On tonight's episode of The Martin Lewis Money Show Live on ITV, Martin Lewis covered many credit score questions from the audience at home and in the studio.
The MoneySavingExpert founder also shared different ways people can boost their credit score.
He explained: "There's no hard and fast rules but there are certain things that you can do that will generally make you look financially attractive."
Martin Lewis' top 10 tips for boosting your credit score
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- Use consistent answers on every credit application - eg. job title, phone number
- Don't just apply for a card or loan, always use an eligibility calculator
- Use paying rent on time to boost your ability to get credit
- Get on the electoral roll - you can still opt out of "open register"
- Never miss or be late on a payment
- Be careful of joint products with flatmates or partners
- If you are no longer financially linked (eg. are now divorced), do a "notice of disassociation"
- Time applications right - if things are near to moving off your credit file that are negative, wait to apply
- Don't do little applications just before big ones - eg. don't get a credit card days before applying for a mortgage
- Don't withdraw money from your credit card
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How to boost credit score with monthly rent payments
A viewer at home also asked: "Why doesn't renting with positive monthly payments contribute towards your credit score but mortgage payments do?"
Martin explained: "It's a very simple technical answer. A mortgage is a credit product, rent is not a credit product. This is credit scoring, in the same way that savings do not go on your credit file but many lenders will ask about them because it comes into the affordability decision.
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"However, things are changing because there's so much annoyance about that. We are now in a position where paying rent on time can boost your ability to get credit."
He added: "So if you are a tenant, you can sign up to Canopy which will then report your rent to Experian for free or Credit Ladder which will report to one of the three agencies for free."
Find more information about how you can manage your credit score on the MoneySavingExpert website.
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