If you think your credit score has taken a hammering due to the cost of living crisis, we've come up with a step-by-step guide how to give it some TLC.
Your credit score, which is a record of the way you’ve managed your debts and bills in the past compiled by the agencies TransUnion, Equifax and Experian, can determine whether you get accepted for a loan or credit card and impacts the type of deal you might be offered. It can also affect other types of credit agreements, such as mobile phone plans.
UK households are facing a “debt timebomb”, according to Citizens Advice, which said it is helping increasing numbers of people with a negative budget, where their income is not enough to cover the essential expenses, making debt “unavoidable” for millions of people during the cost of living crisis. But if you have a poor credit score by missing payments or defaulting on agreements, you may find you're offered a higher interest rate or can't get credit at all if you want to change mobile phone contracts or banks.
