Many people in Britain these days tend to be struggling with debt and finding themselves ending up with a bad credit rating. 76 per cent of people aged between 16 - 35 see debt as a part of thre every day life. Britains personal debt is hiting over £1.2 trillion.

Most people believe that once you have a bad credit rating that there is nothing they can do except sit back and wait for it to rebuild itself, but there are a few things that you can do that will improve your credit rating.

Below we have created a guide to a few things which will help you rebuild your credit rating, but this not professional debt advice, just a basic guide for own guidence

CHECK YOUR CREDIT SCORE

The best way to find out exactly what Your credit rating, is to use a credit checking agency to see what’s on your credit file. Some offer a free 30-day trial such as Credit Expert. They are a credit monitoring and identity protection service from Experian. They will tell you what is on your file, or for a small fee, they will talk you through exactly what you need to do to resolve any issues on your file.

REGISTER TO VOTE

Many lenders check the electoral roll as a precaution against fraud, to ensure that you are who you say you are and live at the address you have given. If your name doesn't appear, lenders might not be able to confirm that you live at your address, so you could face ID checks or even rejection. So sign up to the electoral roll and it will improve your credit rating and increase your chances of getting loans, bank accounts, mortgages and more.

DONT OVER APPLY TO COMPANIES

Even if you are desparate dont Apply for six loans in a week because this will show companies that you’re in a desparate situation – and a sure sign that you have money problems which will leed them to believe that you might be a liability.

UTILITY BILLS

Putting utility bills in your name proves that you have a fixed address and can also be used as proof that you’re paying your bills on time. Using direct debit is one of the best ways to pay as this makes sure that bills are paid on time and will help improve your credit status.

GET RID OF CREDIT CARDS

Getting rid of any unused credit cards will also help your credit rating as this will keep your details updated, showing that you have fewer cards. With so many people are taking advantage of 0% balance transfer offers, many people have two or three unused cards lying around. Close the unused accounts as this keeps your details updated. Do the same with unused bank accounts. It’s also a good idea to get in touch with a credit rating company to let them know when you’ve cleared an account to be sure that it has been removed from your file.

BUILD YOUR CREDIT

Try Rebuilding your credit with credit building companys such as Vanquis, or Capital One. They offer credit to people who need to build up their credit rating, but as they are taking a risk with you, they also charge very high interest rates – as high as 60 per cent APR, so think carefully before taking out a credit card with one of these companies.

PAY YOUR BILLS ON TIME

Make sure that you pay all your your bills on time. This includes utility bills such as gas, electricity and telephone bills and not only credit cards and loans, as all these bills are a form of credit. Not paying your bills on time shows up on your credit file and will damage your credit rating. Direct debit is the best way to pay as you dont need to worrie about getting out to pay your bill on time and you normally save a couple of pounds by paying by direct debit.

Just make sure that you know when the money is coming out and that there’s enough in your bank account to pay the bill, otherwise your bank will charge you and you will not be doing your credit rating any favours.

APPLYING FOR CREDIT

Applying for credit such as loans and credit cards can also increase your credit rating when managed properly as paying the bills on time and kepping upto date with them proves that you are reliable, and this will build up your credit rating.

Even the simple things such as having a landline help your credit rating as this will give the impression of being secure and settled and just filling in your details correctly will all add to your credit rating.