| How Your Credit Rating Affects You And How To | | | | many times your rating has been checked recently. |
| Check It | | | | Things that happened more recently are given more |
| Michael Knowles | | | | weight than things that happened a long time ago. |
| You might not know it, but every time you take out | | | | Why Your Credit Rating is Important |
| any kind of loan or credit or pay something back, it | | | | Any time you get turned down for a credit card or |
| gets counted on your credit rating. Who keeps a | | | | any other loan, the chances are that it was because |
| record on you will vary according to where you live, | | | | of your credit rating. Companies giving out small loans |
| but the big three credit reference agencies are | | | | are far more likely to rely completely on this rating |
| Experian, Equifax and Trans Union. They will provide | | | | than to bother checking your income, and a worse |
| your credit rating to any company that is considering | | | | rating will mean that you are offered a higher interest |
| lending you money. | | | | rate. Your rating is important when you get car loans |
| What is Included in Your Credit Rating | | | | and mortgages too. You don't want to find a house |
| All the debts you currently have are included in your | | | | you love only to get turned down for the mortgage |
| credit rating. There is a history of all the debts you've | | | | thanks to your habit of paying your credit card bills |
| had in the past ten years or so, and special emphasis | | | | late. |
| is put on anything that has gone wrong. Defaulting | | | | How to Check Your Credit Rating |
| (never paying) on any debt will ruin your credit rating | | | | Credit reference agencies can't hold your information |
| completely. Borrowing a lot before you start paying | | | | on file without telling you what it is they have. If you |
| anything back will make you look like a very bad risk, | | | | write them a letter and pay a very small fee, they |
| and so will going all the way up to (or even over) | | | | have to send you the full credit report that they |
| your limit on a credit card. | | | | have about you. You are also entitled to a free credit |
| It is also worth considering that the credit reports of | | | | report once per year. Copy and paste this link in your |
| anyone you live with may be linked to your report, | | | | browser for more information |
| and could reflect badly on you. Your wife or | | | | You can then check over your credit rating, and send |
| husband's credit rating is tied to yours quite closely. | | | | a letter back to the agency telling them about |
| How Your Credit Rating is Worked Out | | | | anything that you think isn't right. You might find that |
| The most common method of coming up with your | | | | a screw-up has made you look bad when it wasn't |
| rating is called 'FICO', named after the Fair Isaac | | | | your fault. They will include anything you send in your |
| Corporation, who invented it. Your current credit | | | | file. In some countries, you may find that you can |
| status is prioritized, in this order: whether you've paid | | | | sign up to get credit reports regularly for a small fee, |
| past debts, how much debt you currently have, your | | | | or even for free! Make sure to check your local laws. |
| credit history, the types of debt you use, and how | | | | |