What Are the Effects of a Bad Credit Score?

Most people are now aware of how much a bad credit score can affect their access to financial products such as credit cards and personal loans.  Even if you aren’t turned down outright, you might find that the interest rate you’re offered is much higherbecause the lender considers you to be a high-risk borrower.  Extra charges can add hundreds to the cost of your borrowing.

If you find yourself in financial difficulties and are turned down, payday loans online from a direct lender can often be the help-line you need until you get yourself back on your feet.                   

If you have no intention of taking out a mortgage to buy a house, you might think that a poor credit score doesn’t really matter.  However, nowadays, there’s so much competition for rented accommodation in the private sector that a landlord may carry out a credit check on you.  If they find you have a low score, they might be less willing to rent the property to you because of their worries that you won’t pay the rent on time or even not pay at all.

Apart from trying to find accommodation, your credit rating also has an impact if you wish to take out a mobile phone contract.  Phone providers might be reluctant to give you a contract if they believe you might not pay your bills on time. In this situation, your only choice is to have a pay-as-you-go phone.  This can be one of the most expensive ways to pay for calls, text messages and internet access.

Similarly, energy providers might not agree to billing you for your energy use.  In this case, a pay-as-you-go meter will be installed in your property. Apart from the inconvenience of keeping the energy topped-up, you won’t be eligible for their special discounted tariffs.  This will dramatically increase the size of your utility bills.

Some people mistakenly believe that if you live with someone who has a poor credit score, then your own is immediately affected because you share the same address.  However, it is true that if you share a financial product with someone else (such as shared utility bills or a joint bank account), they will be affected by your poor score.  You might decide to improve your score because you don’t want to have such a negative impact on your partner, friends and/or family members.

When you apply for a new job, your prospective employer might ask your permission to carry out a credit check.  Whether they do so primarily depends on which sector you work in. Jobs involving a degree of trustworthiness regarding money and/or money management skills are more likely to want to see what your credit score is like.  Some employers also believe that a bad credit score can have a direct effect on your productivity and work performance.  They feel that employees with money troubles are less likely to give 100% to their job.