Personal Loans

Secured Loans

Other Loan Types

Residential Mortgages

Buy to Let Mortgages

Other Mortgage Types

Mortgage Payment Protection

Life Insurance

Other Finance

Become Credit Worthy

Not everyone who applies for a loan will be approved by the lender, there are certain criteria that the potential borrower must meet in order to be deemed acceptable for the loan, and with the current situation of rising personal bankruptcy the lenders are getting stricter on who they will accept.

For most people, being accepted for credit isn’t a problem when borrowing a sensible amount, however there are a large number of people who are on the borderline of being approved, for whom a few small changes could make a range of personal credit available to them.

The first thing to realise about lenders is that they are very keen on stability – they like lending to predictable people who have shown that they can repay debts in good order. Your credit history is the biggest influence on whether you will be accepted or declined, and one thing that nearly everyone has on their file is a credit card history. Constantly swapping card providers may be a good idea in terms of taking advantage of 0% balance transfers, but lenders get nervy when your card-hopping takes up page upon page of your credit report.

Conversely, if your credit history is completely blank because you have never taken on any credit in the past, you may also find problems in being approved for a loan. You see, if you have a totally blank record then there is nothing for the lender to judge you on – they have no way to see what you would be like handling debt. You may think that this is something of a catch 22 situation, you need a good credit history in order to get the credit in the first place. Credit cards can actually help here, as there are ones designed for people with no prior credit history, and using one of these will allow you to build up a record of having credit and repaying it.

If you have had difficulty in getting credit, then it may pay you to find out why. It is possible for anyone to get a copy of their own credit report, and these are available from three main providers, those being Callcredit, Experian and Equifax. This will show you where those black marks are against you, and if you know what is in there you may be able to explain to the lender why they occurred which can help. Also, if you are turned down by a lender, be sure to ask them on what criteria they declined you – knowing where the problem lies is the only way to start solving it.