It is amazing what types of creditors feel they have to refer to your credit score in order to grant you a line of credit. From bank loans to overdrafts, credit cards and mobile phones, lenders are looking at your credit report and credit score carefully and there is nothing more frustrating than being declined a loan. Each lender uses their own criteria to review your credit report based on the services they offer, and depending what they find on your credit report and based on your incomes, they will accept or decline your application.
What many do not realise is that there are six very big things that you can do to hurt your credit score. Knowing what they are will hopefully help you avoid being declined for a loan the next time you apply.

The six things that can hurt your credit score are:

1. You are not on the electoral roll.
It is important that you update your address with the electoral roll every time you move. If your address does not match that on the electoral roll when the lender checks it, they may deny the application without giving you the chance to prove where you live because this shows continuity to them. Lenders like it when you live at one place for a while.
2. Your bad credit history is keeping you from getting the loan.
Late payments, County Court Judgements (CCJs)  and other defaults that are listed on your credit report make up for about 35% of your credit score. These negatives stay on your credit record for up to 6 years, and even though the effects of these negative items fade over time it is still hard to convince a lender that you will not be late.
3. You have lived at your current address less than 3 years.
As mentioned before, lenders like to see continuity. You are going to have a higher credit score if you've been at the same address for three or more years. It will be a little lower if you've only had two addresses in the last three years and even less of an impact on your score if you are a homeowner. The more you move the worse it will be when lenders take this into account, and this particular scoring criterion could hurt you.
4. You just started a new job.
Here is that continuity issue again. Lenders want to see that you have a stable job, and the longer you've been in your job the better off you will be. Three or more years in a job is good, and if you switched jobs for better pay that is not looked at so negatively. Just try to avoid having a lot of job changes, and it's a good idea to wait a few months to apply for a loan.
5. You have no or just opened a new bank account.
A bank account is a sign of stability, and the longer you've had your account with your bank the better the lenders will look at you. Not having a bank account at all is extremely detrimental to your credit score.
6. You've had too many credit applications in a set amount of time.Applying for loan after loan tells the banks you are a bit desperate to get the loan, and this makes them suspicious.