Hello happycreditreport.

Why is your credit score low?

Every single piece of information on your credit report should be as accurate as possible and your application should match this.

Name: If you are called Petunia. Don't have half your stuff in the name of Pet and half in Petunia. Get it all sorted to one name. Your mates can call you Pet down the pub.

DOB: Is it correct everywhere? You'd be suprised.

Address: And this is a good bit. Check it out on Royal Mail. Get it correct. You'd be suprised how many people don't know their postcode or don't have it correct.

Get the flat number in the flat number field. Get the house number in the house number field, etc. This is all important.

If Royal Mail has you as Flat 1/2, then you are Flat 1/2, not 1/2. Apartment, then Apartment it is.

Sort out the street field, the district the town. Counties are a problem as Royal Mail doesn't use them now. Most companies still have counties in their systems. It shouldn't be a big issue, but can occasionally be. If a system lets you search a postcode to find an address do that, don't enter it manually.

Make sure everyone who has your details has them exactly. Get them sorted if they aren't. Correct the smallest thing, be very exact about it.

Intial applications are done by computer. Whilst systems today are cleverish and do a certain amount of fuzzy matching, they aren't brilliant and wobblies can appear.

Employment details - again as accurate as possible. Employer means your company name, not Keith. Employers address should be exact, not the building at the top of the High Street with the red roof.

Income and outgoings. Again, make it exact. Income - check what they want. Net, gross? Round down to the nearest pound. Have it exact, no rounding up to the nearest hundred. Outgoings the same except round up. All balances and credit limits to be exact.

And that should get by the gatekeeper. Fingers crossed.

After that it's down to whether a company wants to lend to you. You'll never find their criteria. They may not want to touch you if you've got a Trust Deed showing. Or they may want it to be a few years in the past.

A good mortgage broker will have an idea who is the best bet for your situation.

I've also got a similar reply a while back
http://www.trust-deed.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1708

It concentrates more on the score. I've taken your post here to be more about how to have a better chance of getting a mortgage.

Forgot about the voters roll. Get yourself on it. And make sure any address history matches too.

Cheers Bert - some great tips there.