According to research we carried out here at Credit Simple, most Aussies feel they should be able to get a better deal if they’re financially responsible. A whopping 85% reckon they should be able to get a better deal if they’ve got a good credit score, while 66% would switch financial institution if they were offered a better rate.

So we’re responding to this need by giving you free access to your credit scores as well as the power to leverage better deals from banks, energy companies, and telecommunications providers.

Our research found that consumers feel they could be getting a better deal on a range of everyday services. Electricity tops the list, with 43% of people saying they could be getting a better deal than their current one, followed by credit card (32%), home internet (30%) and mortgages (16%).

Credit Simple CEO David Scognamiglio said Aussies were hungry for better deals and it was time for providers to come to the table.

“We want to give Aussies power to negotiate better deals based on their credit scores, so we’ve started working with providers to get better deals for Australians,” Mr Scognamiglio said. “And we’ve unveiled a raft of launch deals from companies such as Powershop, HSBC, RateSetter and American Express.

“Credit Simple is independent and we’re not afraid to call on the banks, telcos and energy companies to do better for Aussies. Banks and credit providers use your credit information to decide if they’ll give you credit and on what terms, so it’s only fair that Aussies also access this information and use it to ask for a better deal.”

Leveraging your credit score is standard practice overseas, says Daniel Foggo, CEO of RateSetter Australia, one our many finance company partners.

“Australians should be finding out what their credit score is before they obtain finance,” Mr Foggo says. “If their score is above average, they shouldn’t accept the headline rates on offer from banks. They should either negotiate a better deal with their bank, or find an alternative lender that really rewards their good credit history with better rates.”