Having poor or non-existent credit can be a distressing and crippling situation. Not only do you fear having to go before a loan officer, but having poor credit could end up costing you a position or getting access to basic amenities in some cases.
However, you should know that there are concrete things everybody can do to improve their credit situation. Some of these only require a minor effort on your part, and many of them won’t cost you a thing. Here are some ways that you could start fixing your credit starting today.
Get Your Credit Report
This is the very first thing that you should do. There’s nothing worse than getting rejected for a loan or card application because you had an error on your report or an account you’ve paid off that is still showing.
Make sure that you get your hands on your credit report. All UK citizens are entitled to a free copy of their report from one of the three major agencies: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax.
You are then free to report any issues and have them corrected within 28 days. Each service will have an easy to follow the procedure to dispute false information. It is your right to have these issues straightened, so make sure that you order your copy today and see if everything is in order.
Take Some Good Debt
First of all, you have to know that debt isn’t inherently bad. In fact, there are plenty of ways that you can improve your credit using debt. It’s also the only way that you can start building a credit history.
One of the ways that you can do this is by getting a secured credit card. This is a card that is backed by collateral. This collateral is usually a sum of money that you will be asked to deposit. This will eventually be the credit limit on the credit card.
The other option is to get a short-term loan. There are plenty of short-term loan providers in the UK that will allow you to borrow anywhere from £100-£1500 and pay it back over a short period of time. You can get short term loans UK from providers like Bingo Loans for instance, who will pay more attention to your current income when deciding if you’re eligible. So, this could be an option to consider if you have a steady income.
However, in order for both methods to be successful, you have to behave responsibly. Just one late payment could be enough to ruin your efforts, so make sure that you can handle the debt and pay on time each month.
Become an Authorised User
Another way that you can start improving your credit is to become an authorised user on someone else’s account. A lot of people don’t know this, but being an authorised user will allow you to benefit from the main user’s activity, and it will show on your report. On the other hand, any bad information will also show, so that could be a double-edged sword.
Just using these few tips could be enough to start turning your credit report around and slowly start rebuilding it. Make sure, however, that you follow through with some responsible spending and budgeting if you want to keep your good name.
