MONEY

Make sure you get credit where it’s due

When you apply for a loan or mortgage, lenders will make a judgment based on your financial past — so watch out for those skeletons, warns Eithne Dunne
Like the figure skaters taking to the ice at the Winter Olympics, borrowers applying for loans will be judged and given a score
Like the figure skaters taking to the ice at the Winter Olympics, borrowers applying for loans will be judged and given a score
ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/GETTY

If you missed a payment or two on a car loan a couple of years ago but rectified the situation as soon as possible, you might think — understandably — that it would have no further bearing on your life. Look for a mortgage or loan, however, and you may discover that the oversight has more far-reaching consequences than you realised.

Whenever you apply for a loan or mortgage, your potential lender will take numerous factors into account. It will study your bank account activity for the past six months, look at unusual transactions, signs of financial pressure on the account by the end of each month and search for evidence of regular gambling.

It will also get hold of your credit record, which will