Personal Finance 101 - Credit Checks

Credit cards, personal loans, mortgages and other forms of personal credit are an everyday part of financial life for all UK consumers. Looking at the figures for UK personal debt shows that Britain appears to be addicted to borrowing money and still continues obtaining more from the financial institutions. By the end of 2005 the UK personal debt levels stood at a record £1,148, with 83% of this debt consisting of secured mortgage loans. Due to the nations reliance on credit of all forms, it is extremely important to keep a close eye on your own personal financial history and keep up to date with the official credit check reports which can help prevent fraud, and make the difference between acceptance at a favourable interest rate, or outright rejection just when the money is needed the most.

In the UK there are two main credit reference agencies which hold a wide range of financial information detailing a person’s continually evolving financial history, these are Experian ( http://www.experian.co.uk/ ) and Equifax ( http://www.equifax.co.uk/ ). By obtaining a copy of your report from each of these sources, (as they may contain different information), you can not only check the accuracy of the information stored and look for any potentially fraudulent entries, but you can also request that any incorrect information is amended to prevent possible future credit problems.

Each lender will weigh the information contained in a person’s credit file differently. However there are universal contributing factors which include:

- Electoral Roll information for a person’s currently registered address.

- Defaults on any financial repayment contracts, such as loans, mortgages, etc.

- Employment history for mortgage, credit cards, loans, hire purchase and finance agreements.

- Any County Court Judgments.

- The complete amount owed and the number of credit facilities used.

- The number of new credit facilities that have been applied for (both successful and unsuccessful applications).

- The type of credit used.

- Salary details given on the application form.

Lending organisations combine the data obtained through a credit report, along with information acquired from an application form, to produce a credit score. This score represents a measure of an applicant’s likelihood to repay debts and to make any repayments on time.

If an applicant’s score falls below the lenders acceptable risk threshold, or they don't fit an ideal customer profile, then the application may be completely rejected. It is also possible that a low score may result in acceptance, but at a more expensive interest rate than might usually be offered.

Some credit card providers, such as the Asda supermarket chain’s finance services, now provide applicants with a copy of their credit reports with all applications, however, to obtain the best deal it is vitally important that borrowers do some shopping around. When shopping around for credit however, try to obtain as much information as possible prior to making a formal application for credit. Whenever any application for credit is made, a footprint is left on the credit record showing that a search has been made. Credit companies see lots of footprints as an indicator that the applicant may be in severe financial difficulties or even that some form of fraud may be evident. Using one of the various online financial comparison websites, such as Moneynet.co.uk ( http://www.moneynet.co.uk/loans/index.shtml ), enables you to see what is on offer, and what general market rates are available, before any fina!

ncial commitment or full credit search is required.

Even people who are not looking to obtain additional credit may find a credit report useful for peace of mind, and to ensure that their credit details are not being used for fraudulent applications, or as part of the growing disturbing phenomenon that is identity theft.

Disclaimer:

All information contained in this article, is for general information purposes only and should not be construed as advice under the Financial Services Act 1986.

You are strongly advised to take appropriate professional and legal advice before entering into any binding contracts.

Useful resources:

Moneynet loan comparisons ( http://www.moneynet.co.uk/loans/index.shtml )

Experian credit reference agency ( http://www.experian.co.uk/ )

Equifax credit reference agency ( http://www.equifax.co.uk/ )

About The Author

Richard Green lives in Edinburgh, occasionally writing for the personal finance blog Cashzilla ( http://cashzilla.blogspot.com/ ), and listens to music no one else likes.

The Four Golden Rules Of Personal Finance

Many successful people have mentors to guide them in learning the skills that lead to achievement, and I’ll do my best to offer you some critical personal finance perspectives. They say that life is a school where you learn the lesson after the test. The same thing applies to money, but you can’t go back in time to fix catastrophic financial mistakes that you have made over time. As long as you are alive, you are a player on the field of the money-game, and you need to know the basic rules before you get tagged by the experienced players.

