A credit report is an outline of your credit history. It includes information on all forms of credit that you’ve had, both now and in the past. Your credit score is worked out using the information in your credit report.
Lenders will use your credit report to decide if they want to give you a loan or not. That’s why it’s important to make sure that it’s accurate.
If you want to find out more about your credit report read on. Here we’ll explain what your credit report is, who can see it and how you can access it yourself.
Table of Contents
What is a Credit Report?
A credit report records information about you and you’re borrowing. If you’ve taken out any credit, such as short term loans, same day loans, credit cards or mortgages, it’ll all be listed in your credit report. How good you’ve been at paying back any borrowing will also be recorded. It’ll show if you’ve been late or have missed making payments.
Your credit report is recorded in three main credit reference agencies (CRAs) in the UK. They are:
- Experian
- Equifax
- TransUnion (formerly Callcredit).
Each of these CRAs work independently of each other so their credit reports won’t look exactly the same.
What is the Purpose of a Credit Report?
The purpose of a credit report is to allow lenders assess the risk of lending you money. No one wants to hand over money to someone who may not pay it back. This is why credit reports exist, they show how credit worthy you are.
With a good credit history, you tend to be offered more favourable interest rates. With a bad credit history, you’ll tend to be offered higher interest rates. Plus, a poor credit rating will make it harder to borrow money from most lenders.
That’s why it’s important to understand what’s in your credit report and how it’s used.
What is Included in a Credit Report?
Your credit report includes information about you that helps to identify you. It also has information about your credit history.
Here’s a list of what’s recorded in your credit report.
1. Your Personal Information
This would include:
- Your name
- Your date of birth
- Your current and previous addresses
2. Whether You’re on the Electoral Roll
Your credit report will confirm whether you’re registered to vote. It helps lenders to verify your identity if you are.
3. A List of all Your Credit Accounts
This includes every type of credit account you have. It can be anything from your bank account to loans, mortgages or credit cards. Your credit report will show all the payments you make to these credit accounts too. And it’ll show if they’re paid late or on time.
4. Public Information
Public information is items that are reported on the public record. For example, these would include County Court Judgements (CCJs), repossessions and bankruptcies.
5. Details of People Who You’re Linked to Financially
If you’ve taken out any joint borrowings or bank accounts with someone, they’ll be linked to you financially. This will show up on your credit report. It means that lenders may look at their credit report too when deciding whether to lend to you.
How Can I Get a Copy of My Credit Report?
There are two main ways to get a copy of your credit report. These are either:
- Directly from the three major Credit Reference Agencies – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
- From a credit monitoring service.
Read on to find out how to get a copy of your credit report.
Getting a Credit Report Direct from the CRAs
You can get your credit report for free from each of the Credit Reference Agencies once every 12 months. You’ll need to register with them first but then they’ll send it to you online, by email or by post. If you want more than one copy of your credit report in a 12 month period, you’ll have to pay for it.
As lenders don’t all use the same CRA, you’ll have to look at what’s on your report with all three agencies. That’s the only way you’ll get an accurate picture of what’s being reported on you.
Getting a Credit Report from a Credit Monitoring Service
There are credit monitoring services in the UK who’ll give you information on your credit report for free. These services include Clearscore and Credit Karma. These credit monitoring services will give you your credit score for free, but you won’t get a full report.
As with the CRAs, if you want a full credit report, you’ll have to pay for it. There are some credit monitoring services who’ll offer a free trial period. During this time, you can access your credit report for free. But you need to be mindful that they’ll charge you after the free period ends. If you don’t want to pay, you must remember to cancel your subscription before the free period ends.
Who Can See My Credit Report?
The only people who can look at your credit report are those with good reason to. The information held on you is secure so not anyone can look at your credit report. Businesses or individuals must have a legitimate reason for viewing your credit report.
Of course, you can see your own credit report. You just have to go to the top three CRAs in the UK to see it.
