Your credit report is a record of you and your finances. It contains information about your identity and how you manage any borrowing you have, such as making your repayments on time.

Lenders and other financial providers use your report to help them decide whether you qualify for the products and services they offer. This is typically through a ‘credit score’, which is a measure of all the positive and negative things on your report, helping companies get an idea of how risky you are compared to other people.

Therefore, you need to understand what is on your credit report, as the decisions made based upon it will impact you throughout your life.

A typical credit report is made up of the following sections:

• Personal Information – your name (including any previous names), address (including recent address history), financial connections (such as your spouse), and whether you are on the electoral roll.

• Accounts – a record of the accounts you have for all types of credit (such as mortgages, personal loans, credit cards and mobile phone contracts).

• Public Information – this section shows whether you have things like County Court Judgements, Debt Relief Orders, or bankruptcies, all of which will have a significant negative impact on your report.

• Credit Searches – details of all your recent credit searches – too many in a short space of time will negatively impact your report.

• Corrections – notice of any corrections you have placed on your report – this can explain why you think the information on the report is wrong or if there were mitigating circumstances.

It is also worth knowing what is not shown on a credit report and will not impact your score. For example, credit reports do not reveal details of savings balances, the money in your current account, student loans, parking or driving fines, and council tax arrears.

 Where can I get my report?

Three main companies provide credit reports in the UK – known as ‘Credit Reference Agencies’ (CRAs). 

These are TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. Each may hold slightly different data on you, as not all providers report to all three CRAs.

There are two ways you can obtain your report. You can either request a one-off report – known as a ‘statutory report’, or sign up with one or more of the CRAs to receive regular updates. The web addresses for signing up are as follows:

TransUnion – https://www.creditkarma.co.uk/ - free of charge

Equifax – https://www.clearscore.com/ - free of charge

Experian – https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/ - their ‘Credit Expert’ product offers a 30-day free trial, but then costs £14.99 a month. Experian also offers a free package, but this only gives you access to your score, not your full report. Alternatively, sign up with the Money Saving Expert ‘Credit Club’ for a once-a-month snapshot of your Experian credit report and score - https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/creditclub/

Why is my credit score different with each Credit Reference Agency?

The main reason your score will be different with each CRA is that they each have their maximum score:

TransUnion – 710

Equifax – 700

Experian – 999

In addition, your score with each CRA will be affected by which providers send data to them.

How can I improve my score?

The following are just some of the steps you can take to improve your credit score:

• Keep up to date with your repayments – this is vital as recent payment issues will have a major impact on your score.

• Make sure you are on the electoral roll – this helps to indicate stability at your address.

• Minimise new credit applications – too many credit searches in a short space of time will hurt your report, so use ‘soft searches’ where available to understand eligibility before applying.

• Keep your credit utilisation low – using a high percentage of your available credit will hurt your score.

• Correct any errors on your report – if there is information on your report that is wrong, apply to have this removed (see next section).

What can I do if the information is incorrect?

It’s crucial to get incorrect details removed from your report as soon as possible, as wrong or fraudulent information can stop you from being accepted when you next make a credit application.

To do this, contact the relevant credit reference agency and ask them to remove the information from your report. They should then let you know within 28 days whether the entry will be removed. If, for any reason, they do not delete the information from your report, you can place a ‘notice of correction’ on your report. This gives you the opportunity to explain to potential lenders why you believe the information to be wrong.