Practical Tips to Improve Your Credit Rating

As the economy continues to be in doldrums, lenders are becoming very cautious to the people they give credit facilities. Some lenders charge high interest rates to individuals with poor credit rating as a way of mitigating the default risk involved. A good credit rating will definitely boost the chances of getting financial products such as mortgages, personal loans and credit cards from banks and other lending institutions. On the hindsight, a poor credit rating will limit your borrowing options. It is therefore very important to put strategies in place to improve your credit rating. Discussed below are ways you can improve your credit rating:

Always Pay Your Bills on Time

Never miss to make a loan or a mortgage repayment on time because it will affect your credit scores adversely. Paying your bills on time will avoid incurring penalties that could have reflected in your credit file. If you are in a fix and cannot make to pay your bills on time, talk to your lenders as early as possible.

Cancel All Expired Credit Cards

Most individuals switch cards often but fail to cancel old credit cards even if they no longer use them. When you do not cancel these cards, they still appear on your credit file. This will affect your credit rating negatively. It is therefore recommended that you cancel all the expired credit cards and have this information logged on in your credit file.

Check Your Credit Report Regularly

Ensure that you check your credit report on a regular basis semi-annually or annually from the main credit reference agencies which are Equifax and Experian. Checking your credit file will only cost you £2 but it is worth it because you will ascertain that the information on your credit report is accurate and up to date. Not all lenders that inform credit reference agencies of all changes that happen in your account right away and therefore you will have the opportunity to ensure that they have the updated details. It is also good to keep a close look for charges in your credit file which may be caused by identity theft or duplicate entries of unpaid balances. If you notice something amiss in your credit report, you should have it rectified immediately to ensure that you have the right rating.

Always Give Correct Information

Ensure that the information you supply on your loans, mortgages and credit cards applications are truthful and accurate. Inconsistencies of information provided will negatively affect your credit rating and may even be considered as a fraud.

Avoid Too Many Enquiries on Your Credit Report

When you are scouring for loans, ensure that lenders do not make equerries about your credit report without your knowledge. Lenders should only access your credit report when you have requested them to do so. Multiple credit checks within a short time spun can affect your credit score since it can imply that you are so desperate to get as much credit as possible even if you are not in a capacity to service all the credits.

Controlling your credit card expenses will also help to improve your credit rating. Aim to maintain your credit card balance at less than 25 % of your overall limit. Whatever the method of improving your credit score you employ, ensure that you are consistent.


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5 Ways to Avoid a Bad Credit Record

Having a bad credit record can severely impact on your life in a range of ways. You can experience difficulty finding a place to rent, as well as having applications for credit cards, loans and even phone contracts constantly knocked back. Preserving your credit record is particularly important if you are considering a home loan in the next few years. Here are 5 simple ways to avoid a bad credit record.

Create a Budget

Making sure that you have an accurate and detailed budget will help you to stay on track with all of your payments and expenses. You may need to spend several hours assessing your income and expenses in order to have a clear idea of what you have available for savings and bill payments. Try and allocate a saving account for emergency situations, and aim to have 3 months of your expenses saved at all times. This will cover you in case you temporarily aren’t able to earn your normal income.

Keep Your Details Up-to-Date

Ensuring that you stay up-to-date with any change of address and contact details will allow creditors to contact you directly. You can inadvertently damage your credit record by forgetting to update your change of address, and as a result miss any bills and outstanding payment notices that are being sent to your old residence. It also allows any creditors to contact you promptly in the event of a problem, which can save your credit record from receiving any unnecessarily damaging records.

Don’t Max out Your Cards

Try and stick to the minimum spending on your credit cards, and always pay it back as punctually as possible. Try not to max out your cards, as it increases the risk that you may not be able to make a repayment if your circumstances change.

Contact Your Creditors

If you’re experiencing issues making a payment, make sure you contact your creditors directly. You’d be surprised just how understanding they can be when given plenty of notice. Quite often they will make special allowances for cases of financial hardship, especially if you can present them with a structured plan of when you will be meeting your payment obligations.

Don’t Ignore the Problem

The worst thing you can possibly do is to ignore any credit issues. Being late on payment or worse, not paying at all, will do almost irreparable damage to your credit record. As soon as you are struggling to make your payments, you should contact your creditors to organise an alternative arrangement. If you aren’t comfortable doing this, an experienced debt solutions provider such as Fox Symes can negotiate with your creditors on your behalf. They will also assist in all kinds of debt help, from consolidation to personalised budgeting advice.

