You are going to need to contact either Experian or Equifax to obtain a credit report to have a look at your own finances. I suggest you partner obtains one as well. If you are financially linked when you apply for credit in your own name, lenders can make a decision about you by looking at your partners credit history and vice versa. A financial disassociation may be possible but you will need to settle all active joint accounts before this will even be considered.

Do you know of any firms that provide credit consultancy to review credit history/ rating and propose solutions to improve this? My credit rating is very high yet I have recently been turned down for a second credit card but was offered one at a ridiculous APR. I suspect that this may be due to my partner's poorer credit rating to which I am associated through joint finance - loan and mortgage. However I am not sufficiently up on how to analyse and change this position and am looking for an organisation that specialises in such work. Grateful for any advice. Thanks.