The Debt Advice Online Blog

Whether you are just starting out on your financial journey, or if you are starting again after a bankruptcy, there are many things which you can do to build and improve upon your credit rating.

Here are five proven tips and hints to get you started on your path to excellent credit:

Tip#1 – Get a Copy of Your Credit Report –Have you ever seen your credit report? Do you know what is on it and what isn’t? Do you know if the information on it belongs to you or is in error? You can very easily and quickly get a free copy of your credit report online. If you have not yet done this, do it today. And, you should get a copy from each of the two credit reporting agencies because they each will have different information on you. They are: Experian and Equifax.

Tip #2 – Understand Your Credit Report – Now that you have your credit reports it is time to read through each of them and understand what everything on them is. Your name, address and employment information should be current and correct on it. Also, any credit accounts, mortgages, and vehicle loans should be listed with the correct amounts and payment histories. Make sure that if you have made all of your payments on-time that they have been reported as being on-time by your lenders.

Tip #3 – Dispute Errors in Your Credit Report – Once you have pulled your credit reports and have gone over everything on them, you need to dispute anything you find which is in error. It is estimated that something like 80% of the credit reports on U.K. citizens contain errors! Go to the website of the credit bureau and find out how to dispute errors – and then do it! It will only take a few minutes of your time but can greatly improve your credit rating.

Tip #4 – Pay Your Bills On-Time, All the Time – While it probably goes without saying, you should pay every bill, every month, on-time. However, as you are looking on your credit report, you can easily see which bills are on there and which aren’t. This can be helpful to you if you need to pay something late one month; choose something which will not show up on your credit report such as a utility bill!

Tip #5 – Use Credit Regularly – It might seem odd to you, but do you know that if you do not use credit on a regular basis that your credit scores will not be great? It is 100% true. If you do not have credit accounts then you do not have a good credit rating. To rectify this, apply for a credit card and use it regularly. Pay off your credit card each month so that you do not go into debt, but use it to build-up your credit.

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