Keep An Eye On Your Credit File’s Health
Any lender decides whether to offer you a loan, give you a credit card or extend any form of credit based on their view of your ability to repay that borrowed money plus whatever interest they charge. They do this by referring to their own records and searching your Credit File or Credit Report. This is a history of all your past credit held by Credit Reference Agencies like Experian, Equifax or Call Credit. Generally, a higher score suggests that you are less likely to have problems repaying credit.
You may suspect that you have a bad credit rating and have been turned down for a credit card. Just because one company rejects you doesn’t automatically mean another one will because your credit score is determined by each separate lender making their own judgements. They will all score you differently even though the information they use from your Credit File is the same for everyone. Credit cards for people with bad credit are available, but are only issued after the provider has checked your credit history and while you are not guaranteed to be accepted, they are the best hope you have of getting a credit card if your credit score is poor.
Even though the likelihood of being accepted for a “bad credit” credit card is reasonably good, it’s still wise to check your credit rating before you apply and continue to do so on a regular basis. You’ve a legal right under the Consumer Credit Act to demand to see your file held by the Credit Reference Agencies like Experian and Equifax. You can do this quickly and easily online or you can write to them. When you’ve paid the £2 fee and got your Credit Report, make sure the information is accurate and up-to-date. If you think anything in your credit history is wrong, repair credit information by alerting them to the fact that the entry is incorrect. They may then require you to contact the original lender, explain the problem and get their authority to remove or change the entry. If it really is wrong, they are required by law to change or remove it.