Holding a credit card in your name will boost the spending power
allowed to you by permitting you to be able to afford those things
that you do not have the current funds to purchase in cash. A
credit card can, in that light, be a very useful money-managing
tool for those with financial difficulties. The flip side to this
however, is the worsening effect this sort of spending power could
have on your bad credit situation.
To avoid committing yourself to a credit card that puts you in
this such situation take a few minutes to compare rates of a selection
of our recommended
credit card companies.
Quite an alarming number of people end up in a battle to pay
their bills and meet payments, whether it is on loans, credit
cards, or some other monthly repayment. The sticky situation that
you end up in then are that you end up with a bad credit record.
This can often mean that getting credit is not easy, be it a credit
card or a loan
or even signing up for something as simple as a video club, being
in a bad credit position is a big black mark against your name.
Fortunately there are steps you can follow to improve your situation,
this is what we at Bad Credit Mortgage recommend you do: -
Make sure you pay your bills on time. It is often easy to miss
payments on cards or loans but if you simply make the minimum
required payment this will guarantee your credit record steers
clear of an adverse nature. When you apply for any form of credit
the finance provider examines this payment history and any missed
payments will go against you.
Assess your financial situation. If you are looking to take out
a finance product make sure you can manage the repayments. The
reason banks look at your past history is that they do not want
to lend money to people who do not pay them back - irregular payments
make a bad risk. It could be that your adverse credit history
is from a spouse or relative who you no longer have a financial
connection with or they have simply got their details wrong. We
suggest you contact Equifax or Experience - these are the two
main credit-scoring bureaux. It costs £2 to get a copy of
your record and this will list all the credit information banks
use to evaluate credit applications, so you can see what may have
led to your adverse credit position. You should write with your
details and a cheque or postal order for £2 to Equifax,
Experian or both:
Equifax
Credit File Advice Centre
PO Box 1140
Bradford
BD1 5US
Tel: 08705 143700
Experian Ltd
Consumer Help Service
PO Box 8000
NOTTINGHAM
NG1 5GX
Tel: 0870 241 6212
Having obtained this information you should be in a better position
to Asses whether you have a bad credit history. If you find that
you do not have a bad credit rating, but in fact a clean record,
your application should run smoothly. If, on the other hand, you
do have a bad credit rating we suggest some of the following steps.
Consolidate Your Debts. Make sure you pay the lowest amounts
you have outstanding on your debt. Sometimes if you have high-unsettled
debt you will fight to repay it due to the high minimum repayments
required. This is where a personal loan can be useful to unite
that debt. You can also spread the payment over a longer period
of time so you lower the monthly payment you make - allowing you
to meet all your outstanding credit.
When you apply for credit your past history is only part of the
calculation. They also take into account things like, if you own
your own home, how much you earn, how old you are, if you’re
married and a whole host of other things. The precise way this
works is a secret that financial providers keep close to their
chest. But the good news is that each and every company has a
different method for assessing bad credit credit card applications
so even if one doesn't accept you another may still do so. Another
common misapprehension is that if a card has low rates it has
a very strict credit screening process.