How can I improve my credit score?
It's important to understand your credit score and what affects it. Having a good credit history, paying bills on time, not missing payments and not applying for credit regularly will all help give you a good score.
You can manage your bank account in a way which will help to improve your credit score. This means that further down the line you may then be able to successfully take out the product you originally applied for. Take a look at our Managing your money(opens in a new window) page for some great tips and tools to help you run your accounts in an efficient way.
Each lender has its own system, but generally these things can improve your score:
- Being in the same job for a long time
- Owning your home
- Having lived at the same address for a while (a year or more)
- Keeping your address records current
- Being on the electoral roll
- Use the free eligibility calculator(opens in a new window) to check your loan eligibility
- Cancelling unused credit and store cards
- Reducing your debts with savings
- Paying for insurance up front rather than monthly
Before applying for a loan(opens in a new window) you can use our personalised loan quote(opens in a new window) to check your loan eligibility. It won't affect your credit rating in any way. It just leaves a short term note on your credit file that only you can see: not us, no other lenders, only you.
