Should I consider a loan to cut interest costs

ava77

The accident does warrant compensation, and they have taken full responsibility for what happened, but as with all things, they take time. Sadly the interest rates don't wait. I'd like to think the compensation will cover these cost, but I like to keep on top of things and not have to rely on what ifs and maybe's. We have the money to get by without having to go into the red.

And thanks, I'll have to check out the bit about what lenders actually do see. It's all very new to me and I haven't a clue what I should be looking at...

SeduLOUs

ava77 wrote: »

And thanks, I'll have to check out the bit about what lenders actually do see. It's all very new to me and I haven't a clue what I should be looking at...

Lenders do not see your 'score' but can see what accounts you have, how long they have been open, what accounts you have recently closed (in last 6 years), what your limits are, and what your balances are.

Each lender reports to them regularly with green 'ticks' if minimum payment is met on time, but will add late payment and default markers as appropriate if they are not.

New potential lenders see all of this account information, and each has their own unique scoring system as to whether they will lend (making the 'score' you are given by the agency completely meaningless), so it's impossible to say exactly how many accounts you should have open and how many bad markers might be forgiveable.

If you are maxed out on credit cards this would usually be seen as a bad thing, but equally if you have a lot of accounts you never use they will wonder why you are applying for more credit.

When signing up to view your report/file, make sure you view all addresses that you have lived at for the last 6 years to make sure you are seeing everything available.

The key factors are to keep your accounts in the green. Close old dormant and unwanted accounts, and try not to ride your balances too close to the limits - keeping the balances under 50% is preferable but again it's anyone's guess as to exactly what a lender will be looking for. Another key aspect of a good credit report is being on the electoral register.

The main reasons for checking your file regularly is to check for errors - are any accounts showing as open that should be closed? Are there any bad markers on any of the accounts that shouldn't be there? Are the limits and balances being reported correct? If not, you can dispute it with the agency who will contact the lender, or you can contact the lender yourself to ask for it to be corrected.

ava77

Once again your insight has been invaluable. I've actually copied your post into my notes for future reference, along with a previous post you wrote to me. Proper big thank you for taking the time and effort to reply, you're very appreciated.

And please don't go to hard on people for what they deem as necessities . We all differ in opinion on this one.