Understanding your credit score
What lenders actually see, what hurts it, and the free ways to check it.
★ Featured guide Plain-English UK No affiliate links
Borrow less.
Understand
more.
A friendly UK guide to loans, credit, debt and credit scores, and the decisions that go with them. No upselling, no waffle.
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Personal loans
What they are, how they work, what to watch out for.
High risk
Bad credit loans
Options when your credit history is less than perfect.
High risk
Debt consolidation
When it helps, when it doesn't, and what to check first.
Credit
Credit scores
What lenders see, how scores are calculated, free checks.
mortgages
The FCA's 2026 mortgage rule changes
The FCA proposed changes to UK mortgage rules in 2026. Some things may become easier for certain borrowers, but affordability checks and Consumer Duty obligations stay firmly in…
credit scores
How to check your credit file: a practical guide for UK borrowers
Checking your credit file regularly costs nothing and can flag errors before they affect a loan or mortgage application. Here is what to look at and why it matters.
personal loans
0% balance transfer cards: still worth it?
Balance transfer fees and revert rates explained, with a simple calculation showing whether moving credit card debt to a 0% deal still makes sense.
credit scores
Satisfied a CCJ? Why it may now show
Paying off a CCJ does not always update your credit file automatically. A proposed FCA rule change could make satisfied CCJs visible by default.
Struggling with debt? Free charities are ready to help.
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