How will debt consolidation affect my credit score?
Debt consolidation can affect your credit score, but a lot depends on your ability to repay the debt. Having too much debt, especially spread over different kinds of credit, can increase your chances of defaulting or failing to repay the money you owe. Consolidating your debts into a single credit product - at a possibly lower interest rate - is one way of lowering this risk. By paying off your debts, this positive behaviour may show on your credit report and you you may be able to boost your credit score. This is provided you can make timely repayments and not take on additional debt.
From a credit reporting bureau’s perspective, lowering the number of debts and reducing your overall indebtedness is seen as a positive move. To ensure the consolidation loan does not hurt your credit score, you may want to consult a financial advisor before starting the loan application process.
Can I check my credit score without a driver's licence?
In Australia, your driver’s licence is the preferred identification document among credit reporting bureaus.
Most companies that can provide you with your credit score accept some alternative forms of identification, primarily your passport or Medicare card. However, the recommended document is a valid Australian driver’s licence.
It’s highly unlikely that you’ll be able to confirm your identity using other documents, such as a proof-of-age card.
You’ll also need to provide valid personal details such as your name, date of birth, and residential address. If you’ve lived in your current residence for less than six months you may also need to provide previous home addresses.
You may have genuine reasons for not wanting to provide your licence details, such as concerns over identity theft. Some credit reporting agencies offer packages, at a cost, that include insurance against identity theft. Such packages may also include monthly credit score checks or alerts whenever your score is updated.
If you don’t have a driver’s licence, there’s a good chance that you haven’t applied for credit in the past and don’t have a credit score at all.
Can a debt collector affect your credit score?
When a creditor is unable to contact you by phone or by sending you a formal notice in regards to outstanding debt, they will often outsource the job to a debt collector. The debt collector can try to reach you by phone, or they can attempt to contact you face to face. If they cannot get through to you by either method, they can only report back to the creditor but not directly report a payment default to the credit rating agency. So, can debt collectors affect your credit score? No, they cannot do so directly.
However, if you owe money, you have an obligation to return it or communicate your difficulty in doing so to the creditor as well as to any involved debt collector. If they cannot contact you, they can report a serious credit infringement against you, which may affect your credit score for many years. Creditors can also take the legal route, and a court judgment against you can also severely impact your credit score.
You should remember that debt collectors need to abide by specific rules and cannot harass you by repeatedly calling or visiting you, or by threatening to confiscate your possessions if you don’t pay up. Similarly, they cannot threaten to file a default against you, especially with a credit bureau.
Does borrowing money affect credit score?
Whether it’s through a home loan, a personal loan, or a credit card, borrowing money will affect your credit score. Taking on a home loan or a credit card may have a positive impact on your score, but too many loan applications can bring your credit score down.
Every time you apply for credit, an inquiry is performed against your name. Too many inquiries can reflect negatively on your credit report, and if your loan application is rejected it will negatively impact your credit score.
How you handle your debt can also make a big difference. As long as you make timely payments you may be able to improve your credit score and overall creditworthiness. However, any missed or delayed payments will likely result in a negative impact on your credit score.
Does home loan pre-approval affect credit score?
Home loan pre-approval can give you a better idea of the amount you can spend when buying a property. It can also tell you about the steps you need to take to finalise your home loan and receiving the funds. Depending on how you approach a lender, pre-approval could include a credit inquiry which does affect your credit score. Some lenders, however, may offer an online pre-approval which is faster and doesn’t involve a credit history check. An online pre-approval may only consider your financial capacity and offer suggestions on how to prepare yourself to take a home loan.
Most lenders, however, will likely prefer to make a full assessment of your financial situation by requesting a credit report in addition to your bank statements and tax returns. Such a credit inquiry, sometimes called a hard pull, is usually recorded on your credit file and can therefore affect your credit score. If you approach several lenders and all of them initiate credit inquiries, this will impact your credit score negatively. Sometimes credit reporting agencies make an exception in terms of including multiple credit inquiries if they are made within a certain period. It would still be best to avoid making multiple applications with different lenders.
