I agree with factor - why not pay £3 to one of the companies like Experian, and have your credit rating checked anyway, before you apply for your mortgage? You can then see that everthing is OK - your mortage company will inevitably do this before they make a decision, so it's good to make sure everything is OK first. If you have a credit card balance - and £1000 is not a large debt in the scheme of things - and you have been paying regularly on time, that should be in your favour with your credit rating, rather than against you. (People who never use credit sometimes find it more difficult to get credit or loans, because they are unknown quantites to the lenders.)