If 2022 is the year you are planning to move house with a new mortgage, take out a loan for a new car, or think about taking 0% finance for a new kitchen, then it’s important to make sure your credit score is both accurate and in good shape. All of the big three credit referencing agencies in the UK have some sort of membership plan which gives you access to their files, but this costs money. One option is signing up for one of the four-week free trials to check your file, as long as you remember to cancel within the free period. But there are other ways to get access to your credit report without paying money to do so.
The three main credit scoring companies in the UK are Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. You really should look at all three as all may contain different information, and you probably won’t be told which agency a lender will be using when you make a credit application.
Experian
Experian will let you create an account and check your credit score free of charge, but you’ll have to pay for access to the full report first. One way of doing this is by taking out the 30-day free trial option to look at your file to make sure there are no basic errors, and then just periodically checking your score to make sure it’s staying the same or improving.
Equifax
Equifax produces the “Clearscore” app, which you can download for Android and iPhone devices. It’s free to check your score and get access to your Equifax credit report. This is perhaps the most user-friendly app around in the credit checking market and has been designed to be easy to use.
TransUnion
Similar to Equifax, TransUnion (which was previously known as Callcredit) has an app and website called Credit Karma which you can use to check your credit record and score. This works broadly in the same way as Clearscore, and there is no reason why you can’t download both onto your smartphone or register with both the websites.
Why Should I Check My Credit Score?
Mistakes on your credit file could cause problems for you if you apply for credit, so it’s important to check that your file is accurate. Keeping an eye on your file on an ongoing basis will alert you to changes; if your credit score number suddenly starts dipping, then you can look at why that might be happening. Your file will show you where you can “clean up” the information about you, and some of these actions can improve your credit score too. This includes things like closing accounts which you are no longer using, and check that there are no defaults on your file which shouldn’t be there. If you think your credit record is being adversely affected by having a joint account with someone who has a poor credit record, then financially separate yourself from them and make sure the credit agencies are aware you have de-linked from them.
Checking your credit record doesn’t affect your score and won’t be recorded on your file in the same was that it is when you apply for credit. It won’t go against you if you check every day, or even every week. But that’s probably a little excessive. Get into the habit of checking monthly, and if you see any sudden dips in your credit file, dig a little deeper into the detail. If you do discover something amiss, search on the website of the organisation concerned for details about how to contact them and put it right.