Most individuals comprehend how important it is to have a spotless credit report and a high credit score when they try to get a mortgage for a house or an automobile. Lenders take the credit information very seriously and they can charge a higher interest rate or even reject credit altogether based on the information from the credit report and credit score.

Nonetheless there are also a few other things that most individuals are not even attentive of with reference to credit reports and credit scores. Destructive credit can affect you in a few unexpected ways.

If you are a credit cardholder you need to make sure that you keep a good credit score and a clean credit report. Credit card companies are infamous for finding any rationale that they can to jack up your interest rates. If you are a cardholder they can scrutinize your report and if you show any damaging credit they can boost your rates, even if you have never been late on a payment to them! The teaser opening rate could double or even triple if your credit report is awful.

Any mark that shows on your report is an sufficient reason for a credit card company to jack up your rates. If the information is wrong or erroneous it is immaterial to them and they will still unjustly boost your rates. For this reason it is intelligent to take advantage of credit repair strategies to obliterate untrue and wrong credit.

Your credit score and your credit report can also have an effect on a job search. A prospective employer can do a credit inquiry as part of a background check with your permission. It is permissible for them not to hire you based on your credit. They must have special go-ahead to retrieve your credit history though.

If you have good credit it may mean the difference between getting hired or not if you are one of a few similarly qualified prospects. If you have bad credit they may not even consider you. In these changing fiscal times it is significant to sustain any advantage you may have in the job market.

A third shocking benefit for having a good credit report is that insurance companies can turn you down for coverage if you have bad credit. According to their in-house research they have determined that drivers with bad credit actually submit 40% of all claims. If you have bad credit you are deemed a higher risk to the insurance companies. The figures may be as high as 90% of automobile insurance companies use credit reports as an underwriting tool.

While many of these things seem unwarranted and unreasonable the fact is that our credit affects more than we understand. Do what you can to maintain good credit if you have it and if you don’t take the steps necessary to improve or repair your credit.