What could your credit rating reveal about you, your lifestyle and your borrowing habits?
What could your credit rating reveal about you, your lifestyle and your borrowing habits? Order a free credit rating report to get the lowdown on your credit rating before your lender does.
What could your credit rating reveal about you?
If you haven’t checked your credit rating for a while, now could be the perfect time to do so. It’s amazing how much information your credit score can reveal about you, this is information that lenders check before they decide whether to lend you money or approve a credit or store card application.
Why check my credit rating?
If you are thinking of applying for credit soon it’s a great idea to check out what lenders can see in case there are any irregularities or issues that you need to deal with or dispute. For example, you may have been the victim of fraud or there may be black marks against your name because you are linked to somebody else incorrectly.
A credit report is very easy to read and understand and you can order your credit rating report from the comfort of your own home. Your credit rating will contain details about all of your existing credit accounts such as credit cards, loans, store cards and bank account overdrafts. Late payments, defaults and county court judgements (CCJs) will also be displayed if you have any.
Most credit reference agencies such as Experian (visit their site for more information) display your credit rating as a score; 999 is usually the highest score you can achieve although some agencies or credit report services display the rating as a star or percentage system.
I have late payments showing on my credit rating. Will I be refused credit?
The answer is probably not. If you only have one or two late payments showing and these date back a few months, lenders will usually overlook them. It is the credit reports with multiple late payments across multiple accounts that attract suspicion and which may give lenders cold feet.
Keep checking your credit rating regularly
Keeping a close eye on your credit rating and detailed report is sensible whether you are applying for credit now or simply trying to get your borrowing levels down. At a glance you can see important information such as the total amount that you owe, who you owe and your current borrowing limits.
This information can be a real eye opener and help you to budget and make wise borrowing choices in the future. What’s more, many credit report services match you up with the products that best suit your credit rating. If your credit rating is excellent, you will have access to the most favourable products with the lowest interest rates. As your credit rating goes down, you will still be matched with products such as credit cards and loans, but you can usually expect a higher rate of interest.
Get the lowdown before the lenders do
Thinking of taking out a loan? Considering a credit card? Before you make that online or paper application, order your credit rating report to get the lowdown on the credit information lenders are seeing. In doing so you can get a good idea if you will be likely to be accepted or rejected.
