One of the best ways to better understand your financial position is by checking your credit score, being aware of your score, and learning how to improve it can increase your chances of getting better interest rates on mortgages, loans, and credit cards.
However, new research from debt management company, Lowell reveals that the importance of credit scores to Brits across the UK varies widely across by both age and location.
Credit score by age
The research highlighted an obvious age discrepancy around Brits’ attitudes towards credit scores and revealed that the older generation of Brits knows more about credit scores than the younger generation:
|
Age |
% Of people who knew how to check their credit score |
|
16-24 |
55% |
|
25-34 |
66% |
|
35-44 |
68% |
|
45-54 |
72% |
|
55+ |
72% |
Surprisingly, the research found that almost one-third (32%) of the 16–24-year-olds who know how to check their credit score, check it multiple times a month. According to the data, those aged 55 and over (15%) are most likely to check their credit score just once a month, as well as 35-44-year-olds (11%) and 25-34-year-olds (11%).
Despite the statistics showing that young people are more technically inclined to keep track of their score, people aged over 55 have a better understanding than young people of what affects their credit score. The research showed that almost three-quarters (72%) of Brits over 55 know that missed payments are a key reason as to why your score can be negatively impacted, in comparison to just over three in 10 (35%) of 16-24-year-olds.
In addition to this, it was revealed that over three quarter’s (79%) of 16-24-year-olds do not think ‘buy now pay later’ schemes can affect their credit score.
Credit score by location
Lowell’s study also revealed the best and worst locations for credit score knowledge throughout the UK. The top three cities with the best understanding of how to check their credit scores are:
- Cardiff (78%) / Manchester (78%)
- Birmingham (76%)
- Southampton (75%)
In contrast to this, the city that has the least amount of knowledge on how to check a credit score is Belfast where nearly half (45%) of residents admitted to not knowing how to check their credit score.
