Why was my application declined?

As a responsible lender, we don't want to put you at risk of taking on debt you can't afford.

Please don't be disheartened. We encourage you to re-apply when your personal finances change. Indeed, a better question than "why was my application declined?" is "what can I do to improve my application?"

To this end, you need to be aware that when you apply we look at a range of affordability and creditworthiness criteria. These include:

• Your level of debt and debt-to-income ratio

• If you're making payments to a debt management plan provider or debt collector

• Your employment status and income

• Signs of financial stress (such as returned bill payments)

• Your credit score and credit history (such as whether you have recently defaulted on a loan and have an active country court judgement)

A good place to start is to access your credit report, so you can see what information is held on you by credit reference agencies. We also recommend checking out the free tools provided by Step Change on managing debt.