If you've ever experienced financial problems in the past then the chances are that any mistakes you've made (whether you know you've made them or not!) will be recorded on your credit record. In many cases these mistakes will occur as a result of financial problems you may have experienced - but often you can get a bad credit history without really doing anything wrong.

The majority of problems that will give you a bad credit record will happen if you have problems managing your finances. So, if you miss a credit card payment, default on your mortgage, are declared bankrupt or are given a CCJ (county Court Judgement) against you for one reason or another then this will all show up on your credit rating, for example. These kinds of issues will all count as negatives.

But, other issues can give you bad marks on your credit rating. For example, simple factors like your marital status and whether you have children can give you plus or minus points. The fact is that it isn't just what you do with your money that comes up on your credit rating - you can have a rating that is less than perfect from a lender's point of view even if you have never had a financial problem before in your life!

But, there is a key issue here - no matter where your bad credit rating came from. If you have a less than perfect credit score then you look less attractive to lenders when it comes to taking out loans and other forms of finance. The first thing that the majority of lenders will do when you apply for a loan is to look at your credit rating - if they don't like what they see then they could well turn you down flat. And, things could then go from bad to worse as every rejection that you get when you apply for finance also goes on your credit rating!

Luckily, most lenders will take a better view of bad credit ratings now than they may have done in the past. And, if you find that a mainstream lender won't deal with you on this basis, then you need to remember that you do have other options when it comes to taking out loans. There is now a whole sector of the lending industry that solely specialises in working with consumers with bad credit so it may be that these specialists will be better placed to help you out.

One last tip - don't let your bad credit rating cause you further financial problems. Some bad credit specialists have muscled into the market with high interest rates and deals that are not as good as they could be. But, there are hundreds of reputable lending sources that you can work with - the key is just to find them. This is made much easier nowadays if you online to compare rates and deals. Your key aim here is to get the lowest interest rates and the fairest deals you can - after all, you don't want to make a bad situation worse!

About the author:

Gary Tallon is a finance writer of over ten years experience in finance and the bad credit loans industry.