Ten Top Tips To Improve Your Credit History
"The first is to obtain a copy of your credit report to see if there are any discrepancies or warnings and to get these taken care of first.
"The second is to register on the voters roll. This will prove your current address and will say who you are when you apply for a loan.
"Thirdly, if you have never had a loan before, start by taking out a small loan, repay it fully. This will start to build your credit history and will show that you can repay a loan later. It is important to have a loan history so that lenders can see that you are not a high risk person and that you have the ability and inclination to repay a loan.
"Fourth, you want to ensure you have a bank account with a high street bank which your pay will be deposited with. This will prove your income and personal information that a lender will require.
"If you have made late payments in the past on loans, try to make the payments come out of your account automatically, and a couple days after you get paid this will prevent accidentally missing a payment. Missing payments or late payments can hinder your credit rating.
"It is very important that you do not exceed your credit limit. Doing so indicates that you are in financial problems and can negatively affect your credit rating. It is always best to stay below your limit so that payments are easier to manage.
"If you have credit lines that are open and not used, close them. A bank will look at the open lines and may think that you have the potential to max them out and be unable to pay off another loan.
"Do not max out any credit lines that you do have. A bank will think that you are having trouble paying them off and may reject another loan, afraid that it will put you in financial distress.
"If you were living with someone at the same address, but are not any more, serve notice that you are not together. There are credit agencies that can help you do this. The reason for this is that if they max out their credit or have a poor rating it will reflect on you.
"Finally if you are in financial distress get a budget calculator. This can help you to determine where you need to make payments and often this is all that is required to help you back on the road to a better credit rating.