It is important to realise why a credit score is important as then you will be more motivated to make sure that you keep it at a good level. There are different sets of people that will be interested in it and you need to think about whether you need to impress them.

Lenders

If you want to borrow money in the UK, it is a legal requirement that all lenders do a credit check. Different lenders will be looking for different things, but normally they will want to see that they can trust you to repay the money that they have loaned you. This means that you will need to be able to show that you are making payments regularly and that you are not getting into any trouble with debt. This is something which you will need to consider if you are thinking of applying for a mortgage or loan either soon or in the future. Items stay on your credit report for a long time so it could take some planning. A CCJ stays on for six years and a loan application for a year, so it is worth bearing that in mind as well. A lender may not like that you have recently applied for a loan and that you are applying to them, particularly if you were turned down for that loan or applied for a few in quick succession.

Landlords

When you are looking to rent a property, the landlord will often want to do a credit check so that they can see whether they should trust you to pay the rent. They will probably be looking to see whether you seem to be capable of making regular payments to see if it looks like you will be able to pay the rent regularly. It can be very difficult if you keep getting turned down by landlords, it could mean that you will end up with nowhere to live or that you will not be able to move from where you are.

Employers

For some jobs, employers will be able to take a look at your credit report. This is not the case for all jobs, but it is worth bearing in mind that it may be a factor in some jobs. Therefore, you will need to do your best to keep things in order if you want to get a job which depends on a good credit report.

So, you can see that your credit report is something that can be accessed by lots of different people and it an have an impact in lots of areas which can be very important to you. It means that you may struggle to borrow money, find somewhere to live or even get the job that you want, if your credit report is not in good shape. This means that it is really important to make sure that you do everything that you can to get things in order. It may not be easy but it can be worth doing. It means that you will need to start making sure that you pay for everything you need to on time, you start to repay your debts and make sure that you credit report is correct. Try not to apply for new loans and then you should find that your credit record will begin to improve and you will be able to make a better impression when you do want to borrow money, find a new place to rent or start a new job. It should also mean that you will be more in control of your finances too, which has to be a good thing.