What is your current FICO/credit score?
What is your current FICO/credit score?
Mine is 667. I have never used credit cards, and I don't have any debt. My partner, whose FICO score is 780, currently has about twice their annual salary in debt.
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Mine is 667. I have never used credit cards
You answered your (obvious) question as to why you don't have a good credit score with this very line. Stop using your debit card. Use a credit card for everyday purchases, and pay the fucker off when you get paid. Mine is over 800 and the only credit lines I have are credit cards (without balances).
This is also good advice for transaction safety. If you have to charge a vendor back on a debit card the bank has to try to retrieve your money. If its on a credit card, it has to retrieve their money, guess which one they will put more effort into.
To add to this, if your debit card is used fraudulently, that money is gone from your bank account forever. If your credit card is used fraudulently, you are on the hook for maximum $50, and in my experience it has always been $0.
I have had fraudulent charges show up on a CC about once every 2-3 years. In each case, the worst hassle is waiting a few days for a new card to arrive. That alone is enough for me to never use a debit card unless absolutely necessary.
if your debit card is used fraudulently, that money is gone from your bank account forever
Eh, this must be a case by case thing. One of my cards was compromised a couple months ago, my bank was good and got it blocked pretty quickly but one transaction for like $250 went through before they caught it, they refunded me the money in like 3 days.
Yeah you're right. "Could be gone forever" is probably more accurate. I imagine most banks would give you a bit of leeway, just like most CCs aren't going to hold you liable for the first $50 like they technically could.
But at the same time, that money is gone immediately from your account, so if a sizable amount gets debited it could put you in a pickle until/if they refund it.
Totally depends on how much your bank values you as a customer. Which means it's dependent on the bank itself and their policies. About 8 years ago, the company I worked for at the time had their debit card info stolen. About $5600 was charged, bank basically told us to pound sand.