Your credit report is made up of your financial history, from the day you opened your first bank account and includes every financial agreement you have ever made, even your landline telephone.

Maintaining a good credit rating is the key to getting better deals on credit cards or loans in the future. If you already have a poor credit rating, you will no doubt have been turned down for credit or currently be paying hugely inflated interest rates on the financial products you hold. The main credit reference agencies in the UK are Experian and Equifax, and it is advisable to regularly check with each of them.

These agencies hold information such as, details of unpaid bills, county court judgements (CCJs) and any applications you may have made in the past for credit, which make up your credit history. When you apply for credit, lenders use the records held by credit reference agencies to make a decision on how risky a borrower you are. The decision is based on the lender's own credit scoring system. Credit reference agencies don't score your 'worthiness' themselves and have no information on the criteria that lenders us e

Agencies hold a variety of different information on individuals and the one thing you must make sure of it that you are listed on the electoral roll. In order for lenders to determine your identity, they turn to the electoral role. This shows the address that you are registered to vote at and, combined with the information you put down on the application for credit, will allow a lender to confirm who they are considering lending to.

If you have previously been refused credit and have no idea why, the best thing to do would be to check whether you are registered to vote at your address. Most people don't think that this has an impact on their credit rating, but the truth is that this is often one of the main reasons as to why people are refused credit.

If you aren't registered to vote, then simply visit www.aboutmyvote.co.uk and download the form. Remember, just because you pay council tax doesn't mean that you are registered to vote at your address.

Why Have I Been Refused?

If you can't think of a reason why you have been refused credit, your first task should be to check your credit report. There are three major credit reference agencies in the UK - Experian, Equifax and CreditCheck - who keep records on all your bank accounts, credit cards, previous loans and debt history.

Start by asking each agency for a copy of your file, each of them is likely to hold slightly different information about your financial history. You can order a paper version for as little as £2, or you have the option to subscribe to each of their online services, which are a little more expensive.

Once you have the reports, go through each of them and look for any errors. Even something small like the wrong flat number or postcode could mean that your credit record is being mixed up with someone else's.

If the mistake is concerning an outstanding debt that you disagree with then you might have to take it up with the lender in question because the credit reference agency isn't likely to change your record without confirmation that the debt has been paid off.

You also have the option to add your own comments to your report. So, for instance, if you had trouble paying off a debt and missed a few payments due t unemployment or illness, then you have the chance to explain it.