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Your Money > Credit Reports Articles > The race for...
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By Yahoo!
The brakes may be coming off the economy but the race for credit is still a tough one. Lenders are still cautious, demanding a higher credit rating and setting stricter conditions if you want to borrow. Ultimately, your credit status needs to be as fit and honed as an athlete if you're to get the offers you want. This guide offers a route map for anyone who wants a loan, credit card, mortgage or even interest-free credit, a catalogue account or a good deal on mobile phone airtime contract. Assess your financial fitness Get out your bills, bank and credit card statements and take a hard look at where your money is going. Then do an audit of your borrowing by checking your credit report – the personal history of your credit accounts and repayment record. It's free to see your Experian credit report with a 30-day trial of CreditExpert. Find out what lenders want Essentially, lenders want to know two things: whether you'll repay them reliably and whether you can comfortably afford more credit. They look at your credit report to see how well you've managed credit in the past and to check how much credit you already have, so they can assess whether more will over-stretch you. The application form helps them to determine that you can comfortably afford to take on a further financial commitment by asking about your earnings, your dependents and so on. They allocate each item a value and the total is your credit score, also known as your credit rating.
Rate your chances When you try out CreditExpert, you can order your Experian Credit Score for only £5.95 to get an idea of how lenders may regard your Experian credit report. The average score for CreditExpert members is 754, which is classified as fair, representing a moderate risk that they will have problems with repayments. Younger people aged up to 24 score an average 655, which is poor and indicates a high risk of repayment problems. People of 45 and older, however, tend to have a good credit score of 880 or above and are seen as low risk. They're more likely to get the best deals, so you should aim to bring your Experian Credit Score up to this level if you want to be a contender. Get into training before you apply Go through your credit report carefully to make sure that it's up to date and accurately reflects your circumstances. If you find anything you disagree with, such as a clerical error or a disputed payment, get in touch with the relevant lender and ask them to correct it. You'll find contact details in your credit report. Step up the pace Take simple steps to boost your credit rating. For example, lenders use the electoral roll as a precaution against fraud, to check that you live where you claim you do, so you should register to vote at your current address. If you don't appear there or are still registered at a previous address, you could lose valuable points. Don't let a ringer spoil your chances Watch out for any unfamiliar or suspicious items on your credit report, such as an application you didn't make, a balance that has suddenly shot up or a bogus forwarding address – anything like this could indicate that you've become a victim of ID fraud. This happens when a criminal gets hold of enough of your personal data to impersonate you, take over your accounts or borrow money and run up debts in your name. CreditExpert will alert you whenever there's a significant change to your credit report that could indicate ID fraud and you should always follow these up if you want to protect your credit status. Get on a healthy credit diet Lenders look at the amount you could already borrow as well as what's actually outstanding, when they rate your creditworthiness, so you should close any old or unused accounts that you've kept in case you ever need them again. If you can manage to repay some smaller debts totally or knock a decent sum off larger ones before you apply, it will improve your credit score and could be worth the wait. Avoid false starts Don't apply for every deal you'd like and hope that one will come through. Every full application will leave a record on your credit report, known as a footprint. If lenders see lots of these, they may think you're desperate or even suspect fraud. By using LowerMyBills from CreditExpert, you can improve your chances of getting credit as it takes information from your credit report to match you to the credit cards, loans, mortgages that you are more likely to be accepted for. Work on past problems Missed repayments stay on the record for at least three years and depress your credit rating. If unforeseen circumstances, such as a serious illness, account for problems you've had in the past, you may be able to add a note of explanation to your credit report. Lenders will see this and may take it into account. Stay dedicated When the urge to splurge hits you, don't give in. Check your Experian credit report regularly to monitor your progress and order a new Experian Credit Score before you make an application to see how much progress you've made. You should see a real improvement over time and earn a far better chance of getting the credit you need to achieve your ambitions.
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