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Experian credit score, rating and report
Our review of Experian's subscription credit report monitoring service, CreditExpert, plus alternatives from Experian and what you need to know about your Experian credit score and report.
Details
| Monthly fee | £14.99 |
|---|---|
| Trial period | 30 days |
| Score information included | Experian |
| Report information included | Experian |
| Update frequency | Daily |
| Max. history | 6 years |
| Fraud alerts | |
| Fraud alert formats | Text, Email |
| Score alerts | |
| Score alert formats | Text, Email |
| Report alert formats | Text, Email |
| App | |
| Dark web monitor | |
| Dark web monitor details | Scans the Internet to see if your details are being used by fraudsters |
| Social media monitor | |
| Additional services | UK-based support. Enhanced fraud support. |
How can I see the credit data Experian holds for me?
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What is Experian?
When you apply for a mortgage, personal loan or credit card, lenders will check your credit report and credit score to help them determine whether or not to offer you credit, how much to offer you and how much interest to charge you.
Experian is one of three main credit reference agencies in the UK. It’s used by lenders when deciding how much of a risk you are as a potential borrower and how much money they can make from you. A number of factors detailed on your credit report are used to calculate your credit score, which ultimately places you in a rating group, ranging from “very poor” to “excellent”.
What is an Experian Score?
Experian takes everything it knows about you (whatever is in your credit file) and boils it down to a number. If you have a good score, you can usually be approved for a loan, credit card or mortgage.
It’s also worth noting that although all lenders will look at your credit score, they also have their own qualifying criteria when approving customers.
What does an Experian credit score look like?
Each credit reference agency has its own scoring system.
- Experian: 0–999
- Equifax: 0–1,000
- TransUnion (formerly Callcredit): 0–710
Experian’s scores range from 0 to 999: the higher your score, the better your chances of obtaining a loan. Depending on your score, you’re said to have excellent, good, fair, poor or very poor credit.
| Experian credit score | Experian credit rating | What this means for you |
|---|---|---|
| 0–560 | Very poor | It’s highly likely that your credit application will be rejected. |
| 561-720 | Poor | You have a chance of being approved for credit but are likely to be charged a high interest rate and receive a low limit. |
| 721-880 | Fair | You have a good chance of being approved for credit and you should be offered a reasonable interest rate, but you’re likely to receive a low credit limit. |
| 881-960 | Good | You’re likely to be approved for credit and will be offered a reasonably good – but not the best – interest rate. |
| 961-999 | Excellent | You’re very likely to be approved for a competitive credit offer. |
If you want to find out what your credit score is, you can do so for free with all of the credit reference agencies. If you want to access your credit report, you’ll usually have to pay, although some agencies offer a free one-month trial subscription.
All you need to know about credit scores and reports
What is Experian Boost?
Experian Boost is a free service designed to help you improve your Experian credit score by sharing payment and billing information that is not normally counted on your credit file. This includes everyday expenses such as council tax, subscriptions like Netflix, Spotify and Amazon, as well as payments you make into investing and savings accounts such as an ISA.
Experian Boost will also only include information that can potentially help your credit score, and will disregard any data from your current account that will hurt your credit score.
How do I apply for Experian Boost?
In order to use Experian Boost, you’ll first need to have a current account and free Experian account. You can then apply for Experian Boost by following these steps:
- Sign up for Experian Boost on the Experian website.
- Connect your current account to Experian.
- Experian will then scan your account and calculate your potential boost.
- Pay your bills on time and ideally clear the balance if possible.
- Close any unused credit accounts (eg, old unused credit cards) as these could be viewed negatively by some lenders.
- Register on the electoral roll. Lenders can be wary if you move home frequently or haven’t registered your current address.
- Don’t max out your credit limit. You want to keep your credit utilisation ratio low. If you have a balance of £1,000 and a credit limit of £2,000, your credit utilisation ratio is 50%. A low credit utilisation ratio is preferable and shows that you’re not maxing out your credit.
- If you have a Netflix, Spotify or Amazon Prime account, sign up for Experian Boost so they can be counted towards your credit score.
- If you have no credit history at all, open a credit builder card to help build up your score.
- Check your credit report for errors. An administrative mistake could result in you wrongly being rejected for credit. Your partner or flatmate’s bad credit decisions could also impact on yours if you have any joint accounts.
How to improve your Experian credit score
You may have had a loan, credit card or mortgage application rejected because of a low credit score.
If you’re failing to be approved for a credit application because of your credit history, there are ways you can improve it. You need to be patient as it takes time for your good financial decisions to improve your score.
How to apply for a statutory credit report from Experian
Under General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) law, you have the right to request a free statutory version of your Experian credit report. While it will lack some of the detail included in the paid version (and won’t include your Experian credit score), it does provide all the financial and personal information that makes up your credit file.
You can request a copy of your Experian statutory credit report here.
Experian customer reviews
Experian has mixed-to-poor reviews from customers on the reviews site Trustpilot (updated on 19 August, 2020). Some comments highlighted issues with accounts, and other users said Experian was difficult to contact and offered poor service.
The Experian app has very positive customer reviews, however, according to Google Play and the App Store, with many praising the app’s usability and design, although some customers reported problems with their login.
Read about how different factors can affect your score
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