Last week Joe posted about 10 Ways To Boost Your Credit Rating, which really made me think how bad it is that I actually have no idea what my credit score is! I assumed it couldn’t be too negative, as I don’t have the obvious signs such as an overdrawn bank account or maxed out credit cards but I thought it was important to find out!
So I decided to check my credit score online and it turns out I’m actually not doing too bad! I used the ClearScore credit checker which was really simple (and free!) to use. I thought I would need a lot of information and paperwork to complete it, but it was completely haste free. Once I’d filled out some basic questions about my address history and income it gave me my credit score rating and clearly told me what was good and what was bad about it. It also told me where I stand in comparison to the average score of people in my local area and the average UK score – I was pleasantly surprised to find I’m above average!
ClearScore Coaching
One of the best things about ClearScore was the coaching platform it offers after you’ve completed your credit check. They have an automated instant message system that acts as a personal credit score trainer, that gives you advice on how to Build, Repair or Shape Up your credit score and the advice it gives is specific to you and your thoughts about you finances. As you go along it adds the tips to your own personal to-do list which you can tick off as you complete later on. The IM chat was really entertaining and combined valuable advice with a conversational tone and threw in some cat videos too!
As my credit score was looking good I went for the Shape Up plan. My IM chat had already added and bunch of things to my to-do list and it handily split them up by quick wins and tasks that would require a little bit more effort. Best of all, they offer some refuel advice to motivate you to carry on, mine included pug puppy videos – always a winner!!
ClearScore identified that not having a credit card was negatively affecting my credit score and my ClearScore coach directed me to some comparison offers of credit cards that were appropriate to me, with links to check my eligibility really quickly! This is particularly helpful as there’s nothing more frustrating than filling out all the fields on a huge credit application only to be declined after clicking submit.
I hadn’t realised how simple it was to check my credit score before and just how many things can affect it. Having the personal credit score trainer has really helped me to understand my next steps to not just improving my credit score, but my finances also! Have you tried out ClearScore, if so what are your thoughts?
That is so useful! It always seems insane that if you owe nothing and dont have a credit card that you can’t get one, or the business loan you are after. Being informed as to why and having action you can take sounds brilliant. Thanks
No problem Chrissy!
I’ve found it so helpful to now be in the know and will be submitting my first credit card application this week to boost my score further!
Really a nice tool. I would suggest this to my work colleagues also. Best thing I liked about this tool is it doesn’t only calculate your credit score but also gives you suggestions on improving and maintaining it.
Thank you for sharing.