While it’s not an exact science, there are a number of specific things you can do as good practice to improve both your credit score and lenders’ attitudes towards you. Get on the electoral roll. If you’re not on the roll, it’s unlikely you’ll get any credit. Write to your local council to ensure you are. Do it immediately, don’t wait for it to send round the... 

As every company uses a different credit scoring procedure, pinpointing how any given one will view you is impossible. Yet keeping an eye on your general credit healthiness is important. You’ve a statutory right under the Consumer Credit Act to write and get your files, yet this is slow and costs £2 per agency (see the officially checking credit files note). Instead, there’s a trick... 

Banks use a variety of information to make their decision whether to lend to you, including data held by three companies known as ‘credit reference agencies’: Experian, Equifax and Callcredit. Yet the info they have is by no means comprehensive. What banks know about you… There are three prime sources of information used for scores. The application form. Here, lenders obtain the... 

Universal credit ratings are a myth, they don’t exist in the UK. Each lender scores you based on its ‘perfect customer’ wish list. Yet so many people are under this misapprehension, and look for info on it, we’ve had to deliberately mis-title this article. This is a step-by-step guide to how banks and others assess you, and how to boost your ability to get mortgages, credit... 

As I have little credit records in UK, I failed several times to apply for a credit card before. Both HSBC and Barclays declined my application because of bad credit. I even checked online in www.creditexpert.co.uk, which shows my previous address was linked to someone else with bad finance history. However, this changes a lot since I settled down and regularly receives my salary to HSBC current account....