Rule #1: To earn money from money. The only way to escape becoming a wage slave for the rest of your life is to set aside savings. The profit on your savings can be used to increase your lifestyle spending, reduce the number of years until you retire, or allow you to actually have any retirement at all. How are you doing so far toward saving and getting it to earn money for you?

Every dollar that you spend eliminates its ability to earn money for you in the future. I am not recommending that you stop eating at restaurants and going to movies, I am recommending that you use some common sense, like looking at your four biggest expenses over the last few months and aggressively finding a way to reduce them.

The biggest obstacle for the first rule is personal debt of any kind (other than a mortgage for your home) or a lease of any kind. Every personal debt that you incur reduces your net worth which could have been working for you over your life time. Acquiring personal debt is exactly like putting a large hole in your wallet. In the money-game, a huge transfer of wealth occurs between the ‘Haves’ and the ‘Have-Nots’ over the words, “I can afford that monthly payment.” Here is a hint: the “Have-Nots” are the ones who make that statement. So please don’t ever look at whether you can afford a monthly payment to make a purchase; pay in cash after you’ve saved for the item. [Everything that you buy with a 0%-interest payment plan must be over-priced. Behind the scenes, your payment contract is sold to a lender with an interest rate, and retailers don’t do this without building-in an acceptable profit for themselves. Ask retailers how much the item will cost if you pay in full, and you could get a lower price.]

Rule #2 Always keep your finances under control. The first step in losing financial control and spiraling into debt and money problems is simply not dealing with personal finances. Prepare for catastrophic financial accidents with health, life, disability, and auto insurance. Plan and save before you buy something. Create a balance sheet for yourself at least once a year to see how you are progressing. Pay every bill on time, or contact the creditor to tell them what is going on and make a partial payment. If you are temporarily unable to handle any of this, ask for some help immediately and find someone trustworthy who will do this for you.

The most common source of financial trouble is a trauma in your life. This can be a health problem (large expenses or unable to work), an emotional problem (divorce or loss of loved one), or a financial problem (losing a job, cut in pay, relocation, unexpected expenses). Whichever the source may be, it leads to three emotional problems: the first is denial, the second is being overwhelmed, and the third is hopelessness. Denial causes people to not open their mail and continue spending as usual, and being overwhelmed paralyzes people from getting assistance and dealing with the situation. For example, if you just lost a loved one, balancing your checkbook and paying bills is not high in your priorities. Unfortunately, tiny amounts of debt grow with interest and penalties into seemingly insurmountable mountains of debt; leaving you with loathsome options such as bankruptcy, poor credit, declining lifestyle spending, and added stress that you bring to relationships and work.

Rule #3 Pay attention to the finances of the people with whom you spend the most time. Whether they are relatives, friends, or co-workers, these people have the most impact on your financial life. Do they consistently follow the first two rules of the money game? Do they earn about the same money as you? If the answer to either of those is “no”, then I recommend that you start spending a little less time with them; and this is why. If they don’t consistently follow the first two rules, it is unlikely that you will either. You unconsciously model the people around you, and the more people you are exposed to that don’t follow the first two rules, the more likely that you will unwittingly follow them. No one thinks they are ‘trying to keep up with the Joneses’, but we all do it to some extent, and this is the mechanism. On the other hand, if they earn a lot more money than you, you may rack up a lot of debt trying to keep up with them (meeting them at their favorite expensive restaurant, joining them for another expensive vacation, buying a new car because yours is the junker among all of your friends, etc.) On the other hand, if most of your friends earn a lot less than you, you will turn into the group’s banker. For example, you’ll find yourself in the pattern of putting your credit card down to pay for dinner and they’ll all say they’ll pay you back later, but 50% of them never do; and they don’t mind taking advantage of you because, after all, you earn a lot more than they do. Or, you and your friends need to pay a deposit for renting a house and they expect you to write the checks because you have the money available and they do not.

