Any tips on improving your credit rating would be welcome, mine is awful!!!
I was told that lots of little things work better than big things.
So, maybe an overdraft, a low limit credit card, a phone contract, being on the electrol roll, there are companies that help those with low credit, but they charge the world in interest, main thing being that anything you get, you pay off, in full, every month. It helps your credit but doesn't screw you with interest payments.
When i first got my credit card (which was for the same purpose as you) i would put like a tenner petrol on it and then pay it. and i did that for a few months (never raised my limit but it all helps when they can see regular payments are being made, except now i max it out every month on crap, luckily i still have a very low limit so i still manage to clear it every month, even though it annoys me lol)
I always also thought, that all my little debts (under £300) would be better to just pay off and clear when i had extra money, but when i got my credit score, i rang Experian, and told them i wanted a mortage in the future (i don't) and the best way to raise my scores, explained that i was paying off things every month so that i could bring my debt level down. She said that it actually looks better on your report to keep them open, as it shows an ongoing record of up to date payments rather than just a settled account.
Ex - I had a contract sim that wasn't being used (got for my brother who then decided he couldn't afford it (grrr at family) so rather than it sitting in a drawer, and me just paying £25 a month for nothing, I decided that i was just going to take the hit and pay the £288 to pay it off and cancel it.
She says as far as my credit report was concerned, it would have looked better to any lenders if i had just kept it up and running til it was due to finish, as they can then see a history.
So, the point of this long drawn out ramble, little things build up your score.
Hope that helps, it's early lol x
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