62 per cent of people across the UK are not aware of their credit rating

Leading Bad Credit Car Finance provider, Go Car Credit want to highlight a lack of awareness amongst consumers about their credit profile. According to YouGov 69% of UK adults don’t know their credit score.

With the cost-of-living crisis continuing to affect the UK, affordability and understanding a credit score is vital to know when trying to access any financial products such as loans and credit cards. Creditworthiness is one of the most important factors to consider alongside affordability when applying for any of these products, and having an idea of credit can help people decide which is the best product to use.

A lack of credit knowledge can cause issues as consumers could be affecting their credit by applying for financial products. You may find even applying for credit, appears on your credit file. By applying simultaneously for a lot of products it may look to lenders that consumers are relying too heavily on credit and not managing their money correctly. Something that may not be true due to people’s misunderstanding of how credit is reported.

Go Car Credit is urging consumers to take control of their finances and understand the importance of monitoring their credit regularly. Taking steps to improve credit such as reducing credit card debt, paying all bills on time, and disputing any errors that are on their credit report.

According to HSBC, a credit score is based on a consumer’s credit report which shows how they’ve managed past debts and bill payments. For example, if consumers have missed bills in the past then this will have a negative effect on their credit, whilst if they have paid on time then this can give a more positive score.

Hayley O’Connor, Marketing Manager at Go Car Credit says, “Having a negative score can mean that consumers may feel like they can no longer access credit to buy things such as a car. However, we want to assure customers that whilst having bad credit can have a financial impact, it doesn’t mean that you can’t access car finance. At Go Car Credit, we look at how people would manage car finance, by assessing affordability to make sure that it’s the right loan for people who may have had adverse credit in the past.

One of the worst things people can do when it comes to their credit is to bury their head in the sand. If people check their credit and find out that it’s not as strong as maybe they would have wished, then there are still specialist lenders who may be able to help.”