Your credit score can be viewed online if your credit history is less than six months. This information can be accessed online by all three credit bureaus, as well third-party score providers. It is possible to not see your score or there may be a technical glitch. This is normal, and you will not get penalized.
Why you won't be able to see your credit score
There are several reasons why your credit score might not be visible. For starters, if you have recently paid off a loan, you may have received a hard inquiry on your report, which temporarily lowers your score. You may also have a shorter credit history, which can cause a drop in your score. This is important because 10% is determined by the age of your accounts. So paying off a debt can reduce your credit score.
You may not have enough credit information to show your credit score. Because not all lenders report account activity directly to the credit bureaus, your report may be inaccurate. Also, your score will not be calculated based upon recent activity. Your credit history may also be inaccurate or outdated.
Technical problems
Lenders assess credit scores to determine if a potential borrower would be a good candidate for loan approval. Sometimes technical problems can prevent lenders from accessing the data. Equifax, a multinational consumer credit report agency, experienced a glitch that affected more than one million customers. It resulted in increased interest rates and denied loan applications. Despite its effects, the company corrected the problem.
Although it's not an ideal situation, you should try to contact your credit reporting company right away to find out what happened. In the last few years, there have been numerous data breaches by companies that have exposed consumer information. Equifax revealed the financial histories of 150 million people in one data breach. The company settled for $700m. The affected consumers received four years free credit monitoring, up to $125 cash and four year's worth of free credit monitoring. Money asked Equifax for comment. It did not respond, however it recommended that consumers review their credit reports frequently.
Equifax may still be facing problems with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, even though it has now fixed the initial issue. The bureau is now investigating the three largest credit-reporting firms. This glitch affected 2.5 million consumers in three weeks. The scores of all three companies are often viewed by mortgage lenders.
Credit bureau error
If you believe that your credit report contains an error, you have the right to dispute it. Contact the bureau concerned and provide more details. Sometimes, the bureau may not agree with you and report it to your credit report. You can still dispute the bureau's decision by providing additional details.
While errors won't affect your credit score in most cases, they could affect your ability to obtain credit in the future. If you have an error on your credit report, you should dispute it to prevent further damage. This process is free and simple, even though it may take some time. If your credit report contains inaccurate information, you should contact the bureau as soon as possible.
The data furnisher can be contacted if the credit bureau refuses to correct the error. This is the bank that provided the data. The data furnisher should appear on your credit reports. The data furnisher is allowed to investigate your complaint within 30 days. If they find that the information is inaccurate, they must remove it from your report.