The neighborhood that you live in also creates financial pressure to violate the first two financial goals. Your neighbors are likely to become friends (and I’ve already gone over this), but they also influence the size of your home, extent of your landscaping, price of furniture, and the size of your TV. So pay very close attention to the finances of your neighbors – if you don’t like how they are measuring up for first two rules, move somewhere more in alignment with your financial goals. If your family and friends, don’t measure up financially, find some additional people to spend time with that have financial habits that you’d like to emulate and learn from. I have friends with a wide range of income, but it is much more difficult to follow the first two money rules when I am with the extremes from my own income. You’ll just find it easier to reach the next rule when the peer group that you hang out with aligns closer to your economic level.

Rule #4 Accelerate the other three rules:

Add to your savings by increasing your income through advancing your career. It doesn’t matter whether you enjoy it; it is a means to an end – with the end being progress toward the fulfillment of rule #1. Increase the amount that you save by aggressively lowering four of your highest expenses. Start spending time with people that talk about investing money and are systematically building their wealth the fastest. The combination of all four of these rules will hopefully offer a next-step for you to take today to start getting more ‘wins’ in the money-game.

About The Author

Francis Kier has an MBA in finance and shares his two decades of experience with investing and personal finance. More of his articles are available at http://investing.real-solution-center.com.

Personal Finance. Credit Agencies Refused Access To Information About Student Loans

These days, when you apply for a mortgage, loan or other form of credit, the lending industry will automatically scrutinise your personal credit history. In practice, you hardly need to tell them anything as within a fraction of a second, the lenders computers will lock into your credit file held by any one of the big three credit agencies; Experian, Callcredit or Equifax And you'll be amazed what they know about your finances!

For many years now banks, building societies and other lenders have been providing information about your finances to the credit agencies. They know about every credit applications you've made, the occasions you've been late or missed paying a loan, mortgage or credit card, the balances on your loans and credit cards and whether you just pay off the minimum each month - even your credit limits! The agencies also accumulated lots of other information about you provided by public records, the voters' roll and the public register of court actions where all county court judgements are recorded. Their computers then statistically analyse all this information and assess your application. So in this context, the credit industry argues that the more information they have about you, the more accurately lenders can make lending decisions.

Yet within this mass of information, there is one notable omission. Despite representations to the government, information about student loans and their repayment history's, is not provided to the credit agencies. The data is refused because student loans are a debt to the taxpayer, not a commercial business.

Prior to September 1998, graduates repaid their student loans by mortgage style direct debits collected once the graduate started earning over £15,000. But more than 59,000 of graduates from before 1998 graduates are understood to be in payment arrears to the tune, on average, of around £2,750 per graduate.

After September 1998, the system of collecting student loans changed. These days, repayments are deducted directly from salaries by employers along with national insurance and income tax. This method is far more efficient and avoids the possibility of bad debts.

The credit industry argues that it needs the information on student loans as they can represent a significant strain on the graduates' finances – especially following the introduction of top-up fees which results in the average student loans being much larger. These loans are repaid at the rate of 9% of the graduates' income in excess of £15,000 and can represent a significant drain on their monthly income.

Therefore, to fully assess graduates' financial situation the credit industry argues that it needs student loan information. The Association Consumer Credit Counselling Service agrees. A spokes person said, “Knowing whether a young person has a student loan and whether it is being paid back, is useful.”

Yet despite the pressure to share its information, the Department for Education and Skills remains steadfast in its decision to refuse permission to the Student Loan Company to provide information to the commercial sector.

Even the Citizens Advice Bureau wants this decision changed arguing that lenders need information on student loans to help ensure that graduates avoid taking on so much debt that they can't maintain their repayments.

But for now at least, the situation remains. The credit industry cannot obtain any history about student loans.

About The Author

Michael Challiner writes for Scrouge Online ( http://www.scrouge-online.co.uk ) who offer Life Insurance and Loans ( http://www.scrouge-online.co.uk/loans.php ).