It means that you had late payments on accounts you have open right now, or account you used to have.

Since you have not applied for credit before, this makes no sense. Go to and pull copies of your credit report from all three credit bureaus. This is free to do. Also, contact the place that declined your credit card application and ask for a copy of your credit report. They are legally obligated to provide it to you since you were denied credit. When you have copies of your credit report, review them and see what is on there. If there is information about late accounts that you never had – then you can dispute those with the credit bureau and start the process to get them removed from your credit report. You really should make the effort to get this cleared up right now while you are young. Your credit report will impact you your whole life. You never know, maybe someone stole your identity and is ruining your credit. So please, look into it and take care of it now!!

definately go to each institution and dispute the claim, are there any other erroneous charges? I hope someone didn’t get your into. Also, call the county courthouse where the documentation was filed and see if you can obain a copy of it, you may find the information you need to dispute the claim with the credit bureau’s

I have recently paid off all my debt and passed the course on Credit Where Credit Is Due. I had this added to my credit reports from all 3 bureaus. My reports are all clean except TransUnion. Another debt from back in the day showed up on it but not the others. You really have to stay in touch with the agencies. Dispute information when necessary and stay on it. I did.
Also…. now that I cleaned it all up I don’t have a report on record. New or archived. This means I must get back in touch and address this issue also. Keep seeking answers and be persistent! Good Luck!

If you already ran your credit report, there should be a reference number on the top from Trans Union. You can call their customer service # @
1-800-916-8800

With that credit card company yes. I would recommend contacting the bureau the company used and getting a free credit report. Look at it and verify it’s accuracy so that you don’t lower your score even more by applying for other credit cards which you will be denied.

probably a keying error – someone entered the info for another person and mis-entered the soc sec # – check all your credit reports and contact any that have the incorrect info and write them and have them remove the wrong info -

You need to get a copy of the credit report. The company that turned you down must supply you with a free copy of the report they used to base their decision on.

If you truly have never applied for a credit card, you could be the victim of identity theft and there are steps to take to cure this situation. Although recent laws have made it easier to clear this kind of situation up, it is still a nightmare.

If you find that you have been a victime, be sure to contact a reputable company that can help you. Contact your BBB for a recommendation as there are many, many companies offering to clean up your credit for a fee that are complete frauds.

Dispute the item with the credit bureaus. It could be a keying error or just someone with a similar name.

The sad truth is that even though the law requires that the information collected about you be 100% accurate and 100% complete, it never is. If you check your credit reports and there is no problem that you can detect then you should contact the company that denied you and let them know that the reasons they used to deny you are not valid. It could be that they received information on a person with a similar name or a SSN that is close to yours. This happens ALL THE TIME. In fact, it has even happened to me. I was confused with my father (he is a Sr. and I am a Jr.) and they used his credit report to give me a line of credit. In my case it did no harm as I have excellent credit and so does my father. But it only illustrates that this can happen.

I do not know if this is the case with your situation but it is one option to look at.

Good luck to you.

If you have any questions regarding credit issues, you may email me at

It means exactly what it says. That you have credit that you have not paid. If you have never had any credit, you would be wise to get a copy of your credit report. You can get one free since you just applied for credit…. should be info on the letter on how to request a copy.
You might be a victim of identity theft. Meaning, someone has been opening credit accounts under your name and ss# and then defaulting on the accounts.
If this is the case, you have a long hard road ahead of you. Do not hesitate to call the major credit agencies to seek help and advice. Experian, Transunion & Equifax.
Good luck