The table below contains a list of who might look at your credit report, and the reason why they’d want to.
| Who might look at your credit report | Why they’d look at your credit report |
| Banks | When you open a new bank account, they’ll verify you and check your credit history. |
| Mortgage, credit card and loan providers | When you apply for any form of lending, the provider will want to verify you and check your credit history. It’ll help them decide if they’re going lend to you and what interest rate they’ll offer. |
| Mobile phone and utility companies | They’ll look at your credit report to verify you. They may want to see how you’ve managed previous credit before setting up an account with you. |
| Debt collection agencies | Once a debt is passed to them, they have the same right to look at your credit report that the original lender had. The reason they’d look at your credit report would be to help them decide how to collect your outstanding debt. |
| Insurance companies | House or car insurance companies may use your credit report to verify you. |
| Potential employers | Employers may want to check your credit history depending on the field of work you’re entering. |
| Landlords and letting agencies | They would look at your credit report to verify you and to see how likely it is that you’ll pay the rent on time. Not all landlords do this so check with them. |
The only other reason someone would look at your credit file is if you’re being investigated for fraud. Law enforcement officials may be granted access if they suspect anything untoward is happening.
Will My Credit Score Go Down When My Credit Report is Checked?
Checking your credit score is an important if you want to look after it. But you may be wondering if doing so will have an impact on your score. Whether your credit score is affected depends on who’s checking it, and what kind of check they’re doing.
There are three types of credit check:
1. A Credit Check That’s Done by You on Your Own Credit Report
If you want to look at your own credit report, you can do this as many times as you want. It won’t affect your credit score.
2. A Soft Credit Check Carried Out on Your Credit File
A soft credit check is one that companies carry out to get an overview of your credit file. It doesn’t give them any detail on your credit history. But it gives them an idea on whether they might be willing to lend to you.
If a soft credit check is done, you’ll see it on your credit file but no one else will. This means it won’t affect your credit score.
3. A Hard Credit Check Carried Out on Your Credit File
This is carried out when companies want to make a decision on whether they’re going to lend to you. With this check, they’ll be able to see details on your credit history.
A hard credit check will leave a mark on your credit file that other lenders can see. And this will have an effect on your credit score.
The table below summarises which credit checks affect your credit score, and which ones don’t.
| The kind of credit check | Does it affect your credit score? Yes/No |
| A check carried out by you on your own credit file | No |
| A soft credit check | No |
| A hard credit check | Yes |
When Should I Check My Credit Report?
It’s a good idea to check your credit report at least once a year. You should also check your credit report when you know that someone is going to be looking at it. Such as when you’re going to apply for a mortgage or take out a loan. This way you can see what your credit score is and if it’s low, you can take action to improve it before you apply.
Checking your credit report regularly can help you identify any potential errors. It’ll also help you spot any fraudulent activity. It helps you ensure that you’re keeping your credit score healthy.
Credit monitoring services are useful as they alert you if there are any changes to your credit score. Some of the more commonly known ones we’ve mentioned above.
What Can I Do if There are Errors in My Credit Report?
If you find an error on your credit report, you should get it put right. Here’s a guide of what you can do.
- If the error was entered by a company, contact them first and ask them to put it right. The CRA won’t change something a company has put on your report. They would always have to check with them first.
- If the mistake is about something else, raise a dispute directly with the CRA. Explain what the error is, and they’ll give you a response within 28 days. If the error turns out to have come from a company, the CRA will contact them about it.
- If there’s a one-off event that had an impact on your credit report, you can add a note to explain what happened. This is called a notice of correction.
So, let’s say you missed a few repayments because you were made redundant or suffered an illness. This would leave a negative mark on your credit file. But adding a notice of correction will let you explain why it happened. When lenders look at your credit report, they’ll be able to see this notice.
Final Words
Your credit report is a vital part of your financial health. By understanding what it is, who can see it, and how to check it, you can take steps to ensure its accurate and up to date. If you find an error on it, you can do something about it to have it corrected.
Checking your credit report regularly can help you keep it healthy and improve it when needed.
FAQs About Credit Report
For How Long Do Defaults Stay on a Credit Report?
Defaults stay on a credit report for 6 years from the date of default.
For How Long Do Missed Payments Stay on a Credit Report?
Missed payments will stay on your credit report for 6 years.
How Do I Remove an IVA from My Credit Report?
An IVA will remain on your credit file for six years from the date it started. Once the six years is up, it should be automatically removed.
If it isn’t removed, ask the CRAs to remove the IVA from your credit file. When your IVA ended, your practitioner would have sent you a certificate of completion. You’d need to send this in to the CRA to get the IVA removed.
Disclaimer: We are not providing financial advice. These are just tips for informational purposes. Also, we are not affiliated to any of the external parties linked here, they are provided for reference only.