Print Article for : Access To Credit Reports

Your Online Guide » Loans Guide » Free Credit Report Score

[A159]Access To Credit Reports

by Mike Clover, Mik

Free Credit Reports; have you wondered where to get one? There are so many different web sites out there offering this service, since it is so important these days to know what's being reported about you. Everyone knows you can go once a year to annualcredit report.com to get a free one, but there are limitations that most don't know. Here are the issues with this service.
1. No Credit Score
2. You only get access once a year.

Just about every lending institution that looks at your creditworthiness looks at your score, so shouldn't you get your free credit score report as well? Every 3 seconds identity theft takes places, so do you think checking your report once a year is good enough? I have discussed in previous articles about the importance of checking your report every 60 days, because it does not affect your score and a lot of negativity can be reported about you. Lets assume you are getting ready to make a big purchase, or you have just have been denied for a credit application, if you were better prepared you could of done the following.

1. Negotiated a better interest rate
2. Instead of being told no, you were told yes, because you were on top of your credit situation.
3. Maybe you got the job, because your credit showed you were a responsible person.
4. Your insurance premium is lower

Do you see how not properly managing your credit can sneak into all aspects of your personal life? It's amazing how your credit is the determining factor for a job these days, but with the internet now, you can get access to your profile within a few key strokes securely on-line.

I am sure you are still wondering which report to get, well you should get a 3-1Free Credit Score Report with all 3 scores. This way you get the entire picture, just like the creditors do. You also should sign up for monitoring, that way you are notified when critical changes take place to your personal report. This is absolutely so important I would recommend getting starting as soon as you are done reading this article. I have also mentioned before that some individual may not even marry you, because of your bad credit, wow, this credit stuff is really serious business these days. The need to know is so strong that you need not wait. I would get your Free Credit Score Report now.

The Bank of England's latest Quarterly Bulletin (Q4, 2008) provides a great deal of useful information about debt and financial problems in the UK. It even breaks that information down by group, detailing how different groups are coping with the effects of the credit crunch.

The ‘Change in credit conditions' chart, for example, reveals the extent to which the decreased availability of credit has affected different groups of people. It breaks the population into four groups, splitting it into tenants and three different types of homeowners: outright owners, low LTV mortgagors (people whose mortgage is worth 75% or less of the value of their property) and high LTV mortgagors (people whose mortgage is worth more than 75% of the value of their property).

As you might imagine, tenants and high LTV mortgagors have been most affected by the credit crunch. With little or no equity to secure debts against, they've been mostly or entirely dependent on unsecured credit – which has been ‘hit' harder by the credit crunch, in terms of availability, than secured credit. As a result, around 40% (as a net percentage) of both tenants and high LTV mortgagors reported that they'd found that credit had become harder to access.

Perhaps surprisingly, the ‘low LTV mortgagors' group were the least affected by the reduced availability of credit – not the ‘outright owners', as you might expect. Just under 20% of low LTV mortgagors said they'd found credit had become harder to access, while just over 20% of outright owners said they'd found credit had become harder to access. The difference wasn't huge, but it was noticeable.

So why would people with no mortgage at all find it harder to access credit than people with low LTV mortgages? Perhaps because they don't already have an ongoing relationship with a lender, as mortgagors have? Or perhaps because they're statistically more likely to be retired?

Whatever the reasons, access to credit (or lack of it) can have a major impact on a household's finances.

The right remortgage, for example, can allow a homeowner to reduce their monthly costs: by accessing a lower interest rate, for example, or consolidating their debts. If they're coming to the end of a fixed-rate, capped or discounted mortgage, reverting to the lender's SVR – rather than remortgaging – can, in many cases, be significantly more expensive.

Or a new credit card could give someone access to a 0% introductory offer, so they could transfer their existing credit card debt and pay no interest on it for a year or more. Having said that, most cards will charge a fee for the balance transfer itself. Plus, this isn't a good long-term approach to debt, as it's only postponing the problem. Unless the card holder is able to pay the debt off during that interest-free period, they'll just have to repeat the process at the end of it – and if they can't, they'll have to start paying interest then.

Access to more credit is by no means the only solution to debt. In fact, in many cases it's the wrong way to go – many borrowers need debt help of a different kind, whether it's debt advice or a professional debt solution such as a debt management plan or IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement). Nonetheless, when people with debt problems can't access the credit that might help them, it does mean their options are more restricted, and this can ‘push' them down a path they normally wouldn't choose.

Article Source : Pg. 19

About Author

Both Mike Clover & Melanie Taylor are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Mike Clover has sinced written about articles on various topics from Free Credit Report Score, Marketing Campaign and Free Credit Report Score. About the Author: Mike Clover is the owner of .. Mike Clover's top article generates over 49500 views. to your Favourites.

Melanie Taylor has sinced written about articles on various topics from Free Credit Report Score, Anger Control and Credit Cards. Find more & read more about &. Melanie Taylor's top article generates over 201000 views. to your Favourites.