Ireland Credit Card

So you have landed yourself with a bad credit rating. What to do now? Is a repair possible?

Yes, repairing a credit rating is possible. If you have recognized the importance of credit rating, you have already taken the first step towards mending it. You might like to start with getting your credit report from the national credit bureau. This is especially important if you (and your credit card) have been a victim of credit card fraud in the recent times. You might need to inform the credit bureau if you find that the fraud has earned a bad credit rating for you. Even otherwise, if you feel that there is something unexpectedly wrong with your credit rating, you might have to take up the matter with the credit card supplier and the Irish credit bureau.

Now for the more common scenario, i.e. where you know that you have been responsible (or rather irresponsible) for your bad credit rating. In such a case you would already know about some of the things that have contributed to a bad credit rating and you will need to take care of those things in future. However, here is a list of things that you need to do in order to repair your credit rating.
Set reminders to remind you of the payment due date for your credit card bill, your mortgage installments and any other loan installments. Defaulting on these will hit your credit rating the most. These reminders will help in preventing your credit rating from getting worse.

Do not apply for too many credit cards or loans. These applications reflect badly on your financial situation and hence negatively influence your credit rating. Moreover, managing too many credit cards and loans becomes too much of a hassle. Further, too many credit cards may also mean a bigger outgo in terms of annual fee (if any) charged by the credit card supplier. In fact, you should try and close any credit accounts that you possibly can especially the ones having long standing debt.

Remain within limits (i.e. credit limits). Credit limit is a way of limiting the amount you can spend on your credit card in a particular period (monthly). It doesn’t mean that you have to necessarily spend that amount. Neither does it mean that your credit card is under-utilized if you don’t spend that amount your credit. Spend only as much as you need to and always try to remain within 70% of your credit limit.

Protect yourself from fraud and fraudsters. Besides the possible losses that are caused by a fraud, you can also end up tarnishing your credit rating. Though the credit rating can be resolved to a certain extent but it is not free from hassles and is a time consuming process. Follow the fraud prevention instructions and even consider using anti-spyware software (if you use your credit card for online shopping).

If the situation is so bad that your credit card applications are getting refused then you can go for a secured credit card (also known as debit card). These require you to open a savings/current account with the bank and always maintain some balance in that. Your credit limit is governed by the amount you hold in your account. You can then use this credit card in an orderly manner so as to improve your credit rating.
In short, the key to credit rating repair lies in a lot of discipline and patience.