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What affects your credit rating or score?

There are many factors that affect how financially attractive you are to lenders. If you want to improve you credit rating and score, learning those factors is a good place to start.

From learning how to control your financial behaviour to regularly checking the information contained on your credit report, let’s take a look at what affects your credit score and rating.

What affects your credit rating and score the most is your credit history.

By ensuring you maintain your payments on any credit you take you out, you can start building a good credit history. This proves to lenders you can responsibly borrow money and are able to pay it back.

Records of unpaid debts and bankruptcies stay on your credit file for a minimum of six years. This affects your credit rating because lenders consider you a higher risk if you’ve missed payments. If you’ve been unable to repay your debts once, you may be unable to repay them again.

Even forgetting to make a few repayments can land you in hot water, as lenders don’t necessarily know it simply slipped your mind. They may think you’re not reliable enough to lend money to.

 

People with whom you have a financial connection can affect your credit rating as their financial circumstances could influence your ability to make repayments.

Just living with someone doesn’t create a financial connection — you need to have a joint loan, mortgage or bank account to create financial links. If you’re a guarantor for someone else’s loan, their credit rating or score will also affect yours as you’re promising to pay their debt if they’re unable to.

Make sure you regularly check your credit report to ensure all your financial associates/connections are correct.

This is important as it gives the lender proof of your address. It has nothing to do with who you vote for; simply being on the electoral register can boost your chances of being accepted for credit. Visit www.yourvotematters.co.uk to register to vote today.

Although it isn’t something you can always control, it’s worth being aware that moving house regularly can make you appear untrustworthy to lenders. Staying at one address reflects stability, which lenders like to see.

Credit applications will normally ask you to provide your current and previous addresses for the last three years. Make sure you check the personal information recorded on your credit report regularly, as an incorrect address or inconsistency could jeopardise your application.