The truth behind common credit score myths

Most mortgage, credit card and loan lenders will want to look at an applicant’s credit score before making a decision as to whether to accept their application to borrow money. For this reason, many people want to keep track of their score and ensure they have the highest score possible.

For those who are working on improving their score, or who have just started checking their credit score, it can be difficult to distinguish the myths surrounding credit scores and the facts. To make it easier here we’ve looked at some of the most common credit scores myths.

There is no credit blacklist for consumers who have not been convicted of a financial crime such as fraud. Instead each time a consumer applies to borrow money the lender will likely look at their credit score and make the decision based on the credit score and the lender’s appetite for risk. For example, some lenders may be willing to lend to those with a medium credit score, while others may only lend to those with an excellent score. Those with a very low credit score may find it very difficult to get accepted when making applications which can make it feel as though they have been blacklisted. To help see if they will be accepted for credit before making an application it is often a good idea for borrowers to check their credit score for free online before making the application.

Although it is usually much harder for those with a low credit score have an application for credit accepted, there are still some ways those with a low score can borrow money. Normally, people with a low credit score may need to consider specialist products, such as a credit repair card or a bad credit loan, when looking to borrow money. Both credit repair cards and bad credit loans not only enable those with low credit scores to borrow money, but if repaid in full within the terms set out, they can also help to improve credit scores. Those considering these products should be aware, however, that they will often be charge much higher interest rates when borrowing money so they should only borrow what they can afford to repay in full as quickly as possible.

Checking a credit score will not impact the score and is, in fact, often advisable that people regularly check their score even if they are not looking to borrow money. Checking a credit score regularly will help consumers to spot any mistakes that have been made on their credit file quickly and, if they notice any irregularities, they should contact the credit reference agency to get it amended.

Someone who earns a high income and has a significant amount of savings may still have a low credit score. This is because credit scores only factor how a person has managed their current and previous credit. For example, someone who earns a high income and has a significant amount of savings but who has never taken out credit may have a low credit score as there is no record of how they manage credit. Saying this, when applying for some credit, for example a mortgage, income and savings may factor as part of the decision when the lender is considering whether to accept or reject the application.

Living with someone, for example moving in with a partner, will impact a credit score only if the person becomes financially linked with the other person. People can become financially linked if they have a joint overdraft, a joint mortgage, a joint credit card or a joint loan, which is common for those living together to do. If a person moves out or a couple separates it is normally a good idea to ensure that they financially dissociate themselves from the other person.