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Report: Army personnel have credit difficulties

Soldiers returning from serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are having a hard time in securing a home loan on the high street, it has been suggested.

An investigation from BBC radio's Money Box has revealed that the mortgage problems come due to soldiers serving abroad often not being added to the electoral role.

Mortgage lenders are legally obliged to verify a borrower's address prior to offering the loan - a process which is slowed if he or she is not on the roll.

The firms also use credit reference agency in order to establish the risk that the borrower poses, should a loan be extended to them.

However, these agencies also use the electoral role to collate information - meaning that the likelihood of being turned down might be higher among those who are not added to it.

Commenting on the situation, the managing director at Forces First - a lender which specialises in army borrowers - said: "The scale that these lenders operate to nowadays is all about pushing the simple things through very quickly.

"Anything off the norm is a problem to them."

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