhere… how can I fix this issue?
A: It sounds like the credit union is NOT reporting that secured Visa card to the credit bureaus.
Or perhaps they are only reporting the card and your payment history to one credit bureau.
There is only one way to know with 100% certainty if they are truly reporting it or not: and that is to get a copy of each of your three credit reports from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
You can get all three free of charge from AnnualCreditReport.com.
After you do that, closely check each report. There will be a section on those reports that says “Accounts.”
If your secured Visa doesn’t show up there, then you know that the credit union hasn’t actually been reporting it.
In that scenario, the last seven months you’ve been using the card and paying on time may not have been a waste of time.
What you should do is go to the credit union with your credit reports and show them – in plain black and white – that the card they claim to be reporting to the credit bureaus is NOT, in fact, being reported.
Ask them to do it immediately. They should also indicate the date your account was opened, as well as your credit limit.
For help in reading and interpreting your three credit reports, please read this article I’ve written entitled Key Differences Between Equifax, Experian and TransUnion Credit Reports.
It’s not uncommon after you open a new account for it to take a month or two (perhaps even three, at the longest), for that credit account/loan to show up on a credit report.
But certainly, after 7 months, it should definitely appear if it’s truly being sent to the credit bureaus.
If you don’t get a swift resolution to this, then unfortunately you were wasting your time with this credit union and I would suggest you immediately get another secured credit card elsewhere.
Good luck!
