How To Check Your Credit Report For Free?

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Credit report is an essential part of life when you have to take out money from any lender. Ironically the system works in a way where a person who wants to improve his credit score has to take out a loan which depends on a credit score itself.

However there are newer borrowing methods which can allow a person to take out small loans and pay them back to increase and improve their credit score. These include guarantor loans and payday loans. Both these loans are easily acquired and a prior credit check is usually not required to take them, however there are some problems associated with such loans.

In case of payday loans, high interest rates are attached with them and you might want to consider taking them out only when your financial situation is not already difficult. In the case of a guarantor loans, interest rates are a bit lower as compared to payday loans but finding a guarantor might be a problem and it can affect your relationship with the guarantor who in most cases are close friends or family.

How to check your credit report?

Companies That Compile Your Reports:

There are specific companies trusted by banks and the government to strictly monitor people’s credit scores and provide them in case a lender wants to check the credit history before handing out a huge amount.

Popular UK credit check companies include:

  • Equifax
  • Experian
  • Callcredit

The companies not only provide credit history to lenders, but people who want to have a better look at how they have been fairing in the credit game can access their credit histories on the companies’ website.

What Does A Credit Report Contain?

  • Name, Age and Date of birth
  • Current and previous residences
  • All your credit accounts, list of all the loans that you have taken out and the history of their payments. A credit report is like a financial log of all your credit related activities.
  • Details of people that are financially linked to you which in most cases is the spouse.
  • Public records such as House repossessions, court judgments and bankruptcies.

Who Can Look At Your Credit Report

Lenders usually ask permission from the borrower to see their credit report and can acquire them from any of the three mentioned companies. Landlords are also able to see the reports before renting their house to you, but there is a difference between the kind of report they receive and the kind that a lender receives. Landlords in most cases would only be able to see the electoral register information, court judgments and fraud cases if any.

Acquiring A Credit Report

The three mentioned companies are statutorily obligated to provide anyone with their credit report for £2. However Equifax and Call credit operate under the names of ClearScore and Noddle respectively, and can provide you an access to free credit check for life. You might have to pay the £2 price for a written report though.

Should I Go For Provident Fund?

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Most of the employees are offered an option for the provident fund which creates quite some turmoil within them. Whether to go for it? Or let it go? And even once the decision has been made, they keep second guessing it. Provident fund is a retirement protection plan offered by employers to their employees. It is deemed mandatory in many countries while offered as a choice in some. It works in a way that a certain percentage of the paycheck each month is deducted and employers add their contribution to this fund and keep it aside for safe keeping. Employees get access to this fund when they retire or get disabled. Other conditions may also exist according to the rules established by the employing company. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a62yskvalw However, unlike many other protection plans, a provident fund is one of the most convenient ones. They can benefit the employees in many ways. So if you are having a hard time making up your mind, do consider these positive features first:

  • Employee provident fund (EPF) is subject to high-interest earnings.
  • One of the unique features offered by the provident fund is the option of partial withdrawal. So, if you are going through a money crisis and need cash to deal with illness, house construction, or any other unforeseen situations then you always have a supply handy.
  • This fund not only benefits the employee himself but also allows them to support their family in terms of their needs.
  • Provident fund allows the employee to withdraw 50% of their monthly savings 3 times in their life in order to discourage useless spending yet encourage usage at times of absolute need.
  • This system is so elaborate and flexible that it saves the employees from going towards other programs to fund them in times of health or other emergencies. No more need for insurances when you have this option.
  • In case the employee dies, all of the provident fund goes to the family he/she is leaving behind. This provides a feeling of safety and satisfaction for the employees that they won’t be leaving their families empty handed, especially those who are the bread earners of the house.
  • When an employee agrees on provident fund, he automatically signs up for the Employee Deposit Linked Insurance schemes. This saves the employee from making any extra payment besides the provident fund yet get access to an insurance fund which can go as high as 6 hundred thousand.

In many countries provident funds are mandatory for employees while in others it is offered as an option. Regardless, every employee must go for the provident fund because there are no other retirement protection plans that offer better features. With provident fund, you not only can take care of yourself in old age, but could also take care of your family even after death and have your insurance covered too. Apart from all that, if any emergency appears out of the blue, provident fund is there to help.

