A poor credit record narrows your options and raises your rate. It does not end the conversation — short-term providers lend to applicants with impaired records routinely, because they price for the risk.
What lenders actually see
Your record at the credit bureaux: payment history, defaults, judgments, how much of your available credit you are using, and how many times you have applied recently. Payment history carries the most weight. A default from four years ago matters far less than three missed payments this year.
What no lender will do
Skip the affordability assessment. It is a legal requirement, not a policy — which is why "guaranteed approval" is never a real offer. If affordability does not work, no credit record, good or bad, changes the answer.
Three things that genuinely help
- Check your record. You are entitled to a free report each year from each bureau. Settled accounts still showing a balance and defaults recorded without notice are common, and you can dispute them free of charge.
- Reduce what you owe before applying. Affordability is assessed on what is left after your commitments, not on what you earn.
- Stop applying repeatedly. Every application is recorded. A cluster reads as distress and makes the next decision worse.
If it is not working
If you are borrowing to cover repayments on money you already owe, more credit will make it worse. Debt review under the National Credit Act exists for exactly that, and a registered debt counsellor is the person to speak to.