Credit

At various stages of our life we might have to rely on a form of credit. There are many options out there varying in affordability, which can be confusing. What sort of things should you consider when taking on Credit?

What is Credit?

It’s a way of obtaining goods or services now and paying for them over an agreed time arranged with the Creditor. When you enter into this type of agreement you as the customer can also be referred to as a “debtor” (person who owes money).

What is a Creditor?

A Creditor can be a person or business that has given you the credit. This is who you owe the money back to.
What age do I have to be to enter a Credit agreement? You must be 18 years old in order to enter an agreement with a Creditor.

Things to consider:

Total amount repayable and time period to repay

Whenever you are considering taking out any form of Credit ALWAYS check the terms and conditions including how long it will take to repay and how much you’ll have to repay including the A.P.R. (Annual Percentage Rate) is. This information could be contained in “the small print”.

Credit rating

When you apply for Credit some Creditors will want to check your Credit Rating. Creditors must ask your permission for this. Your Credit Rating is a record of your payment history which details how reliable you’ve been with maintaining repayments. Your Credit rating is scored. Creditors use this to make a decision on whether or not to give you Credit which they will then base their decision on allows companies to know how reliable you are with finances to determine if they can give you credit.

You can check your credit rating on the links below but checking too often can damage your rating. Please be sure to check terms and conditions for signing-up to view your rating as some sites may charge money for this service.
www.Experian.co.uk
www.noodle.co.uk – this website is free of charge to use!
www.Equifax.co.uk