Your credit score is created from the information held in your credit report, also known as your credit file. A numbered credit rating will assess your creditworthiness based on the information available in your credit file.
It will show whether you pay your bills on time, how much debt you have, how many times you’ve applied for credit, whether you’ve missed any payment, and if you’ve had any county court judgements filed against you.
The information held on your credit file and you credit application form might be used to decide:
- whether to lend to you
- how much to lend you
- how much interest to charge you
The most recent information on your credit file will have the most impact as lender assess your financial situation. However, they will provide their overall assessment on the last six years that will be available to them.
If your credit report shows missed payments or excess debt, you might be charged higher interest by lenders or may not offer you credit. This is due to the information available; lenders might believe they are taking a higher risk when lending to you.
So, it’s worth regularly checking on your credit report to ensure any mistakes are corrected or any fraudulent activity is reported.
How do I check my score
There are three main Credit Reference Agencies (CRA’s) in the UK that record your credit history in a credit file. Though the information they hold will be mostly the same, each CRA will score you differently:
- Experian is out of 999
- Equifax is out of 700
- TransUnion is out of 710
This will mean there is more than one number available to determine your creditworthiness. Some lenders will check just one CRA, some may check all three to assess how risky you are as a borrower.
A bad score might mean you will find it difficult to get credit. With each CRA offering different scoring systems, it helps to know what they represent.
Experian
- 0 to 560 – very poor
- 561 to 720 – poor
- 721 to 880 – fair
- 881 to 960 – good
- 961 to 999 – excellent
Equifax
- 0 to 279 – very poor
- 280 to 379 – poor
- 380 to 419 – fair
- 420 to 465 – good
- 466 to 700 – excellent
TransUnion
- 0 to 550 – very poor
- 551 to 565 – poor
- 566 to 603 – fair
- 604 to 627 – good
- 628 to 710 – excellent
It’s important to remember that your score is not permanent and can be improved.
What information is in a credit report
Each agency holds slightly different information about you, so it’s worth checking all three to get a more accurate picture.
- Name, address and date of birth
- Credit applications
- Financial links
- Any late or missed payments or defaults
- How much you owe lenders
- Any County Court Judgements against you that were not paid within one month of the issued notice
- If you’re registered on the electoral roll at your current address
- If you have been declared bankrupt or entered into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)
It won’t include the following information:
- your salary
- student loans
- medical history
- criminal record
- council tax arears
- parking or driving fines
Check your credit score for free
If you want to see what information is held on you, you can request a Statutory Credit Report for free from the credit reference agencies. There are also online services that let you check your credit score for free, or as part of a paid subscription service.
You can apply to each of the credit reference agencies independently and request a Statutory Credit Report. They’re obliged to send it to you for free.
