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This article is for information only. It does not constitute advice. Chase Saunders Ltd does not provide services for savings, investments, mortgages or insurance. You should seek advice on these areas from a qualified financial advisor.
Am I Credit Worthy?
There are rules and regulations for everything and getting credit is included. No one has an automatic right to credit, but some people do get refused on the basis of bad credit rating. However, there are ways to tackle this problem and find out if you are credit worthy or not. Suspicion about the state of your financial situation usually arises when applying for a store card or credit card. Most High Street lenders will make a decision on whether or not to grant you credit on the basis of information supplied by the countries two leading credit reference agencies - Experian and Equifax.
Experian is a business information company. Its principal line of business is consumer credit rating. It also holds other information which enables its clients to make business decisions, for example, company records, insurance information, vehicle details and lifestyle data.
Equifax credit reporting agent rates private persons anywhere from the USA to Uruguay (obviously including the UK). In short both firms compile credit histories from a host of different sources, including the electoral roll, county court judgements and how effectively past debts have been paid.
If you have been refused credit, whether you know why or not, it is always worth checking your history. Experian and Equifax do not turn down your right to look at your own credit information. The decision to refuse credit lies in the hands of the lenders and is usually based on their own criteria.
However, if you are refused credit it is always worth making enquiries to look at your credit history just to make sure no mistakes have been made. It is usually the case that the decision to refuse you credit has been done through a computerised scoring system. This takes into account the information on your credit report as well as the information you give them on your application form.
If this is the case, you can always get this decision reviewed. Little things like not being registered on the electoral roll and not being eligible to vote my also hinder credit applications. Being registered on the electoral roll is important because when you apply for credit, lenders use this to check your name and address. If you are not eligible to vote you can add a note to your credit report explaining this.
Getting credit does not always have to be such a chore, and it is not hard to get the proverbial ball rolling if you know how to.
Created on 18/05/2007 15:34:53
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