Credit score

I'm writing this because I was shocked... at you, yes you, most of you should hang your heads. In our Jan poll, only 28% had checked their credit file in the last year, and 53% hadn't in 10yrs. This is potentially damaging to your finances - just one error in those files could kibosh them.

From today, Barclaycard's 10.5 million customers can access their credit scores for free via Experian, while Tesco Bank customers with its Foundation credit card can do the same from this week via reference agency Noddle.

The UK's largest credit reference agency Experian has changed the way it calculates people's credit scores – meaning many scores suddenly dropped or increased overnight. We've had many people contact us about this, yet the big picture is you don't need to worry – this doesn't impact how lenders will assess you.

Yesterday we learnt inflation's hit 0% for the second month running – so little surprise, borrowing costs are hitting all–time lows.

If you're planning to buy a latest model phone from O2, be aware that you'll actually be taking out a loan for the handset, which will appear on your credit file and could impact your ability to get credit elsewhere.

Paying water bills on time could help you get a credit card, loan or mortgage, but missing payments may have a disastrous effect.