The Money Saving Expert team has shared advice on a simple way to improve your credit score
Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert (MSE) team have encouraged people to “sign up” immediately to improve their credit score. Without doing so, “it’s much harder to get accepted”, it warns.
As part of its financial guidance, it recommends that individuals should register to vote. It clarifies: “If you’re not on the electoral roll, it’s much harder to get accepted for credit, so sign up immediately.
“Don’t wait for the annual reminder or for the elections to roll around.” You can apply via the official Gov.uk website, MSE notes.
Those living in England or Northern Ireland must be aged 16 or over to register. Meanwhile, residents of Scotland or Wales must be aged 14 or over to register.
If you want to register to vote, it should take around 5 minutes. MSE explain: “Simply follow the instructions online – it’ll ask you a series of questions aimed at identifying you, and the local electoral borough you need to register with. Note that you’ll need your national insurance number to hand.
“Many worry some councils sell on the data. But you can opt out of the open electoral register which can be used for marketing.”
It adds: “Credit reference agencies are allowed to use the full register which you can’t opt out of and that you should, by law, be on. The electoral roll can be a factor in scoring, but even where it isn’t, not being on it can lead to delays as lenders also use it to check your address and ID.
“It’s worth noting the credit scores sold to you by credit reference agencies may show you’ve a perfect score without being on the electoral roll. Don’t let that fool you into thinking not being registered won’t affect your ability to get credit. It will, because lenders also need to be sure you are who you say you are.”
If you are not eligible to vote in the UK, you can add a note to your file confirming proof of residency. MSE advise that you can “ask all three credit reference agencies to add a ‘notice of correction’ to your credit file saying you can provide proof of residency” such as a utility bill or a UK driving licence to lenders, who will see the note when assessing your application and subsequently contact you to request the relevant documents.
Credit reference agency Equifax suggests you may want to say something like the following in your notice of correction:
“I, (full name), with date of birth (dd/mm/yyyy) am not on electoral register at my present address, because I’m not a British citizen. I’ve lived in my current address since (dd/mm/yyyy) and can provide utility bills or bank statements to prove this if needed. Please take this into account when searching my credit report.”
For other tips on how to boost your credit score, you can read the full article here.
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