Preserving your good credit record should always be a financial priority. With the devastating impacts that a bad credit rating can have, your quality of life can be seriously reduced from even the smallest indiscretion. If you think you might have trouble meeting your repayment obligations, consider enlisting the help of professional debt solutions specialists.

Tips for Buying a Car with a Bad Credit Score

Do you have bad credit but want to buy a car? There are many individuals in the same position. Listed below are tips that may help you get your car despite a poor credit history.

1. Check out local car dealers

Car dealerships may work with you in financing a car, especially with the recent economic upheavals. Check with dealers in your local area about the options that are available to you in acquiring a vehicle. Do not be afraid to negotiate for better prices and lower down payments. You can also do some of your research online and save yourself time and legwork.

2. Get the best price possible

If you have your eye on an auto that really appeals to you and, upon checking it out, have found it to fit your needs, do a bit of research among several dealers in your neighborhood who sell that make and model. Check out the prices that are being offered and see who can give you the best price for your car.

3. Get a free copy of your credit report

Every year, you are entitled to receive a free credit report from one of the three credit bureaus in existence, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. Read over your report carefully and check for any inaccuracies that could be giving you a lower score than you deserve. When you have a copy of your credit report to refer to, it will give you a better idea of your current credit situation and the steps you will need to take to improve it.

4. Consider used rather than new

Of course, you would love to have a new car, but you might want to consider obtaining a used one that will be less costly and easier to purchase. You may be able to acquire a new vehicle in the near future when you have given yourself time to clean up your credit history and improve your score.

5. Try pre-financing

Websites such as RoadLoans.com will provide you with pre-financing that can be a very useful option for you when buying a car. It is a simple process to fill out the loan application. In most cases, you will know within 24 hours if you have been approved for a car loan.

6. Work out a budget for car payments

Before actually buying your car, work out a budget plan to see if you will be able to afford the car payments each month. Do not jump into purchasing a car unless you know beforehand if you can afford to pay for it.

There are ways to obtain a car even when you are plagued with bad credit or no credit at all.

Melanie Lewis writes for a site that provides information on car loans with bad credit as well as a useful payment estimator to help you calculate your monthly payments.

The many flavor of online loans

Getting a loan online is now easier than ever: there are many lenders offering instant approval, so that you can get the money in your account on the same day. However, there are also many risks associated with taking loans online. The first of them is that your personal data may fall into the wrong hands, and therefore you should always verify all the companies, before registering with them or sending them any applications. 

Understanding the Different Types of Lenders

One of the main advantages of searching for a loan online is that you can use more than the traditional brick and mortar bank as a lender. If your credit union has a good online presence, you can also apply there for a loan – and, even if credit unions were a bit slow to adjust to the digital age, things are starting to change, and many of them now provide online services.

Also, you can find peer to peer lending sites, where the investors are people just like you, who try to diversify their investment portfolio and make some profit by lending money to others. The procedures and requirements vary drastically from one lender to another. Even if you were rejected by many banks before, you may be able to obtain a good deal online, if you use your negotiation skills and you present a strong case for yourself.

How to Compare Online Loans

Most of the loans that you can obtain online are unsecured bad credit loans, allowing you to borrow small amounts for a short period of time, usually with a relatively high interest rates and quite pricey transaction fees. As such, it's not wise to abuse these loans, even if they're very accessible and easy to take, but remember they can also bury you in debt in no time, if you're not careful. (Of course, this doesn't apply if you're just using an online platform to access services provided by your bank, such as revolving credit lines or pre-approved loans.)

The competition among lenders is also high, which means they will try to grab your attention with a lot of advertising and hype. Avoid the temptation of borrowing too much, just because you found a good deal – there will be other good deals in the future as well, so only take what you need for the moment. Also, do not let yourself pressured into renewing your loan, if you don't need to.

When you compare loans from multiple vendors, always check the total amount to be repaid, which will give you a better view than comparing just the interest rates. Of course, interest rates matter as well, but, because these loans are for such short term, the closing fees and other associated costs can be much higher than the actual rates.

Take advantage of the possibility to compare loans and lenders with a couple of clicks, and select the best offer for your needs, taking all factors into account. Most of these loans have very high penalties for even one day of delay, so always take the appropriate measures to repay them on the due date, without failure.