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10 surprising things that can affect your credit rating

If you think you have a good credit history, but have never checked it, you may be in for a nasty surprise. It’s not just keeping your payments and being responsible for your loans that affects your credit score, there are a few ways it hurts you that really impact you. Here are ten of those surprising things that could bring your credit rating down on a few points.

1. Have a business credit card

If your employer has given you a business credit card, that could be affecting your personal credit score. Most of the corporate cards are now in joint name and that means that you are jointly and severally liable for the credit. It also means that if your business pays your bills late, it will affect your credit rating.

2. Using your debit card to rent a car

If you pay a deposit on a rental car with your debit card, the car rental company will likely run a credit check. Each credit check taken will take one point off your credit score.

3. Paying a parking ticket late

Nobody likes to get a parking ticket and we like to pay them even less. That’s why so many people leave it until the last minute to pay them. If you leave it too late, the debt will be transferred to a debt recovery company and that will affect your credit rating.

4. Take out the “buy now, pay later” credit

The incredible deals you can get on furniture, where you pay nothing for twelve months and then are interest free for the next three years could also hurt your credit score. It appears you have a maxed line of credit against which you are not making any repayments for a year.

5. Forgetting to retrieve a book from the library

Even something as simple as a fine for a library book could show up on your credit history. If you forget to pay a library fine, local authorities are also quick to pass it on to a debt collection company, and that will lower your credit score more points.

6. Waiting for the reminder letter about utility bills

Gas and electric companies are pretty quick when it comes to late payments. If you make a mistake and stop paying them for a long time, you will receive a letter from a debt collection company and that will mean another blow to your credit score.

7. Prepayment of a loan

Even paying off a loan early can look bad on your credit history. When you pay off a debt early, you save some of the interest, but it may seem like you didn’t pay off everything you borrowed.

8. Insufficient use of a credit card

Lenders want you to use credit wisely and manage your debts responsibly. If you have available credit but never use it, you still use some of your available credit and there is no history of your ability to manage credit if you never use the credit that you have available. It is better for your credit rating if you use a credit card and pay the balance monthly.

9. Ask about loans

Asking too many loan inquiries or obtaining loan quotes will also lower a few points on your credit score. In fact, any strict credit check done on you will lower your credit score over a two-year period, and that also includes buying a new mobile phone.

10. Dispute an item on your credit card

If you dispute an item on your credit card statement and your lender takes the time to do their research, it will remain unpaid debt in your name and could still hurt your credit score.

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