Lenders do not always tell people who apply for loans and credit cards why they have refused their application.

On occasion, they will mutter something about how they cannot give applicants this information for "commercial reasons".

Usually though it will be for one of two reasons: the applicant's income just is not high enough to afford the repayments or the lender took one look at the person's credit history and decided there was too high a risk that the borrower would default.

Most banks and finance houses use the Irish Credit Bureau (ICB) to check consumers' credit histories, but credit histories can and have been known to contain mistakes.

Someone else's all-too-relaxed attitude to repaying a loan could have got mixed up with your spotless repayment record.

Consumers can apply for their credit reference report for a fee of €6 by contacting the Irish Credit Bureau on 01 260 0388 or by applying online at www.icb.ie.

The report will contain your personal details and a history of your credit agreements with member institutions over the past five years, including any outstanding balances.

It will also show "footprints" of all lenders that have accessed the report in the previous 12 months, so consumers can see which financial institutions have been checking them out.

If the report is wrong or out of date, consumers should bring it to the attention of the ICB. It will correct any errors, but only if it has been confirmed by the lender concerned.

If the financial institution disputes that any mistake has been made, consumers can bring their case to the financial services ombudsman.

For example, you may not have been made aware of the terms of the credit agreement on which the bank says you defaulted.

You can also add a 200-word commentary to your report, explaining why there were delays repaying a previous loan.

If there are no mistakes on your report and you don't have any explanation for why you defaulted on a credit agreement, the only option left is to wait. After five years, details of a loan that went wrong should be wiped from the record.