Thread: PLEASE HELP! No credit & paying bills in someone else´s name

Hi. I´m 29 years old and have never been in debt, which also means that credit agencies don´t know of my existence. I have a checking account with a local bank and a savings account on Discover Bank. 13 months ago , I started paying bills (Visa, Cable, AT&T, utilities, etc.) with my checking account instead of using cash or money orders. The problem is that those bills I´m paying have always been in my mother´s name.

My question is: Since I have a history of at least 5 recurrent monthly payments (totaling $300) for the last 13 months, shouldn´t it be enough to establish some creditworthiness?

Thank you all in advance.

Doesn't sound like you are getting "credit" for those credit lines being paid. They would be reflected on your mom's credit report.

Yeah I know I´m not building any credit history by paying those bills, and that´s what concerns me. But, what I would like to know is since I have proof that it is me making those payments, if there is a way I can use that to convince my bank to give a small loan, or a credit card, something to help me build my own credit.

You can try - it really depends on the individual bank. Smaller banks or local credit unions might be more likely to do it as they often have less formalized requirements.

A couple things that could help you out also would be a secured credit card (just deposit $100 or so to start), a Visa debit card with overdraft protection (this counts as a credit line) and even a cell phone on monthly billing.

It's definitely worth a shot - call around to a few places and even if the place you calls won't do it, they might know of another bank in town who does. Good luck!