How to Check Your Credit Score?

Your credit score is one of the most important aspects of your financial life. It can affect many things from your ability to get a loan to the interest rate you’re offered on a mortgage. That’s why you should know what your credit score is, but do you know how to check it?

Read on to find out how to get your credit score if you live in the UK.

What is a Credit Score?

A credit score is a number that reflects your creditworthiness. Lenders use it to decide on your loan or credit card application approval.

The table below shows you the range of various credit ratings of three of the main credit reference agencies (CRAs) in the UK that can help differentiate good credit scores from bad credit scores.

How Can I Check my Credit Score?

There are two main ways to check your credit score for free.

• The first way to check your credit score is to go directly to the three major credit reference agencies. In the UK they are:
  • Experian
  • Equifax
  • TransUnion (formerly Call credit)

If you go to their website and create an account, you’ll be able to view your credit score for free.

• The second way to view your credit score is to sign up to a credit monitoring service. There are a few of them to choose from in the UK. These services will let you see your credit score for free. And they’ll send you an alert whenever there’s any change to your score.

How Can I Check my Credit Score on Experian?

To get your free Experian credit score, you’ll have to set up an account with them. Head to the Experian website and click on the “Get Your Free Experian Credit Score” link. You’ll be asked to enter your personal details, including the following:

• Your name
• Date of birth
• Where you’ve lived for the past three years

You’ll also be asked about your finances, such as how much income you have, and about any loans like short term loans, payday loans, or credit cards. Once you’ve submitted this information, you’ll be able to view your Experian credit score. It’ll give you a score of between 0 to 999.

How Can I Check my Credit Score on Equifax?

Equifax is another major credit reporting agency in the UK. Their website offers a variety of tools for monitoring your credit. As with Experian, to check your score on Equifax, simply go to their website and create an account.

Once you’ve entered your personal information and verified your identity, you’ll see your credit score. It’ll be between their scoring range of 0 to 1000.

How Can I Check my Credit score on TransUnion?

As with the other two main credit reference agencies, you can check your credit score for free on TransUnion. You’ll need to enter the same personal information that you enter with Experian and Equifax. TransUnion will then generate your credit score based on their own scoring range of 0 to 710.

How is my Credit Score Calculated?

Your credit score is calculated using math equations which are quite complex. It’s not as simple as deducting 10 points if you miss a payment or adding 5 points for being paying on time. It’s just not that straight forward.

The only way you can find out the impact something has on your credit score is by monitoring it. You’ll see it go down if you miss repayments and you’ll see it go up if you keep on top of them. 

The key factors that are used to work out your credit score are:

• Your payment history
• How much credit you use below your credit limits
• The length of your credit history
• Your mix of credit mix
• How many new credit applications you’ve made

There are other factors that are taken into account too, such as how long you’ve lived at your address. But with so many things affecting your credit score, it’s not something you can work out yourself.

What is the Difference Between a Credit Report and a Credit Score?

The difference is that your credit report contains information, whilst your credit score is just a number. Your credit report shows all the information in your credit history. Your credit score is a number that’s worked out using all the information in your credit report.

Your credit report includes the following details:

• Your name, address and date of birth.
• Anyone you’re linked to financially. This is anyone who you’ve got joint bank accounts with or joint loans.
• If you’re registered on the electoral roll.
• All your bank accounts.
• Any loans, credit cards and other forms of finance you have such as car loans.
• Any missed or late payments.
• Any applications you’ve made for credit.

You can get a copy of your credit report from the credit reference agencies. A statutory credit report only costs £2 but your credit score can be obtained for free.

What is the Difference Between my Credit Score and my Credit Rating?

Your credit score and your credit rating are often thought of as the same thing, but they’re not quite.

As we’ve already explained, your credit score is a number that’s worked by the credit reference agencies. Your credit rating is what lenders use to decide your creditworthiness. They use it to assess the risk to them if they give you credit. Rather than a number, your credit rating grades you as being somewhere between very poor to excellent.

The credit reference agencies will give you a rating according to your credit score. But this isn’t always the same rating that a lender will give you. That’s because all lenders have their own criteria they use to work out if they’re going to lend to you. This means that having a good rating with the agencies doesn’t always mean you’ll be approved for a loan.

At Lending Stream, we look at more than just your credit score when applying for a loan with us. Which is why even if you have a bad credit, we might consider you for a bad credit loan too.

How Often Should I Check my Credit Score?

The answer to this varies depending on your personal circumstances. But checking it regularly is important. You can check it:

• Once a year: This is the minimum number of checks that you should do.
• Every month: This is recommended to keep track of any changes in your credit score. It helps when you’re trying to improve it.
• Before you apply for any form of credit: It’s worth checking your credit score before submitting any applications for credit. It’ll help you find out which loans and credit cards you’re more likely to be approved for.

Checking your credit score may seem like a hassle, but it’s an important part of taking control of your finances. Remember, your credit score isn’t a fixed number that you’re stuck with for life. It can change at any time which is why it’s worth keeping an eye on it.

What is the Importance of Checking my Credit Score?

Checking your credit score is important for a number of reasons.

1. It helps you to understand your ‘financial health’ and where you stand in terms of how creditworthy you are. This matters when you’re applying for loans or credit cards as it’ll show you how likely you are to be approved for them.
2. Checking your credit score will help you spot any changes in it caused by errors or inaccuracies. Mistakes entered on your credit file can have an impact your credit score. If you find any incorrect information on your credit report, take immediate action. Tell the credit reference agency by raising a dispute with them.
3. An unexpected change in your credit score could mean activity has happened that you’re not aware of. This would alert you to check your credit report so you can identify any fraudulent activity. It’ll give you the chance to do something about it before it causes you any major problems.
4. Monitoring your credit score over time will show you what progress you’re making. You’ll be able to see if you’re repairing any past damage to your credit history. And how your credit score’s improving. Plus, you’ll see how certain actions you take can affect your credit score.

Will Checking my Credit Score Affect it?

Checking your credit score regularly has no impact on it. When you do a check on your own credit score, it’s classed as a soft check, so it doesn’t show up in your credit report. This means you can check your credit score as many times as you like, and it won’t make any difference to the number.

The same applies to your credit report. You can look at your credit report as many times as you like, and no one will know. It’s information about you which you have a right to see whenever you want.

What Affects my Credit Score?

There are several things that can affect your credit score. Some things will help to improve it, others will hurt it. Below is a table of what helps bring your credit score up, and what brings it down.

What Can I do if my Credit Score Needs Improvement?

If your credit score needs improvement, here are 4 steps you can take:

1. First, get your credit report from any of the credit reference agencies and check it for errors. If you find any mistakes, dispute them directly with the agency. Even mistakes on your address can affect loan applications you make, so make sure it’s all right.
2. Second, make sure you’re paying all of your bills on time, including rent and utility bills. Just about everything you pay on a monthly basis is factored into your credit score.
3. Third, keep your credit card balances low. The closer you get to your credit card limit, the worse it is for your credit score.
4. Fourth, if you have any missed or late payments, work on getting back on track with them all. Set up automatic payments so that you never miss another due date. Catching up with your missed payment history will have a positive impact on your credit score over time.

Taking these steps can help improve your credit score. A good credit score will help you get the loan you need at the best possible interest rate.

FAQs About Credit Score

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.