Experian

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.

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.

Giant credit reference agency Experian is finally paying out to customers who claimed money back for unfairly sold ID fraud expenses insurance, in a massive victory for our reclaiming campaign.

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.

Tenants living in rented homes would have better access to bank accounts and credit if information about rent payments was added to their credit rating, says Experian.

One in five Britons have deliberately skipped a loan repayment in recent years because they cannot afford it, a study suggested today.

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

Schools in some of the country's most disadvantaged areas will be given help to teach financial education.