Do you feel as though your credit rating could do with a boost? You’re not alone! Credit reference agencies are showing record numbers of people ordering online credit reports in an effort to improve their scores. In this article we’ll aim to show you the top 3 ways to improve your credit rating, starting today.
1. Make Sure You’re On The Electoral Register
Huge amounts of credit applications will no doubt be rejected in the next 12 months because the applicants aren’t registered to vote. Whilst the connection between borrowing money and voting in national elections may not seem obvious at first when you think about trust and responsible behaviour it starts to become clear. It’s highly unlikely that fraudsters will register their personal details and address with the government before attempting to swindle credit agencies. So your first step is the most important, exercise your right to vote and get on that register!
2. Cancel Your Old Accounts
Despite the majority of money saving websites out there telling you to keep your old credit accounts open “just in case”, it’s actually far more beneficial to shut down the ones you’ve moved on from and no longer use. Time and time again we’re seeing people’s credit scores being negatively effected by them having an abundance of unused accounts. So as you can see, your second step is to work out which accounts you can do with out and say goodbye.
3. Not Ready To Cancel? Try Downgrading…
If cancelling your old accounts seems overly aggressive then perhaps you should try a more subtle approach – lowering your credit limits.
If you’re accounts are all sitting pretty, with a fair amount of credit spare each month we’d suggest you try giving your credit card companies a call and asking them to reduce your limit to a more suitable level. It’s generally believed amongst the well educated that having too much available credit can actually have a negative effect on your overall score.
There you have it, your third and final step is to find that happy balance between having enough credit to use month on month and having far too much spare so that it negatively impacts your ability to borrow in the future. As always, less is more.