With more and more people having access to vast amounts of available credit it is inevitable that more of us will be faced with mounting debt problems.
There are various agencies that offer to help consolidate debts and so enable the debt to be paid through one easy monthly payment. It is worth researching each lenders APR (annual percentage rate) to ensure that the interest payments are manageable and problems are not made worse by an unreasonable interest amount being added to the original debt.
Court judgments are held on your credit report for six years from the date of the judgment. Credit reference agencies receive the information from Registry Trust, an independent organisation set up by the Lord Chancellor's Department.
It is a commonly held myth that there is an administrator sitting in an office personally deciding that someone with debt problems is 'blacklisted'. The process by which lenders agree to lend money is based on a formula and not on any personal opinion. If you fail that credit scoring formula at the time of applying for credit it means that your financial situation at that time is unsuited to taking on more debt repayments.
The following can not be included on your credit file;
- Current account details
- Saving account details;
- Employment records;
- Student loan information;
- Pension details;
- Salary details;
- Property status;
- Council tax payments;
- Criminal records;
- Child support agency information;
- Telephone numbers.
You may have already submitted an application for an additional credit card or numerous store cards creating too much activity in one go. It is possible that you will be accepted by one company and not another, different companies take different information or criteria into account and therefore your application may be accepted by one company but declined by another. If you are declined credit the lender should tell you the main reason for this - whether their decision was based upon a credit score, information held on your credit file or on their own specific policy. If the decision was based upon your credit report, the lender should tell you the name and address of the credit reference agency they used. |
