Single or divorced?

I noticed that a divorce coaching colleague of mine had written about the fact that declaring yourself as divorced on application forms that could be used to initiate a credit check, could actually harm your chances of getting credit or achieving a contract with, for example, a mobile phone company.   

She went on to say that her 'evidence' was only gained from hearsay and personal research, but when clients had completed a form as a 'divorced' person, and had the application turned down, when the same clients completed the same form as a 'single' person (with all other details remaining the same), the application was successful.  How interesting is that? 

She went on to say that she was not suggesting that people lie about their status on their application forms - just that they think very carefully about their status when applying for credit/contracts, etc.