There are some great credit card deals around at the moment and
on the surface it would seem silly not to check them out. There
are a few things however that you must bear in mind when doing
your research.
Always check the small print, if you make an application to see
if you can get a good deal you may have authorised a series of
searches on your credit report. You must remember that a
footprint will be left on your record for 12 months.
When you then see a better deal you may well be rejected. You
see, a new lender will just see searches and they do not know
why they are there. They may see this as evidence that you have
been rejected, have too much credit that you cannot afford or
you have been subjected to fraud
So bear this in mind and be careful. Get a quotation, rather
than apply for credit as this should not show up on your record.
If for some reason it does it will clearly show as a quote only
and should not affect you chances of future credit.
Do not allow a full search until you until you are certain you
have found the right deal. Sometimes this can be difficult if
your credit history is less than perfect but a good broker
should be able to point you in the right direction. A company
cannot do a search without your permission.
Lets get back to credit cards again. We all do it. Zero balance
for 6-9 months then move on. This should not matter too much
with your credit rating as long as you make your payments on
time and you cancel old cards (Don't just cut them in half, you
must tell the lender). If you don't, you have access to too much
credit. Other lenders may not like this. Also, don't forget that
lenders hope that you don't change at the end of the term and
pay the higher rate. How else do you think they make their money?
If you are worried that searches have damaged your credit
rating, you can contact the credit agencies who hold your
details. The main ones are experian and Equifax. You can get
more details of these from my website. If there are any errors,
there are ways that you can correct this.
Author: Colin Warburton CMap
For more Articles go to
Debt
Consolidation Loan
Copyright (c) Jan 2006 Colin Warburton
About the author:
Colin Warburton is a qualified Mortgage broker (CMap) with a
vast experience in difficult loans and mortgages. For more
articles go to
Debt
Consolidation Loan
