Five ways to improve your credit score
26 July 2023
Are you planning on buying a new car? Applying for a mortgage? Need a loan to cover cost-of-living increases? Unless you can pay for a car or house up front, all the above will require a credit check of your finances, from any potential lenders/creditors.
Before asking for credit, check your credit score! You can do this online via a credit reference agency.
Need to improve your credit score?
We’ve compiled 5 ways to help (based on Equifax's guidelines):
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Register on the electoral roll. If you’re already registered, check that your address is correct and check that those registered at your household address is correct. If a previous tenant with perhaps bad credit, hasn’t updated their address, this could potentially affect your own credit score.
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Consolidate debt into one lower interest payment. Consolidating may help you manage your payments and ensure they are more affordable, with less likelihood of you missing a payment.
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Never miss payments and do not exceed your overdraft or credit limit. If you do miss a payment, contact the creditor at your earliest convenience to make a payment.
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Pay mobile phone bills / credit card balances monthly via direct debit. Remember no credit can be bad credit! Using a little credit and often can help improve your credit score.
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Limit the amount of credit applications you make. Remember that every time you get a quote from an insurance comparison site, a credit check is made and this can impact on your credit score!
Talk to us if you have any questions!
Email creditunion@harpandcrown.co.uk or phone 028 9068 5198.
“Save regularly and borrow only what you need.”
The Harp and Crown Credit Union provides safe, secure, flexible finances for the wider police family in Northern Ireland.
