Little-known way to boost your credit score – it takes just minutes
YOU can boost your credit score through an easy trick – and there’s a key date in days you should do it by.
Your credit score, or credit rating, can determine whether a lender offers you anything from a mortgage to phone contract.
It can fall if you regularly set up new bank accounts, miss payments to lenders or get too close to a credit card limit.
But there are ways to boost it too, including one-little known method which requires minimum effort.
Registering to vote takes around five minutes but can give your credit score a quick uplift.
This is because being on the electoral roll helps banks verify your identity when you apply for credit.
There are just days left to register to vote for the General Election due to be held on July 4 too
The deadlineis 11.59pm on Tuesday (June 18).
How to register to vote
You can register to vote if you are an English or British citizen and also if you have permission to enter or stay in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man.
You can also register if you don’t need permission to enter or stay in the UK and you are a:
- Commonwealth citizen
- citizen of Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal or Spain
- citizen of another EU country, if you have had permission to enter or stay – or not needed permission – since 31 December 2020, and this has continued without a break
If you live in England and Northern Ireland, you must be 16 or over to register to vote.
If you live in Scotland or Wales, the same rules as above apply, except you can register to vote from the age of 14.
Bear in mind, that while you can register to vote from either 14 or 16, depending on where you live, you can’t vote until 18 in most cases.
However, if you live in Scotland or Wales, you can vote in some elections when you are 16 or older.
You have to re-register to vote if you’ve legally changed your name, moved to a new address or changed nationality.
Your three credit scores
EVERYONE has separate credit scores with each of the three credit reference agencies - Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
Each holds different information about you, including details of credit, mortgages, county court judgements and individual voluntary arrangements.
The CRAs provide customers with three discrete credit scores, but lenders don’t use these, according to Sara Williams, founder of Debtcamel.co.uk.
Lenders check your credit file instead, but they don’t tell you which agency they use.
A bad score is a sign that you are likely to have trouble with credit applications.
Visit checkmyfile.com to see your Experian, TransUnion and Equifax reports in one place.
You can register to vote online via the Government’s website.
How else to boost your credit score
There are a few quickfire ways you can boost your credit score.
First, taking out several applications for credit at one time can negatively impact your score as it makes you look financially desperate.
Instead, space out any applications you make and shop around to make sure you’re only signing up to deals where you’ll likely be accepted.
Second, keeping any credit card balances at no more than 30% of their limit can boost your score.
This shows lenders you’re not overly-reliant on credit.
Third, setting up direct debits to cover your phone, gym or energy bill every month, can give your credit rating a quick perk up.
Not only does it mean you won’t miss a payment, and don’t have to remember to pay every four weeks, it shows you are financially reliable enough to fork out cash on a regular basis.
Fourth, if you’ve recently broken up from a partner, make sure you “financially disassociate” from them.
Any joint accounts set up between you and a partner will show on your credit report and links you both in the eyes of a lender.
This means even if you are no longer with someone, their poor credit score can impact on yours.
You can sever financial ties with a former partner by filing a “financial disassociation” which you can find on the main three credit reference agency websites – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
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