What is the story with my credit rating?

Question

I moved to England from Ireland three years ago and I study in London. Recently I tried to get a contract mobile phone and was told my credit rating was too low. How do I improve it, or find out what the problem is. Thanks

Answer 1

Presuming that you don't have any outstanding debts, you probably have a low credit history because you have NO credit history.

Quite simply, you need to try to get some credit so that your credit history shows good credit (yes I know its warped because you can't get credit without a credit history etc etc). The easiest way to do this is to get a store card from a high street store (Dixons, BHS, Marks and Spencers etc) or apply for a "starter" credit card such as Capital One.

Once you have one of these it should take about 3-4 weeks to show up on your credit report and you'll suddenly find that you have gone from zero credit to through-the-roof credit!

For more info and details of how to obtain your credit report, go to here:

http://www.experian.co.uk

Good luck!

PS. DON'T go anywhere near "credit repair" companies - they're a con and you'll end up worse off than when you started

Answer 2

Step-by-Step Credit Repair Guide
http://www.debt-loan-refinance-mortgage-credit.com/category/Step-by-Step-Credit-Repair-Guide.html

Answer 3

hundreds of things can affect your credit rating like being a student your postcode even family members, go to your bank and ask for a form to check your credit rating (there is a charge for it though) and to improve credit rating well get a job pay off any debt move

Answer 4

"S&P’s downgrade became as a lot a political critique as a economic end. it really is in accordance to a view that U.S. political leaders will be unable to come back up with a minimum of $4 trillion in cost reductions, it truly is needed to convey the rustic’s debt to a plausible factor over the subsequent decade." Obama provided 4.7 trillion in cuts and the republicans (together with the t-pee's) became the deal down because it might have enable the bush tax decrease's expire. so bypass ferk your self MR. restofthestory

Answer 5

Comments




COMMENT

One Week Left To Improve Your Credit Record



Credit Cards
(promotional rate and period) Typical APR Apply Now
Virgin Money
0% for 12 months
(2% fee) Typical
15.9% APR
(Variable)
Barclaycard Platinum
0% for 12 months
(2.5% fee) Typical
17.9% APR
(Variable)
Loans Typical APR Apply Now
Moneyback Bank Typical 5.6%
Northern Rock Loans Typical 5.7%
Savings AER /
Gross Min. deposit Apply Now
ICICI Bank 5.15% /
5.03% £1
ING Direct 4.75% /
4.65% £1

By Neil Faulkner (TMFVertigo)
October 3, 2006


Once a year, councils update the electoral register. This year, we have until the 10th October to ensure that our details are correct. If we don't, it means we could be left off for another year.

"Who cares?" asks the jaded public. "We don't want to vote!" But being on the electoral roll will improve your chances of getting a decent personal loan or credit card. Some lenders will flatly reject your application if you're not on it and others will deduct points from your score. Registering for the electoral roll could be the most significant thing you do to improve your credit record.

If you're not eligible to vote in UK or EU elections you could add a 'notice of correction' to your report explaining this. You could also add that you have documents proving where you live and how long you've lived there for. This could be council tax or utility company documents, for example. Hopefully, lenders will take this into account.

What you shouldn't do is pay for credit repair agencies to fix your record! If information can be added, removed or changed, the credit agencies will do it for free.

There are other things you can do to improve your chances of getting a loan. The obvious one is: don't miss any payments! For this reason, it's advisable to pay bills by direct debit. It's Foolish to pay this way anyway, because many companies, such as utilities companies, tend offer you more discounts.

You should read up on what else affects your credit rating. Some oft-repeated, but unhelpful, advice is that if your application is turned down you should find out why, but that is easier said than done. Usually lenders who have rejected you will simply say that you didn't fit their criteria. So you have to do your own research. Get a credit report and read about what affects it. Our article on 'How Credit Reports Work' is a good place to start.

Finally, this is what I'd do if I was searching for credit. It's a little subjective, but I'd try to categorise myself as an excellent, good, fair, poor or abysmal credit risk and apply for appropriate products. The reason for this is that many lenders mark you down if you apply for credit several times in a short period, so you want try and aim for a lender that will accept you straight away.

If you think you have an excellent rating, go for the lenders with the lowest interest rates. If you have a good rating, you might want to apply for loans, say, 1-2% off the top rate. You'll also want to avoid any products which are advertised for 'best customers only'. If you have a fair record, you might want to aim at products that are 2-4% off the top rate. Don't forget to take into account the rest of the small print, as it's not only about the interest rate!

If you rate your credit file as poor or abysmal, or perhaps even fair, I'd say don't just apply for the worst loans. Instead, sign up anonymously to our Dealing with Debt discussion board and get some free advice from fellow Fools on your specific circumstances.

> Get a free credit report with CreditExpert.
> Compare personal loans through The Fool.

hope this helps

Answer 6

Here in the states we can review our credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com, I am not sure where you would review yours but you might want to find out.
That is probably your first step to see what is going on with your credit.

Answer 7

www.creditexpert.co.uk you pay £4.99 and it gives you access to your full credit report and then you can see what the problem is and sort it out, when you apply for anything companies can check your credit report, so make sure you keep all your finances in order and check out the website its really good and you will see what these companies see

Answer 8

pay your bills on time!

Answer 9

no idea