Worry over credit is a major bar to mortgage applications, with 70 per cent of people fearing they will not be able to buy a home because of their credit score, according to data from mortgage broker platform Haysto.

The survey says: “The fear of credit scores is preventing people from making their home buying dream a reality.”

It adds, just over one in five, or 22 per cent, of potential homeowners say they have been turned down for a mortgage because of their bad credit history.

More than a quarter of consumers, or 29 per cent, say they don’t believe their credit score is ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, while 11 per cent have no idea what their credit score is.

Haysto co-founder Paul Coss says: “There are all sorts of reasons people miss monthly payments and find themselves labelled as ‘bad credit’. This last year has thrown numerous curve balls into the mix- from furlough to redundancy-with many people taking home less money and perhaps missing monthly payments. That doesn’t mean they are not trustworthy and should be penalised for years to come.”

Coss adds: “Some banks and mortgage brokers will make you feel like a bad person when they refuse to give you a mortgage. Automated online mortgage advisors won’t judge for themselves. It’s a case of: Bad credit means computer says ‘No’. But even if you have bad credit, you can still get a mortgage. You’ll just have less options open to you than if you had a perfect credit score.”

The pandemic has beleaguered the economy since last March, with thousands of workers placed on furlough, stretching household budgets.

Earlier this month, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey forecast that the UK economy is expected to shrink 4.2 per cent in the first three months of the year, amid tighter lockdown restrictions to slow the spread of the virus.

But the governor expects a rebound this spring as consumer confidence returns, as a result of the country’s rapid Covid-19 vaccination programme.

The Haysto survey interviewed 2,012 UK adults.