Bad Credit Credit Cards

Bad credit can affect anyone. Having bad credit can affect your financial future, reducing your ability to get credit cards, personal loans, and mortgages. It can even affect your ability to get a mobile phone! Anytime you agree to have your credit history checked, you run the risk of being declined because of a bad credit history.

What is Bad Credit?

Bad credit or a bad credit rating is a term used to describe your credit worthiness. Most people have a credit file which details their personal details and other information such as:

• credit applications or enquiries
• some current credit accounts
• overdue accounts or defaults (for up to 5 years)

If you have been credit active in the past seven years, you should have a credit file. People with well paying occupations can have bad credit. People with a low income might not have a bad credit rating.

How do you get bad credit?

If you aren't particularly disciplined about paying bills on time, you could end up with a default on your credit file. You can get credit defaults placed on your credit file by not paying bills on time, having utilities cut off, had assets like your car repossessed, exceeded credit card limits, or defaulted on previous loans. As this information stays on your credit file for several years, you could be limited when you make applications.

Where do you find out about your credit rating?

To get a copy of your Credit File you need to contact Veda Advantage at www.mycreditfile.com.au. Depending on how urgently you need a copy of your credit file, there may be a fee involved.

When your credit file arrives, check all the entries in your credit file to make sure there are no inaccuracies. If there are inaccuracies on your credit file, this may be what has been affecting your credit rating.

Fixing errors on your credit report

If there are errors you will need to contact the company that made that entry and ask them to correct the entry. If you have moved house you may find accounts that are overdue. There may be accounts that are outstanding or even ones that have been fully paid out but still show as outstanding.

Remember default entries stay on your file for 5 years. If you do find an error on your credit file, report them immediately. These details will be investigated by the credit reporting company. These investigation can take time, so you will need to be patient, but do make regular checkups to see how the investigation is going.

Tips on keeping a good credit file

Keeping a good credit file doesn't have to be difficult. You can avoid a bad credit file just by:

• Paying all your bills on time. If you don't think you'll be able to make a payment, contact the company and advise them and give a rough date as to when you will be paying.
• Reviewing your credit file regularly. Make sure all current entries in your credit file are accurate and check there are no fraudulent entries. If there are entries you don't recognise, investigate the entries to ensure that your identity hasn't be stolen.

A clear credit file does not mean that you will be approved for a loan or credit card. If you are declined on a credit application, it is important to remember that companies have other criteria's that you will need to meet. Check with the company to find out the specific reason that you were declined.

Having trouble repaying your credit card?

If you are having problems with repaying all your credit cards, you do have a few options open to you to help you consolidate debt and make it easier on yourself to pay off your credit card debt

One of these options is a balance transfer credit card. A balance transfer involves transferring the balance owing on one or more credit cards to a new credit card. Many credit card providers offer a special deal on balance transfers. These deals may include an introductory period where low interest or even zero interest is applied. With these introductory periods, you could be saving money. Click here to compare balance transfer credit cards. If you're unsure, check out the credit card calculator to see how much money you could be saving with a balance transfer credit card.

Other Money Saving Tips

To help you meet your credit card repayments you can also look at other money saving tips. The Simple Savings website is an Australian website that specialises in providing tips that will help you save money. It has downloads, tips and a free regular newsletter that you can subscribe to. By following some of the tips on this site, you could be saving hundreds of dollars a year and you can put this money towards paying off your credit card debt.

So if you think you have bad credit or have been declined a loan or credit card, check out your credit file and find out what the problem is. If you're finding yourself in trouble with paying off your credit cards, use our credit card comparison page to find balance transfer credit cards and fill out a credit card application for a credit card that meets your needs.

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