By David Lawrenson

Mortgage lenders are tightening their criteria following the credit crunch as part of their strategy following the credit crunch and worries about borrowers' indebtedness.

So,

• What kind of things affects your credit score
• How you can check your credit score
• How you can keep it up to date
• What to do if you find something wrong on your credit file (and the kind of things that can be wrong and why)
• How to post a notice of correction on your file
• Why you should avoid "Credit Repair Companies"

As financial companies take fright because of the credit crunch, there has been a big increase in the numbers of people being rejected for loan and mortgage applications.

The site MoneyExpert.com found that on credit cards the number of applications which were being turned down by credit card providers has increased by about a fifth over the last 6 months with the biggest increase in rate of declines in the age range 25-34.