If you want a regular credit card (or any loan or other credit or loan) you’ll always be credit scored by the potential lender. In the UK, the main credit reference agenciesused are Call Credit, Experian and Equifax - but similar companies operate worldwide. These companies hold an enormous amount of information about you and sometimes it seems like any minor oversight will be used by lenders as an excuse to refuse a credit application. It is vital to make sure that your record is accurate, up-to-date and as clean as possible.

You can repair credit records if they are wrong, but an alarming number of people don’t understand their credit file and report. Here are just some factors that will and won’t damage your credit score¦

People who lived at your current address before you do not affect your credit rating.

The only people that affect your rating are those you have a financial connection with or “association” like a joint current or savings account or joint mortgage. Previous occupants of your current address won’t affect you, but if you have large amounts of credit already taken up, like an overdraft or several credit cards, even if you’ve been managing these satisfactorily, you are less likely to be given new credit. There are credit cards for people with bad credit around that will take many factors into account and could be your best chance of success if you do have adverse information on your file.

Getting married or divorced does not affect your credit record.

The credit reference agencies are only interested in financial, not personal, connections. So if you are divorced but still have a joint account, your credit rating will still be linked to your ex-partner’s. If you want remove your name from a joint account, you should tell the credit reference agency you want to “disassociate” yourself from that person.

Checking your own credit report will not harm your rating.

You can do it as often as you like. It’s only when potential lenders check your file that a record is left. All applications for credit made in the last 12 months will appear on your report, but they will not show if the applications were successful. If you have made numerous applications recently, this could damage your record.

Paying any bills late will damage your credit rating.

Always pay all bills for things like mobile phones, cable TV services and not just your credit card bills on time. Even if you haven’t been able to do that (poor cash flow because you’re self employed for example) and your credit file is less than ideal, there are adverse credit cards available from companies that will still check your file, but consider all your circumstances. You’ll pay higher interest and get a lower credit limit with these cards, but they could be your only option.