Women get more credit than men

MEN are more likely than women to get a black mark on their credit file, which can hinder their ability to get more credit.

New findings from creditsimple.com.au found men account for 64 per cent of credit card defaults – almost double that of their female counterparts, who account for 36 per cent of all defaults.

Crystal-clean credit files are vital to ensuring a person can sign up to new credit offers and score more competitive deals.

Creditsimple.com.au spokeswoman Emily Price said the findings showed women were becoming smarter with finance and better at their cash.

“There is a shift from credit providers seeing women as riskier investments to actually being quite financially savvy now,’’ she said.

Ms Price said defaults could appear on credit files when a person’s failed payments exceeded $150 and the bill was more than 60 days overdue.

The research found women have an average credit score of 713 out of 1000, compared with men at 697. A score between 700-799 is great; a score between 500-699 is average.

Information on your credit file includes credit applications made in the past five years.

It also shows your credit accounts including utility, telco, credit card and mortgage information and details of overdue payments and maximum credit limits.

Lenders can access this information to assess whether to give you creditwhen you make an application.

AMP financial planner Andrew Heaven said consumers should “respect the rules of the game” and make sure they meet their credit requirements.

“You have a contract between yourself and the credit provider so know what your responsibilities and liabilities are and recognise if you don’t pay by the due date you are going to get pinged,’’ he said.

“That pinging could lead to consequences down the track.”