When you apply for credit, such as a mortgage, personal loan or credit card, lenders will decide whether to approve your application by looking at your credit report and score. Your credit report also determines how much they will offer you and how much interest to charge.
TransUnion (formerly known as Callcredit) is one of three main credit reference agencies in the UK 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 make up your credit score, which ultimately places you in a rating group ranging from very poor to excellent.
What is a TransUnion Score?
TransUnion uses everything it knows about you 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 and receive decent interest rates.
It’s important to know that although all lenders use your credit score when going through the approval process, they also have their own qualifying criteria as well.
What does a TransUnion credit score look like?
Each credit reference agency has its own scoring system. TransUnion scores range from 0 to 710: the higher your score, the better your chances of obtaining credit.
TransUnion: 0-710
Equifax: 0-1,000
Experian: 0-999
Depending on your score, you’ll be rated as having excellent, good, fair, poor or very poor credit:
TransUnion credit score
TransUnion credit rating
What this means for you
0-550
Very poor
It’s highly likely your credit application will be rejected.
561-565
Poor
You have a chance of being approved for credit, but are likely to be charged a high interest rate and have a low limit.
566-603
Fair
You should be offered reasonable interest rates, but are likely to have a low credit limit.
604-627
Good
You’re likely to be approved for credit, but won’t necessarily have the best interest rates.
628-710
Excellent
You’re very likely to be approved for competitive credit offers.
If you want to find out your credit score, you can do so for free from all of the credit reference agencies. If you want to access your credit report and find out the reasons behind negative marks to your score, you’ll usually have to pay, although some agencies offer a free one-month trial subscription.
If you’ve been rejected for a loan, credit card or mortgage application because of a low credit score, there are steps you can take to improve it.
Be aware, it will take time for good financial behaviours (such as those detailed below) to improve your score and rating.
Pay your bills on time and try to make as big of a payment as your financial situation allows to clear the debt faster.
Close any unused credit accounts (e.g. old credit cards) as these could impact negatively on the lender’s decision-making process.
Register on the electoral roll and make sure your current address is on your credit report. Lenders can be wary if you move home frequently.
Keep your credit utilisation ratio low by not maxing out your credit limit. So if you have a balance of £500 and a credit limit of £1,000, your credit utilisation ratio is 50%. A low credit utilisation ratio is preferable and shows that you’re not using most of your available credit.
If you have no credit history at all, opening a credit builder card may help build your score.
Check your credit report for errors. An administrative mistake could result in you wrongly being rejected for credit.
How to apply for a TransUnion statutory credit report
You have the legal right to request a free statutory copy of your TransUnion credit report at any time under General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) law.
The TransUnion statutory report gives you all the information and financial history that makes up your credit file, plus a victim of fraud service, and allows you to use the TransUnion customer service. However, it does not contain your TransUnion credit rating or credit score.
You can get your TransUnion statutory credit report here. Alternatively you can get ongoing access to the premium version of your TransUnion credit report through Credit Karma.
TransUnion customer reviews
TransUnion has received generally negative reviews from customers according to review platform Trustpilot. TransUnion has a rating of 1.1 based on 320 reviews (updated November 2023). Some customers report that retrieving their credit report was quick and easy, but others encountered problems when it comes to amending information on their credit file.
The TransUnion app has good reviews from customers on the Apple App Store, and generally positive reviews from users on Google Play.
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Chris Lilly is Head of publishing at finder.com. He's a specialist in personal finance, from day-to-day banking to investing to borrowing, and is passionate about helping UK consumers make informed decisions about their money. In his spare time Chris likes forcing his kids to exercise more.
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