Forget your credit rating – THIS is the financial scoring system YOU need to know about

Eligibility scores are an indicator of your chances of being accepted when you apply for credit. Scored out of 1000, the higher your eligibility score, the more attractive you are to lenders.

The score is unique to TotallyMoney.com, and takes into account crucial information that is excluded from your credit score but still forms part of credit providers’ lending criteria.

It can be checked for free, and you can also see how your score compares to the national average and other people in your local area.

The eligibility score considers your credit history along with changes in the market, making it the only score that is directly related to the credit that is available to you as an indiidual.

Unlike repeatedly checking your credit score, checking your eligibility will not affect your credit rating.

TotallyMoney.com runs a soft search on your credit file to generate the score – soft searches are generally not visible to lenders, but if they are, lending decisions are unaffected.

Based on research carried out by TotallyMoney.com, Northern Ireland has the best average eligibility score in the UK, at 333 out of 1000. Wales comes in last with an average eligibility score of 319.

Broken down into cities, Bradford has the best eligibility score, at 344 out of 1000, with London coming not too far behind at 340.

And despite the average eligibility score across Scotland being lower than that of England or Northern Ireland, the Scottish cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh have the third and tenth highest average eligibility score, respectively, of any UK city.

Looking at the bottom of the scoring system by postcode, Swansea, Brighton and West Central London all scored a very low 313.

Dundee limped in just ahead with 314, and Newport and Blackpool scored an average of 315. Hereford, Cardiff and Bolton all shared a score of 317.

TotallyMoney.com explained what affects the eligibility score, and said: “Missing monthly payments on credit cards or loans, or going outside of your credit limit will negatively impact your eligibility score.

“However a low eligibility score can be improved by getting a card for people with poor credit and using it sensibly – for example by spending a little on it each month and always making sure you pay off the balance in full.

“Other small changes can make lenders see you as more reliable. Register to vote and try not to move house too often.

“This will make you appear a more stable person who will be responsible with a card or a loan, thereby improving your eligibility score.”

If your eligibility score is poor, you may want to take the opportunity to improve your credit – and one expert has revealed how to improve your credit rating check.