The term 'blacklisted' definitely has some negative connotations behind it, but many people have no idea exactly what it means.  When it comes to your credit record, being blacklisted means that lenders are not going to loan you any more money because you have shown to be a risk when it comes to repaying your debt due to non-payment or slow payment.  If you borrowed money in any way that can be reported to the two main credit reporting agencies in the United Kingdom and you have been late with your payments or missed payments completely, then this information has been reported to the credit bureaus. 

Your credit record lists the type of account you have opened, the lender's name, how much you owe, and a history of repayments both good and bad.  When you apply for new credit, the lender will look at your credit record to see how well you keep up the repayments on your current, outstanding lines of credit.  They will then use the information to determine whether or not they want to extend a line of credit to you based on what they find in your credit report.  If they see that you are already having problems paying on the credit line that you already have, they will turn down your application for credit. 

In order to avoid being blacklisted it is important that you review your credit report on a regular basis so that you understand what is on it.  Anyone can request a copy of their credit file from the crediting agencies, and it is a good idea to review it immediately for misinformation and errors that may be on it.  If you find incorrect information you are going to want to write to the credit agencies immediately and ask them to correct the errors or remove them from the file.  You need to explain to them why the credit record is wrong and if you have the backup documentation to show that it is wrong, send copies as well. 

The crediting agencies have 28 days to reply to your letter and they will tell you what action they have taken on your behalf.  They will send you a corrected copy of your credit record.  If they do not take any action on your behalf and you still feel that it needs correcting, you can write your own letter of correction of about 200 words and ask that it be included with your credit file for future lenders to see when they pull your credit report. 

Other members of your family could be affected by your credit report if there is a mix up with the credit reference agencies.  It is advisable that they too have their credit files checked to make sure that your bad credit isn't accidentally affecting theirs.  They can request a disassociation to you and have their credit records repaired and it is advisable that you do the same thing.  There is no reason for your bad credit to affect them if it doesn't have to.