V.1 The Power of an Address

Throughout your teenage years to adulthood you’ve probably heard various credit boosting remedies. Some have said never to have a credit card, others have said to have as many credit cards possible. 

Your parents have probably discouraged you from taking out any new credit and your phone bill is probably still in their name. 

I do not claim to be a credit expert nor do I claim to not have any gaps in my knowledge on the subject, however what I do have is a 999 out of 999 credit score with no negative markers, CCJ’s, missed payments or adverse credit on my file. 

I too grew up like the theoretical person who was told to never get any credit in my name and then was advised later in life to get as much as I could. I chose not to listen to either 

As soon as I turned 18 I knew that I needed to start building up my existence as an adult and this meant showing lenders that I could be trusted.

My first step to boosting my credit score was registering to vote – signing up to the electoral roll. When you make any sort of credit application, the first thing they do is take your details and run an address search. Let’s say you signed up for a loan and declared that 42 Laker Lane was your address, however you’re registered to vote elsewhere and also have a credit card at that alternate address, it is likely that the system won’t like that, won’t be able to find you and subsequently will reject your loan application. 

Tip1: Ensure that you are registered to vote at your current address. Ensure that all of your Bank Accounts are registered at your current address. These 2 things will get you an easy +150 points on your credit score.

Tip2: If someone in your house has the same name as you E.g you’re the junior to your father, ensure that his credit isn’t causing any implications on your record. Ensure that the credit agencies know that you are not the same person and are scored separately. 

Tip3: Understand that bad credit for you at your current address can have a knock on affect for the whole household. There have been instances where a house has been black listed due to bad credit behaviour by various members of the family. 

Task

What is your credit score? 

Make sure you are aware of your credit score and make active steps to improve it. Lets start with what you’ve learnt today 1. go in to the bank and ensure your address is up to date 2. go online and register to vote.

The Top Three Credit sourcing agencies are:

• Experian
• Call Credit
• Equifax