Simonne’s tip for surviving the credit crunch

With the credit crunch continuing to bite, banks and building societies are becoming increasingly selective about who they’ll lend to. So, if you’re planning to borrow any money or apply for new credit in the near future, make sure you get hold of a copy of your credit report. You can then see if there are any mistakes on your record and you can use the information to help you hunt out the best deals from lenders that are likely to accept you. Use a comparison website like Money Supermarket (http://www.moneysupermarket.com/) to compare loans and credit cards without leaving a ‘footprint’ on your record. And try Experian (http://www.creditexpert.co.uk/) for a free credit report provided you sign up for monthly membership which you can cancel within 30 days.