Your
Credit Rating is More Important Than You Know!
Your credit rating is what almost all lenders
will take into consideration when you apply
for any type of credit. This can be when you
apply for a personal loan, a mortgage, right
down to simple things like pay monthly mobile
phone contracts. If your credit rating is poor
then this may affect their decision and result
in your being declined for the credit you were
looking for. In the current economic climate,
your credit rating is most important than ever,
so making sure it is in the best possible shape
is vital to ensuring you secure credit where
and when you need it. Follow our below tips
to help keep your credit file in shape:
Check
your current credit rating
Use a well known credit ratings agency such
as Experian to check your credit file for free.
Many of these credit reference companies offer
free access to your credit report for a limited
time and then you have to pay if you want further
information of longer access to it. This information
will show you all the times when a company has
checked you out for your credit rating. It will
also show any negative remarks against your
credit file that may be stopping you from securing
future credit. If there are bad comments or
ratings against your credit file, you should
find out the source of them and see what steps
need to be taken to remove them from your file.
Make
sure all your bills are settled on time and
in full
If
you regularly miss your monthly payments, this
will eventually be picked up and added to your
credit file. This then shows potential lenders
in the future that you may not be a very good
payer, meaning there is more chance they will
have trouble with you paying back the credit
they have given you. This could then lead to
a decline, simply because they may feel you
a too great a risk for them. By paying all your
bills on time you are sending a message via
your credit report to new lenders basically
saying you're a good payer, and if you lend
me money i'll pay it back on time and without
any issues. This often means the lender will
then see you as a low risk and therefore accept
you for the requested credit, as well as possibly
consider lending you more credit, over a greater
period of time, and at a lower APR.
Make
sure you are registered at your current address
to vote
Being
on the voters roll actually plays a major part
in keeping a good credit history file. Through
being on the voters roll it means that you can
be traced at your current address. Through registering
to vote at each address you have resided at
in the past it will leave a trail in your credit
file showing exactly where you have lived over
the past years, how long, when you moved house,
and so on. This is, in essence, a trail for
potential lenders to view. And it is extremely
important that the lenders can clearly see this
trail because it shows them that you can easily
be traced, and you are not hiding away trying
to avoid being located at any time. Registering
to vote is very easy, you should automatically
receive the papers through the post each year,
if not simply speak to your local council for
the correct contact details to have the voting
forms sent out. Remember, you should register
at each address even if you are just a tenant,
not just a homeowner.
Close
any old bank accounts and credit card accounts
you are not using
Whilst you may think having several bank accounts
and credit cards sitting there not being used
is useful, it can actually have an effect on
your credit file and whether a lender chooses
to accept you for creidt or not. A lender will
often consider not just what you currently owe
to others, but also what you can potentially
still borrow through your existing facilities
on top of what they may also be lending you.
If they feel you may not be able to service
this debt then you may be declined. So to avoid
any potential issues, simply close down any
old accounts you no longer require or use.
Watch
out for ID Fraud
Identity theft is larger than ever currently,
and one wrong slip could see your credit rating
take a large tumble as someone else pretnds
to be you and takes out credit and loans under
your name. Check your credit file regularly
to make sure nothing suspicious is going on
within your file and that you haven't received
any new checks that you are unaware of lately.
It is advised that you check your credit rating
regularly using a service such as experian to
stay right up to date with all things going
on with your credit rating.