Your Legal Responsibilities as a Lender in the UK

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The trend of acquiring loans to meet your growing financial needs has become more common today than it has ever been before. This need has in turn, seen the rise of several different loan providers. In order to keep the loaning activity safe and up to the par, the United Kingdom has regulated an entire section where the loan providers are bound to adhere to certain legal responsibilities.

Legal Responsibilities of Loan Providers

There is a long list of legal responsibilities that fall under ‘The Lending Code’ and are required to be fulfilled by the provider. This code has set the standard for lenders in the United Kingdom in order to make the practice prolific for the industry, the borrowers, and the lender itself. Following are a few of these responsibilities:

  • The loan providers must make sure that their policies and promotional literature is clear and fair. It must not mislead the borrower in any way.
  • The provider must make sure that it lends the money responsibly. There should not be any errors or delays on its part. Furthermore, the lender must also make sure that the money is lent to the borrower on time.
  • No changes in interest rates will be made prior to informing the customers. This also goes for a change in terms and conditions, as well as for different charges.
  • Any information of the borrower that is personal must be treated as so. Loan providers are required to take adequate measure to protect such information.
  • The loan provider must make sure not to use legal or technical terminology where it isn’t required. The language in the presented information to the buyer should be kept plain and simple.
  • The borrower must be given the option to opt out of receiving marketing information from the lender. In addition to that, any promotional unsolicited email to the borrower must include the option to unsubscribe for future emails of such regard.
  • For the borrowers that are buying a credit product, the lenders must tell them if the Credit Reference Agencies (CRAs) will perform any checks or searches on them. The borrowers must also be informed if the record of that particular check will be kept at the CRA. However, the lender has the right to provide customer’s default information to the CRA in the following cases:
    • The borrower has not been following the schedule of payment
    • The borrowers’ proposal of repayment schedule is not satisfying enough to the lender
  • Upon asking, the lenders are obliged to tell borrowers about the CRA they use. Borrowers must also be advised on how they can get a copy of their information being held by CRA.

The Lending Code covers several different areas that are related to credit cards, charge cards, loans, debt collection activities, and current account overdrafts. It defines the minimum standards for having a good practice while lending to micro-enterprises, consumers, and charities that have a below 1 million pound annual income.

Get those skills

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Skills, skills, skills. That’s what we offer, so whether you’re looking to make a career change or you want to gain some additional skills and/or work experience CAP is here to help.

A popular mind set is to go to school, leave school and go to work in the same job for year and years. There’s nothing wrong with that… but what if you want more? Of course,, building career capital is important for anyone… but acquiring such capital is only worth doing in certain situations. Does the company you work for align with your own wants, desires and beliefs. Does acquiring career capital lead you into a position where there are few with a similar skill set, where jobs offer you autonomy and control? If the answer is no… then you need to take a look around the offices at your peers. Are any achieving what you want to achieve? Are any in positions that your aspire to? Is the answer is no… then you need to consider you options. We’re not saying you need to change career path… we’re just saying that you need to be mindful of your future. If none of your peers are doing what you want to be doing… then it is unlikely you’ll find total job satisfaction where you are, if any.

We’re not saying that we are the gold bullet that’s going to fix all your problems.On the contrary, you will need to do a lot of searching to understand exactly where you want to be in life. This no easy task and it arguably becomes harder as you get older. Family ties and financial commitments make it very difficult the closer you get to thirty… but all is not lost. Many people choose different careers late on in life… and they do just fine.

We’re here to help you advance your plans as we have a staff of well-trained coaches who have a combined tenure of 100 years in the professional accreditation business. You will be matched up with a designated trainer who will guide you through the entire process. Our services and support go beyond training courses as we offer support even after you leave. No other professional certification organization offers the same level of support, quality and guidance as we do–you can rest assured that your needs are in safe hands.
If you’re in two minds about joining us, why not get in touch with one of our helpful staff. They will be happy to guide you through the process and to let you know the ins and outs of our services. After meeting with them, you will e in a position to have a better idea about which direction you will want to go in.