Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert (MSE) team has urged people to “sign up” now to boost their credit score. If you don’t, “it’s much harder to get accepted”, it says.

As part of its financial advice, it says that people should register to vote. It explains: “If you’re not on the electoral roll, it’s much harder to get accepted for credit, so sign up immediately.

“Don’t wait for the annual reminder or for the elections to roll around.” You can apply via the official Gov.uk website, MSE notes.

If you live in England or Northern Ireland, you must be aged 16 or over to register. Meanwhile, if you live in Scotland or Wales, you must be aged 14 or over to register.

If you want to register to vote, it should take around 5 minutes. MSE explain: “Simply follow the instructions online – it’ll ask you a series of questions aimed at identifying you, and the local electoral borough you need to register with. Note that you’ll need your national insurance number to hand.

“Many worry some councils sell on the data. But you can opt out of the open electoral register which can be used for marketing.”

It adds: “Credit reference agencies are allowed to use the full register which you can’t opt out of and that you should, by law, be on. The electoral roll can be a factor in scoring, but even where it isn’t, not being on it can lead to delays as lenders also use it to check your address and ID.

“It’s worth noting the credit scores sold to you by credit reference agencies may show you’ve a perfect score without being on the electoral roll. Don’t let that fool you into thinking not being registered won’t affect your ability to get credit. It will, because lenders also need to be sure you are who you say you are.”

If you are not eligible to vote in the UK, you can add a note to your file saying you have proof of residency. MSE say that you can “ask all three credit reference agencies to add a ‘notice of correction’ to your credit file saying you can provide proof of residency” such as a bill or a UK driving licence to lenders who will see the note when reviewing your application. They will then get in touch so that you can provide them.

Credit reference agency Equifax suggests you may want to say something like the following in your notice of correction:

“I, (full name), with date of birth (dd/mm/yyyy) am not on electoral register at my present address, because I’m not a British citizen. I’ve lived in my current address since (dd/mm/yyyy) and can provide utility bills or bank statements to prove this if needed. Please take this into account when searching my credit report.”

For other tips on how to boost your credit score, you can read the full article here. 

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