If you're solvent, careful with money and generally sensible, it would make sense for a bank to want to lend you money - except that isn't always the case.
In fact, there are a whole series of otherwise excellent candidates that are rejected out of hand because of reports that they never even knew existed - and that's exactly what happened to Ian Singleton.
Ian, 49, had been serving abroad in the forces - and decided to stay on in Germany afterwards, until he moved back home in 2012 to be nearer his family.
It was at that point that he discovered he simply didn't have a credit score worth mentioning.
"The first time it dawned on me was an important thing," Ian, from Doncaster, told Mirror Money.
"I went to get a car from the local dealer, found one I liked and then he came back and said: 'We can't get you finance for it, you don't have a credit score'."
It was the first time Ian had really thought about his score - as in Germany his experience had been that you go to your bank if you need a loan.
So that's what Ian did. To get hold of a loan for a car he needed in Britain, he went back to his old bank in Germany where they already knew and trusted him.
But before then he went home.
"I spoke to my family and said, 'what's all this about credit scores' and people were properly vague about it," Ian explained.
There was some idea about how it was based on debt and how good you were at paying it back, but little more than that.
"Mum said it's probably a good idea to get a credit card," Ian said.
So he did, using it to buy a Samsung Galaxy Tab then clearing the debt in good time.
"That was step one," Ian said.
Since then he's been on a mission to find out exactly how his score works, and how to improve it.
"I did some research on the internet and found out certain factors that build up your score, and a bit later I saw an advert for Clearscore."
Clearscore is one of a number of services that let you check your credit score free and offers tips on building it back up.
"I though that's good, because it said 'free', so I downloaded it," Ian said.
It was a revelation - teaching him about the sheer variety of things lenders take into account when making a decision on whether to offer you credit.
And credit affects far more than just cars and loans - with everything from mobile phone providers to landlords to potential employers all known to look at reports before offering you a contract.
"I learnt about things like being on the electoral register," Ian explained. So he signed up.
Ian then went through the list of tips on his app one by one.
It worked. His score is now 525 - rated as "excellent" and well above both the local area and the national average.
"I noticed that when I went back for a car I had no problems," Ian said.
And Ian's advice for anyone else encountering problems?
"Learn what a credit score is, because without it you won't get anywhere," he said.
"Credit is such an integral part of our lives you need to inform yourself as there will come a time it's vital."
