Credit Where Credit’s Due: Second Chances to Gain Some Finances

As cynical a saying as it may be, “there’s no such thing as a second chance” certainly holds some degree of truth for countless people in certain situations. First impressions are often everything, whether it is at a job interview or on a first date: get it right at the first time of asking or kiss the opportunity goodbye.

But many would also argue that one of the fundamental human rights is the right to make mistakes and learn from them. After all, nobody is perfect. In the past, countless people have found themselves in a financial rut due to a bad credit rating, often gained through a combination of youthful inexperience and bad money-management skills. Indeed, many university graduates face years of bad credit that has been gained entirely through meeting day-to-day living expenses whilst studying; not everybody has parents that can afford to pay for 4 years of full-time higher education.

Furthermore, in recent years, there has been a significant increase in complaints to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) about the misselling of financial services, and in particular unscrupulous brokers who mislead tenants into providing false information on mortgage applications, with the purpose of borrowing more money than they can afford. So, bad credit isn’t always down to bad money-management skills; it can be down to bad advice.

Perhaps contrary to popular belief, countless people with well-paid jobs, money in the bank and little or no debt can still have an adverse credit rating. And that blot on their record can be difficult to erase and can have implications for being able to borrow money. But more and more financial organisations are now beginning to realise that an adverse rating shouldn’t automatically disqualify the individual from being able to borrow.

Indeed, bad credit loans and other ‘bad credit’ financial services now exist specifically for people in such a situation and anything from £5,000 to £100,000 can be borrowed. There are also services available that provide advice and outline the bad credit loan options. After all, this is a golden opportunity to improve the credit rating and it’s important to borrow the right type of loan to suit the individual. The last thing that is needed here is to get into further financial difficulty.

With so much relying on credit ratings these days, it can be difficult for people to find their feet again financially, and many people still have blots on their credit report years after any debt has been cleared, despite having savings and decent earnings. But the financial industry is coming to realise this and there are now services available for those with an adverse credit rating, giving people that second chance they deserve.