As many as 4m people fear they have damaged their credit rating beyond repair after falling into financial difficulty, according to new research from AXA.

But while they claim to have been blacklisted because they have not been able to keep on top of their finances, almost a quarter of these (around 944,000) said they aren’t even in financial difficulty.  Most likely to be blacklisted are 45-54 year olds. One in 5 (20%) of those who have been affected by money worries said they have been blacklisted as a result of failing to manage their money problems.  Steve Folkard of AXA commented: “Money problems affect people in a variety of ways, but one thing we are all wary of is the possibility of being blacklisted. The term used to mean that creditors were distrustful of applications from your address, but more recently it refers to individuals, regardless of where you live. Money worries are as much a social issue as they are a financial one. This is another example of how getting into financial difficulty can affect you and those around you if you rely on others for financial support. The knock-on affects of having a poor credit rating can be endless, as it becomes increasingly difficult to access credit.”