How often have you forgotten to make a repayment on your credit card? You are not the only one, there are a lot of people out there that have missed or made a late payment on their credit card. When the comprehensive credit reporting (CCR) came into play last year, many people are not aware of the things that will have a negative impact on their credit score and credit file. One of the things that will now have a negative impact is missing a credit card repayment or making a late repayment. This late or missed repayment will stay on your credit file for 2 years and the more repayments you miss the lower your score goes. Your credit score and credit file play a big part in getting approved for finance, whether you are applying for a credit card or personal loan to a mortgage or car loan.
The best way to try and prevent this from impacting on your future applications for finance is to limit the number of credit cards you have. If you do have several credit cards then you have more chance of making a late payment. It might be a good idea to consolidate them into one or take out a debt consolidation personal loan to make the repayments more manageable.
Related Article: Understanding Your Credit File
Your credit file is one of the things lenders will look at when assessing you so keeping on top of your repayments will ensure you give yourself the best chance to get approved.
How to stay on top of your credit card repayments:
- Keeping track of your finances by creating a budget and sticking to it
- Set reminders on your phone or calendar to make the payments
- Set a sensible credit limit on your card
- Don’t rely on your credit card for day to day purchases
- Consider consolidating your current debts
- Set up automatic direct debit payments
- Ask for help from a financial specialist
Making sure your credit file shows positive behaviour, not negative behaviour is very important especially if you are planning to get finance in the future. So make sure to make your repayments on time to prevent stress later on.
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