If you’re planning on applying for a credit card, loan, mortgage or even a new mobile phone contract, the chances are you’ll need to undergo a credit check. This means that lenders will examine your credit report to decide whether you meet the necessary criteria for approval.
Unfortunately, not everyone has a perfect credit history – but that’s nothing to be ashamed of. Financial problems can strike at any time and they don’t necessarily mean you won’t be able to get approved for credit in the future. You may, however, need to take steps to raise your credit score before you can get approved. One option would be to look for reliable credit monitoring services such as MyFico, Identity Guard, Equifax, Identity Force, or Identity Works - just to name a few.
In this article, we explain five super easy ways to raise your credit score in the UK.With a thorough understanding of the credit reporting system, you could improve your chances of getting approved for the financial products you want and need.
Check Your Report for Errors
Although the major credit reference agencies do an admirable job of keeping their records up to date, there’s always a chance that they could get certain details wrong. It’s important to check your own credit report to ensure that nothing is amiss, and it isn’t even hard to do.
The UK has three major credit reference agencies – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Each should respond to requests by individuals to investigate reporting errors, and you can even take the matter up with the lender who has made an incorrect report.
In any case, it only makes sense to ensure that your credit report is a fair reflection of your financial reality.
Avoid Payday Loans
It’s certainly true that any form of finance can be problematic if you fail to repay what you owe on time, but payday loans put borrowers at greater risk. This is because they often come with high rates of interest and somewhat restrictive terms attached. These can make it much harder to keep up with your obligations, and could cause your credit score to slip after even one late repayment.
Thankfully there are lots of alternatives to payday loans, with many modern-day direct lenders and credit brokers making it easy to get approved for fast and flexible finance.
Register to Vote
It might be hard to make the connection between voting and your credit rating, but getting your name onto the electoral roll could boost your score. This is because credit reference agencies use the electoral roll to verify your identity, and so it can be highly beneficial to add your name to the register.
Build a Better Repayment History
Proving that you’re a responsible borrower is key to improving your credit score. This is because lenders are interested in how you’ve handled credit in the past, and will carefully examine your payment history to understand whether you generally repay what you owe.
By making payments on time and in full, you can improve your repayment history and show lenders that you can be trusted with a loan, credit card, or any other form of finance.
Beat CCJs with a Certificate of Satisfaction
Nobody’s perfect, and there are plenty of people who’ve slipped up with borrowing in the past. While a mistake can make things harder, it needn’t prevent you from accessing the money you need – even if a County Court Judgment (CCJ) has been granted against you.
CCJs are usually recorded on your credit file for six years, except where you repay what you owe within one month of the order. Once your debt has been settled, it really can help to ask for a ‘Certificate of Satisfaction’. This can be presented to the credit reference agencies, and they can then apply a marker to your report showing lenders that you confronted your issues.
The Bottom Line
While money problems are often difficult to deal with, it really does help to know how the credit score system works. By taking a few well-planned steps to improve your score, you’ll stand a much better chance of getting approved for credit in the future.
