Is it hard to improve your credit score?
Nick BendelAug 20, 2018(1 min read)It can be hard to improve your credit score, as it usually requires sacrifice and discipline, but hard doesn’t necessarily mean complicated. There are nine steps you can take to improve your credit score, most of which are simple to follow.
As a general rule, the lower your credit score, the more remedies you can apply and the greater the scope for improvement.
Related FAQs
You can find out what your credit history is like by accessing what’s known as your credit rating or credit score.
Debt consolidation is the process of rolling several old debts into one new debt – usually to save money or for the sake of convenience.
A credit report is a record of your credit history – your credit enquiries, borrowings and your repayments. The report will include information about any bankruptcies or other relevant legal judgements. It will also include biographical information such as your address, date of birth, driver’s licence number and employment history.
Your credit score will improve if you demonstrate that you’ve become more credit-worthy. You can do that by minimising credit applications, clearing up defaults and paying bills on time.
Another tip is to get the one free credit report you’re entitled to each year – that way, you’ll be able to identify and fix any errors.
If you want to fix an error, the first thing you should do is speak with the credit reporting body, which make take of the problem or contact credit providers on your behalf.
The next step would be to contact your credit provider. If that doesn’t work, you can refer the matter to the credit provider’s independent dispute resolution scheme, which would be the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
AFCA provides consumers and small businesses with fair, free and independent dispute resolution for financial complaints.
If that doesn’t work, your final options are to contact the Privacy Commissioner and then the Office of the Information Commissioner.
Your credit rating/score is a number that summarises how credit-worthy you are based on your credit history.
The lower your score, the more likely you are to be denied a loan or forced to pay a higher interest rate.
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