Mapped: is your credit score better than your neighbour's?

Large urban areas have the lowest average credit scores, while the Orkney Islands have the highest across Great Britain, new data has revealed. Free credit checking service ClearScore compiled the data, which shows the average credit score by postcode area, based on an analysis of almost 10 million credit scores. You can search for your own postcode on the map above. Credit scores are one of the main factors taken into consideration by banks and other firms when they are deciding whether to lend.

The "score" is an attempt to quantifiably predict a borrower's future behaviour based on their past financial activity. The main credit reference agencies Experian, Equifax and Callcredit compile information on individuals, which consumers can access themeslves either directly or through free services such as ClearScore orNoddle. Some lenders, such as Barclaycard and Tesco Bank, also now offer their customers free access to credit reports. There is no one, single credit score for any individual. Instead, each lender creates their own score system based on the data taken from one or more of the credit agencies' files.....Read more here