Electoral register ‘important for borrowers’
Anyone who is not registered to vote may find it difficult to obtain a mortgage or personal loan, a credit industry expert has warned.
Mortgages without credit checks are available from some lenders, but most high street banks and building societies check a person's credit rating before deciding whether to approve their application.
Neil Munroe of credit reference agency Equifax said one factor which often leads to consumers having a poor credit rating is that they do not appear on the electoral roll.
Even people who do not want to vote should register, explained Mr Munroe, as it enables lenders to easily identify people applying to borrow money.
"Lenders, when they're checking people out, don't just make a credit decision - they want to check that it is the right person, because of the increase in instances of identity theft and fraud," he added.
Statistics compiled by the Department for Constitutional Affairs show that in 2006 a quarter of adults aged under 24 in the London area were not registered to vote.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.