Credit scores: They matter. To some lenders, they matter a lot more! As an adult in the UK, your credit score is the main determining factor in whether or not you’ll be approved for a loan when you request one. It’s also an influencing factor in how much interest (APR) you’ll repay on your loan over time as you meet your repayment installments.
Credit scores are checked by any loan provider or broker when they’re appraising you for your loan. Because of the importance of this, the credit score is a factor that holds back many adults from receiving the finances they need – often unfairly.
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What is a credit score exactly?
In short, a credit score is a three-digit figure that’s formulated for showing your capacity to take and repay a loan. It’s like a risk profile from a lender’s perspective, helping them to measure your ability to repay your investment and your overall suitability as relates to their requirements.
Credit scores usually range from around 300 to 850. There are a lot of online platforms that help adults to understand and measure their credit score. The amount of information available for free from many services like Experian is very helpful if you’re trying to get a handle on where you sit in your overall rating.
The higher your score, the better. The better your credit score, the more likely you are to be approved for a loan – and you’ll often get slightly better repayment terms while you’re at it.
Why does it matter so much?
As we described, your credit score is the crucial metric against which you are deemed suitable or unsuitable for a loan. As so many adults in the UK have a legitimate need for financial assistance in the form of a loan now and then, credit scores are incredibly important to them.
Fortunately, there are online loan brokers like Citrus Loans to help you in all your online loan requirements. Our exceptional service is all about understanding you and your present situation, helping you to acquire the capital you need for you or your company.
Advantages of an excellent credit score
There are a few more benefits to having a high credit score that we’ll go through right now for your interest!
You can get better offers: You’re more likely to get more affordable repayment terms when your credit score is higher. That is a significant deal to many adults, acquiring the money they need more manageable in repayment over subsequent months.
It’s helpful for car loans: Auto loans are a widespread reason for adults in the UK taking out loans, and it’s easy to see why: cars matter! It’s essential to get to your job each day. With an excellent credit score, you’ll have more manageable repayment rates in general and can get a more reliable car that cuts down on your maintenance costs each month. It all helps to save money.
How to improve your credit score – tips and tricks
What is the “shopping cart” trick?
This “trick” is about applying to multiple credit cards from different stores after you have put items in your shopping cart. Don’t worry; you don’t have to buy anything. Once the card is approved, you close the page and do not buy anything. That is why it is called the “shopping cart trick.”
How will your credit increase?
What happens is that your credit score is based in part on the amount of credit you have available. For example, if you have two cards of $ 5000 each and you owe $ 10,000 because they are full! Your score is affected. However, if you have five credit cards totaling $ 20,000 in available credit; Then you only owe 50% of your available credit.
I recommend that you do not apply to more than three credit cards from the different stores that I am going to show you today. If you start having too many cards, it can also be seen as a negative. Financial advisors recommend not owning more than 30% of your credit on cards. In other words, in the previous example, you shouldn’t owe more than $ 3000 if you only have $ 10,000 of available credit.
How is the “shopping trick” done?
So the shopping cart trick is about doing the following:
- Turn off your “pop up blocker” – those little windows that come out when they are on any page are going to be important for this trick to work. So if you have turned them off or blocked, you have to let that option work. Look it up in your settings on the computer or the phone.
- Don’t share all your social security numbers- If the “shopping cart” trick is working, you don’t have to enter more than the last four digits of your social security. When you provide your complete social security number, the bank checks your credit history, and if it is not very good, they will not approve the card. Even this could even lower your score instead of raising it. So be careful, do not give all the digits of social security.
- No matter what score you have- The trick has worked for people with scores as low as 450. So don’t worry if your score is low, apply to the three cards that interest you.
- It only works with certain stores- The reason for this is because all these stores use the same bank to supply their store cards. By using the same bank, it is easier to be approved.
- The trick is not magic- The fact that the method works with low scores does not guarantee that you will be approved. If you have a bankruptcy, too many accounts you’re trying to collect, or too many late payments, then this trick may not work.
Conclusion
In today’s world, where the credit history of every individual is maintained online, it is essential to keep a respectable credit score to increase your chance of getting loans. Any potential lender will scrutinize your credit score before deciding your eligibility for the loan.
As such, you must strive to maintain a good credit history by repaying all your investments in time. Still, if due to some unavoidable circumstances, your credit history is not up to the mark, you can take the help of online lenders who can make an in-depth analysis of your situation and can offer you loans that match your criteria. The better is the credit score you have, the better will be your chance of getting loans.