What are some advantages of a good credit score?
You should know about the advantages of credit score improvement as there are many occasions when having a good score is helpful. If your credit score is categorised as good, very good, or excellent, it can indicate you have strong borrowing power. This may encourage lenders to give you special discounts on interest rates and other loan terms. You may also find it easier to get approved for a credit card or a property rental. You can also try to negotiate terms using your superior credit score as leverage.
A high credit score indicates that you are financially responsible, but it requires you to be disciplined. If you currently have a good credit score, you still need to remember not to apply too often for credit cards or loans as these can quickly pull down your score. On the one hand, you may have better access to credit, but your good financial habits mean that you may not need to access this credit. Having some credit products can help build up your credit report, and therefore your credit score. You would just need to keep the debt and limits to a minimum and pay the bills on time. It’s never advisable to take out credit that you can’t afford to pay as it negatively impacts your credit history. Even if you have a good credit score, you can always improve it further.
How does my credit score affect the interest rate offered by lenders?
When you apply for a loan, lenders will typically access your credit history. By studying your credit report, they can not only estimate whether you are a reliable borrower, but also calculate the maximum amount you can borrow and repay completely before the loan term expires. Your credit report can also tell lenders about the other kinds of debt you’ve taken and whether you earn enough to make additional repayments.
If you don’t have too much outstanding debt, or if you’re managing your current level of debt well, you’re more likely to have a higher credit score. For some credit products, lenders usually offer a lower interest rate for applicants with a fair credit score. If they don’t, you can always try to negotiate it, given your higher creditworthiness. You should remember that asking for a lower interest rate may not affect your credit score, but applying for the loan certainly has an impact.
Do landlords check credit scores?
For landlords, credit score checks can tell if a potential tenant has a history of delayed or missed rent payments. Usually, a poor record of repayments is likely to result in a low credit score. Also, your credit history may include information from tenancy databases such as the number of times landlords have inquired about your credit score.
If there are too many inquiries within a short time, landlords may conclude that you have had issues renting in the past. However, there is no rule as to when landlords check your credit score. Some might check every time they receive a tenant’s application. In some cases, landlords may even rent out their property to tenants with a poor credit history if they can submit additional documents or sufficiently explain their situation and how they are trying to address it.
What credit score do landlords look for?
Landlords may look for issues relating to repayment rather than a specific credit score, although a low credit score probably suggests that you’ve had repayment issues. In general, if your credit score is categorised good, very good, or excellent - which corresponds to an Equifax credit score range of 622 - 1,200, landlords may not scrutinise your credit history too closely.
What is a good credit score?
Across Australia's major credit score providers, Experian and Equifax, there are five tiers, ranging from "below average" to "fair" to "good", "very good", and "excellent", with your score designating where you sit. As the tiers suggest, an Experian credit score between 625 and 699, and an Equifax credit score between 622 and 725, is technically considered to be in the range of "good". Anything above this is even better.
However, lenders will typically favour the borrowers with the highest credit scores which means that applicants with a "good" credit score may not be offered an interest rate as competitive as one offered to a borrower with a "very good" or “excellent” credit score.
Why should I check my credit score annually?
You may not need to get your free credit rating every year, but it can help you stay informed. A yearly free credit report can help Australians keep track of the impact of various financial transactions on their credit score.
Your credit score helps inform financial organisations, particularly lenders, about the sort of payer you are. Depending on how you've paid down debt in the past, it will have affected your credit score in various ways. In Australia, the inclusion of Comprehensive Credit Reporting (CCR) means that you can find out which transactions affect your credit score positively, as well those that have a negative impact.
Because of this, you may want to consider getting a free credit report once a year irrespective of whether you’re planning to apply for a loan or take on other debt. Checking your credit report can tell you if there are errors in your credit file, which affect your credit score and need to be corrected.
