COLUMN - advice on credit scores from Amanda Heath at MADMAC
Did you know that future lenders want to know how attractive you are?
During the month of February, you may be asking yourself the same question and equate this to if you receive a Valentine’s card or two in the post!
Your credit report is one of the only things a future lender can look at to see if you are a good risk or a bad risk to lend money too.
We all need credit at some point in our lives, whether that’s for a mortgage, car HP or even just good deals on gas and electric.
It is worth doing some work to increase your credit attractiveness.
Most people never look at their reports so start with taking a look at a couple to see what is being held in your name.
There is no legal requirement for any lender to report your credit to every credit report out there so it is worth checking a couple such as Experian and TransUnion.
Here is a few tips to get you started.
Make sure you are paying on time each month the amount you are contracted to pay.
This makes you very attractive to future lenders as you are doing what you said you would.
Spread out future asks for credit, so you are not asking for three types of credit at one time.
This can make you look desperate to future lenders, and it could put them off wanting you as a customer.
Try and make sure that you are using less than 20 per cent of your overall credit limits.
This can put your score higher for future lenders.
But the last thing to remember is, what one lender finds attractive in you, another may not. Just like relationships, they all differ!
Every lender will have their own target customers and own scoring system that you will not see and does not collate to the scoring system you see, which I know sounds complicated but it is worth knowing.
Visit www.madmacmoney.co.uk for more free, confidential and impartial advice from our team at MADMAC.
Go online as well at www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score/ to see more tips on this topic from money expert Martin Lewis.