Contract Hire Specialist

Our Mythical Bushwalker reaches a yawning gap between his current standpoint and his destination.

A huge abyss stares up at him mockingly.

All that connects him to the pot of gold on the other side is a flimsy, tattered and weather beaten rope bridge.

“Almighty god” he cries out heavenward, “if I make it to other side in one piece – I promise that 80% of my fortune will be donated to charity”. Having placed his trust in a Higher Power, our bushwalker cautiously places one foot on bridge.

When he is a quarter of the way through he turns heavenward and says “Almighty god, if I make it through to other side – I promise that 50% of my fortune will be donated to charity”.

When he finds himself halfway through to other side he turns heavenward and says “Almighty god, if I make it through to other side – I promise that 30% of my fortune will be donated to charity”.

When he finally makes it across to other side in one piece and none the worse for his exploits he turns heavenward and says “Almighty god – I was joking and you thought I was serious!”

 Lest you think that this little quip is nothing more than the ranting of a bored soul, you may wish to think again.

Our eagle-eyed Chancellor of the Exchequer in his latest Pre-Budget Report slashed by 50% the Carbon Tax payable on cars with an emission of 72 co2.

At first glance this looks and feels like a real savings – 50% tax cut on low emission vehicles. Heck, Santa Claus must have come in early this year.

The catch is, are you ready for this one? – there is no such car in existence in the UK with this level of co2 output.

The lowest level of co2 output is the Smart car diesel coupe with an output of 89 co2.

“My dear suckers – I mean tax payers – when I said that the Almighty squatters of Her Majesty’s Government would cut your taxes we were joking. And you thought we were serious”.

 

 

Millions of Britons are being charged heinous amounts of interest or are being refused credit altogether.

 

The issue is not as complicated as banks and others make it out to be, but neither is simple nor obvious. How do the financial institutions measure your risk?

 

And don’t kid yourself that it does not affect you, the way in which your risk is measured affects you almost every day in more ways than you can imagine. Are you applying for a credit card? A bank account? A mortgage? A car loan? A mobile phone? Cable TV? Broadband connection to the internet?

These and hundreds of other ways in which we request overtly or covertly the financial institutions’ resources invite them to measure your risk profile.

 

And to top it off, every time you are refused, a ‘blotch’ will appear on your report which in itself will push your score lower. A classic case of Catch-22.

 

How do they measure consumer risk? The answer lies in two words – Credit Score.

Every person has a credit score based on historical behaviour and it is largely this historical record that finance institutions use to determine how our behaviour will most likely be in the future.

 

There are other factors involved as well such as employment but a large part of your score is determined by historical behaviour and monetary habits.

 

A higher score translates in cheaper finance rates and faster decisions by the decision makers.

In today’s financial climate more than ever, it is imperative that you aim for the highest possible score.

 

A low or average score should not be taken personally as none other than one of the greatest world investors found out when he received only an above average score!

 

Though the US and UK have different ways of calculating the numbers, they are not much different.

 

There are three things you will have to do.

 

The first thing you will need to do is to get your credit score and find out what it is.

 

Often there will be factual errors that will damage your score and than can be fixed with a simple phone call or letter.

 

Second thing to do is to dispel myths and facts about improving your score.

Much of what you will read in the link above applies to the UK as well.

 

The third and final shield in your defence arsenal against high interest rates and fees is – patience.

 

It takes time for modified behaviour and factual changes to start having an impact on your score. Give yourself at least 6 months of being actively engaged in the process and then request your score again.

 

Good luck!