I have a fair number of rolling or service accounts which do not appear on the credit reports which I pulled from the big three. - I have an apartment in a large complex in Texas which I keep for professional convenience. The rent is paid every month on time and has been for three years. I have never been late, and won't before I terminate my tenancy. - I also subscribe to an electrical utility which has a similar payment history. Once again, I will not be late during the period of service. - I have had the same internet hosting service for approximately 14 years, with whom I have a perfect payment history. - I had a phone service which I closed because I moved out of their service area two years ago. Perfect payment history for four years. - I have three tenancies in houses in the last 7 years (including the one I'm living in now) where the landlord was or is a professional property manager, and I never paid rent late once. Great. So. None of that does diddly squat for my credit rating. I'm sure a bunch of you have similar business relationships. So why don't they show up on our credit reports? I can't imagine that there's any sort of limitation about saying verifiably true good things about someone. Is there a way to get previously unreported good things entered onto a credit history? Shouldn't I do that? How do I do that? How do my happy creditors do that? Can we help? "Dear Creditor, Please report me to the credit reporting agencies. I think our involvement over the past few years has been mutually beneficial, and I have enjoyed the use of your services, for which I have paid promptly and cheerfully. Credit reporting isn't just for bad things. It's for good things, too. Your support of my credit health makes it easier and more pleasant for me to purchase your services. Thanks and have a great day! Me" We spend so much time fighing the JERKS, why can't we enjoy the good business relationships we've got? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
None of the ones mentioned will ever appear on your credit reports. No landlord ever reports good tenants' payment histories to CRAs. Phones, other utilities are necessities, and not credit related.
Hmmm. Is there any reason why your landlord can't report? Necessity or not, I pay my rent in a timely fashion because I think it's the right thing to do. Prompt payment for an agreed upon value. Some people don't. Enough so that many landlords use a credit check as part of your qualification to rent. Also, if you do have a poor payment history with an apartment complex, they probably will report... The internet hosting service is actually an indulgence. The pipe is a necessity, and email can be had for free. I have a negative from TXU due to mail problems which were caused by snowplows and mailboxes not being able to exist in the same space at the same time. The nice lady at TXU had a laugh and said they'd clear it up. They did, however, report negatively. Why not a positive? What I'm saying is that I have a relatively brief reported credit history because most of the businesses that I've had relationships haven't reported that I was a good customer. I'll bet there's lots of people, probably including you, greg, who have many healthy business relationships which go unreported. Here's another example: I had a horrible spring, medically. After health insurance deductibles, I owed about $3k, all to one hospital. After some initial confusion about how much I actually owed (several different bills from different business units), I got the billing office to consolidate the accounts and worked out a payment plan which we were both very happy with. I'm paid off as of tomorrow. It was a debt. I paid in installments as agreed on time, and the hospital extended me credit. I doubt it will end up on my report, but it's more characteristic of my business activities than the dispute I have with Charter Communications over their failure to cancel my service when requested. I want that truthful good stuff to show up. I'm a good person. I live within my means and I pay my bills, and I think my credit report should reflect that. Aren't the CRAs *required* to report truthful information which is reported to them? If they are, then those fat pigs will damned well eat from my wholesome trough of truth or choke on it. I want to know how we're gonna chain them to it.<g>
It's not that he can't, it's that he's not going to pay the fees to join the CRAs as a reporting entitiy. He would have to pay for a subscription, use their software, and a bunch of other stuff. No one that rents privately is going to go to that length, or pay that kind of money. They wouldn't make it back on the rent. Utilies (which include your internet provider) only report negative histories, for the most part. I'm not sure if that's a cost issue or not. Or maybe they don't get reported until they go to a CA, at which time the CA will report. As far as what they're required to report, they report what is reported to them by those who pay to be part of their clientele, not just anyone who writes to them to say that they want something reported.
When I rent, I make sure the contract requires that I pay the rent to a third party Trustee, usually a title company. They charge a fee, but I also require in the contract that the title company report my payment history to the Bureaus. All my rent shows up and I have used that payment history to show banks for mortgages.
OK... So that means that I could probably ask at least a few of these creditors to report and get positives on my report. I certainly don't see anything wrong with loading my credit report with truthful good account histories. I suspect that some agencies or organizations might object because it is a perversion or subversion of their nasty little racket. (Eat up little ring necked goose...)
