[John Smith]

If you have been refused credit, it could be for one or more of a variety of reasons. It might be because the information about you held by a credit reference agency has led the lender to believe you might have trouble repaying. It might be that the information you have provided, perhaps on an application form, and which is nothing to do with the credit reference agency, has led the lender to the same conclusion. But it also might be that you simply do not fit the profile of the people to whom that lender wants to give credit, perhaps because of your age or the details of your job.

Remember, nobody has a right to credit and while there are certain rules - for example, credit cannot be refused simply because of your race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or address - lenders can legitimately refuse an application without giving any reason. However, most will give you some idea of why your application has failed.


It is only human nature to want to know why you've been refused - and to find out what you can do to improve the situation. So the lender should be your first port of call. But understand that lenders are wary of giving too many details because they have to be careful not to make life easy for fraudsters, whose activities cost the credit industry - and the innocent consumer - millions of pounds each year.
Many lenders 'score' applications by giving each piece of information a mark and adding up the total. They will tell you if this is how your application has failed.

If it is credit reference information which has led to a refusal, the lender will give you the name and address of the agency used. You should write to the credit reference agency for a copy of your file and a leaflet that explains exactly what the information means, how it is used and how you can amend or add to it if necessary.

The credit reference agencies have excellent customer service departments. They cannot tell you why you have been refused - they do not know - but they can answer questions about your information.