Credit references agencies – the largest in the UK is Experian they collate information about your financial background and past behaviour and format this data into your unique credit report.

You can see your credit report online now for free with CreditExpert, the credit monitoring service from Experian. To find out more click here.

Lenders see this information when they decide whether or not to offer you a loan, mortgage or credit card. It influences their assessment of the likelihood that you will repay them.

Information comes from two main sources:

• Public records, such as court judgements, individual voluntary arrangements and bankruptcies. Your credit report also shows whether you are registered to vote – lenders use this as a precaution against fraud, to check that you are who you claim to be and live where you say you do.
   
• Information from lenders and financial institutions, such as records of the number of loans you have and whether you have ever missed a repayment.

It’s important that all this information is as up to date as possible and correctly reflects your circumstances. Then lenders will make the best-informed decisions – and you will get the right deal.

The easy way to check your credit report is to log onto CreditExpert, the credit monitoring and identity protection service from Experian. Click here for a free, 30-day trial, which will allow you to see your credit report as often as you like.