Bad Credit? What To Do If Not Accepted?

The first thing to do would be to have a good look at your credit file, and to check that the information on there is accurate. This can be carried out by a host of credit ratings companies, of which the largest are Experian and Equifax.

If you are happy waiting awhile and receiving a copy of your credit report in the post, then Experian and Equifax provide a relatively cheap service, at £2. This can be ordered and paid for online, but they will post your credit report to you. Equifax also allow you to view your credit report online, however charge a higher fee of £8.25 for this service. CheckMyFile.com also offer an online credit-check service for UK consumers, which includes numerous additional services.

However, our personal recommendation would be Experian's online service: Credit Expert. If you sign up for this online credit report service, you are entilted to a free 30 day trial and a free credit report. We wouldn't want to condone any behaviour that sees individuals abuse this offer (such as credit cardholders that sign up for a free credit report, but then cancel their subscription within the 30 day free trial), but this sort of behaviour certainly seems to be a frequent occurence.

However, the Credit Expert service from Experian seems to be one of the best online credit report services available in the UK and we are sure that there are many people out there that would be interested in this service (not just those concerned about poor credit, but frequent balance transferrers often check their credit report too, to ensure that they have not made too many applications or have too much credit on their record).

Sometimes applications can be declined because of their association with other people, such as parents, siblings, or flatmates. Your credit file may include people who are living in neighbouring flats, especially if you live in a property which has been subdivided. If this is the case, it is important to make the card issuing company aware that you have no financial connection with the other people who can be found on your credit file. You can write a "letter of disassociation" to back up your claim.