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Its becoming more and more difficult to get approved for a credit card or a loan nowadays. The loan market landscape has changed significantly over the last 18 months, money is not as easy to come by anymore.

When we get turned down for a loan or a credit card it is more than likely down to the lenders criteria and your credit report. A credit report is basically your full credit history from when you took out that first loan or applied for your first credit card.

You may feel that you have been refused unjustly as you have always paid your bills on time. If this is the case then you need to get access to your credit report which you are legally entitled to.

Experian which is one of the main credit companies will give you access to your report for free on a limited basis. Its always good to see what is on your credit report as in some cases it may incorrect and be the very reason you are being refused credit.

With such high levels of fraud going on its important for you to make sure that your details are not being used by someone else.

Virgin Credit Card | 0% on Balance Transfers for 16 months

Virgin Credit Card are always leading the way in their offers for balances transfers. If you are looking to transfer a balance then Virgin will charge no interest for a full 16 months. Virgin are always offering one of the most competitive rates on the credit card market. Just read the fine print as there may be some rather high interest rates that you are charged for other uses other than those on offer.

Benefits include:

• 0% Balance Transfer for 16 months
• 0% on purchases for 6 months
• 16.6% APR (variable) (1.2916% monthly)

As always there is a 2.98% handling fee (min £3) when you transfer a balance.

Other interest rate charges:

• Cheque transactions – 20.6% p.a (variable) 1.5766% (monthly)
• Money transfers – 20.6% p.a (variable) 1.5766% (monthly)
• Cash Transactions – 27.9% p.a (variable) 2.0751% (monthly)

Here something most people don’t know is that the allocation of payments (which balances are paid off first) is as follows:

The balances with the lowest rate will be paid off first as the credit card company will want to make the most off of you. If you have 2 balances that are on the same rate the payment will be allocated to the the balances which has its promotional rate ending first.

Simple Credit Rating Repair Guidelines

If you are refused credit it will more than likely be down to your credit rating. Most people don’t realise that in many cases you can repair your credit rating by undertaking a few steps that will make a huge difference in your credit score or rating. These steps are simple and are explained in more detail below.

Below is a short video that out line how to go about these basic steps:

1. Obtain Your Credit Report
2. Correct your report
3. Justify Bad record
4. Get your affairs in order
5. Stability

Debt:How To Check And Repair Your Credit Record

Barclaycard takes the first step towards reducing interest rates

Well we have all been waiting for the credit card companies to make a move over the proverbial interest rate cut line.
Barclaycard are probably the first to confirm that they will be cutting their interest rates. Before we get too excited this will however only apply to a quarter of its customers which are classed as “low risk”. The rates cuts will be in the region of 2.5% to 5%.

It seems like the card provider is trying to engage their customers more through the current economic climate by establishing a helpline for customers who may be struggling to pay back the debt on their cards. New customers will also get greatly reduced rates on Barclaycard Platinum and Barclycard OnePulse, which will see the rate of interest charged on these cards reduced to 12.4%.

Moneyfacts the comparison website revealed that 32% of the population will use their credit cards in the first part of the year. In the past a lot of people would spend on their credit cards and use their annual bonus to pay off most if not all of it, however a lot has changed in the last 12 months and with bonus pools dropping to near extinction these credit card debt balances may be around a bit longer. A cut in interest rates is a welcome relief for many, lets just hope all the other credit companies follow suit very quickly.