How to check your credit score for free

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Having a good credit score can make it easier for you to secure a mortgage and get a better interest rate on any sort of borrowing, including credit cards and loans.

But a credit score is more than just a number – it’s a summary of your financial history.

That means you should be looking past whether your overall score has gone up or down.

Instead, you should check whether all of the details in your credit report are correct, and whether there are any issues you should address.

Fortunately there are several ways to check your credit score for free – here’s how.

What is a credit score?

There’s often a misconception about what a credit score is and how it actually works, so it’s worth clarifying this bit first.

A credit score is basically a summary of your financial history.

It’s given as a number – the credit score – so it’s easy for you to see at a glance where you are financially.

But when lenders check your credit score, they’re actually looking at your credit history. That is, the individual items in your credit report that make up your credit score.

So they will be looking out for things like any existing borrowing, but also whether you’ve paid your bills on time.

Why a credit score matters

Your credit score is checked when you’re applying for a mortgage, a credit card, a personal loan, a car financing deal and even a mobile phone contract as they’re all forms of borrowing.

All of the information that contributes towards your credit score helps the lender to assess the risk of lending to you.

A high credit score overall means lower risk. A lender looking at this will be more likely to lend to you, and offer you a cheaper, better deal.

However, the individual items that make up your credit score can still push up your risk factor and make borrowing harder or more costly.

If you have a low credit score, checking your credit report means you can see what needs to be changed to improve your score – and you can do this without any additional borrowing.

Even if your credit score is fantastic, it’s still worth looking at your credit report from time to time to make sure all of the information held on file about you is correct.

The three UK credit reference agencies 

In the UK, credit scores and credit reports are compiled by three credit reference agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

They collect various data from banks, lenders, utility providers and public records to create your credit report.

Each agency has a separate set of data because some lenders might report to one agency and not the other.

That means your credit score might be perfect at one agency but subpar at another.

Since agencies charge lenders to access your credit report, lenders will typically only look at the information held on file by one agency rather than all three.

As most lenders don’t make it public which agency they use, you’ll need to keep an eye on your credit report from all three agencies.

Fortunately all three are obligated to share a free statutory credit report with you under the law.

It will include things like any current borrowing (mortgages, credit cards, personal loans etc), financial association with others (for example, a joint account with a spouse or partner), recent credit applications, Electoral Roll records, past insolvencies, and County Court Judgements.

It will also include your credit score.

However, it doesn’t tell you why your credit score has gone up or down over time – usually this is a premium service you pay for.

Don’t worry too much if your score is radically different across the three agencies.

Each one uses a different scoring system so variations are inevitable.

What’s more important is that you consistently demonstrate good financial habits over time, for example by paying your bills on time and not borrowing too much.

How to check your Experian credit score

Experian is the largest and most established of the three credit reference agencies, and its data set is considered the most comprehensive.

Its scoring model places significant weight on long-term financial behaviour so consistently good financial habits are key here.

For this, it collates data about an individual’s financial habits over a period of 24 to 72 months, so two to six years.

You can use Experian Boost to quickly improve your credit score, but only if you have good financial habits.

In terms of checking your credit score, Experian offers free access to its basic report to consumers.

You just need to go to its website, sign up for an account and log in at any time to see your score.

Experian’s website gives you just the credit score – a number out of 1,250 – and not your credit report.

For that, you’ll have to either log into your account via the Experian app or order a statutory credit report from its website.

To see why your credit score has gone up or down, you’ll need to upgrade to the paid Credit Expert subscription – for most people this isn’t worth doing.

How to check your Equifax credit score

Equifax is the second largest credit reference agency.

It scores you out of 1,000, with weighting skewed towards more recent activity, such as whether you’ve taken out a new loan or missed a recent payment.

You can request a free statutory credit report from Equifax – you just need to sign up for an account and verify your identity.

The report contains very basic information about you, but it’s worth looking at just to check whether they have the right information about you.

Alternatively you can access your data through ClearScore, which gives you a bit more information on why your Equifax credit score has gone up or down.

How to check your TransUnion credit score

TransUnion is the youngest of the three credit reference agencies.

It scores you out of 710, and places particularly high weighting on payment history and credit usage.

You can get a free statutory credit report by making a request through its website, although its services are often available for free through high street banks.

Natwest and Lloyds Bank both offer free access to TransUnion credit reports through their apps, which saves you from registering separately.

How often should you check your credit score?

Your credit score is updated about once a month or so, when the various credit providers send their reports to the credit reference agencies.

That means it’s pointless to check your credit score any more than once a month. 

I only check my credit score about once a year because I’m quite confident about where I am financially.

However, there are four specific circumstances when you should check your credit score.

When you’re building up your credit score

If you’re actively trying to build up your credit score, it’s worth checking your credit report a bit more regularly.

It means you can see what issues need to be addressed and work on those to improve your credit score.

Before you apply for new credit

If you’re not sure of your financial standing, it can be a good idea to check your credit score before you apply for any new credit.

It’ll give you a rough idea of whether your application is likely to be successful or whether you should wait.

Doing this at least six months or a year ahead of time means you’ll have plenty of time to address any obvious issues that could lead to a rejection.

I personally also check my credit score before applying for a new financial product if I’ve applied for one recently.

A financial product might be something as innocuous as a new bank account or a new mobile phone contract here – both of these could impact my credit score and lead to a rejection.

After your credit application has been rejected

If you’ve been rejected for any form of credit, it’s worth having a look at your credit score to see what went wrong and how you might fix it.

It could be that you’re already using a high percentage of your available credit, or that you’ve applied for too many financial products recently, which suggests to lenders that you might be in financial distress.

Seeing what’s lowered your credit score can help you spot what needs to be improved,

Sometimes you just need to wait for six months and reapply.

If your credit score went down

If your credit score suddenly dropped at one credit reference agency, it’s time to check the others.

This will help you spot any errors that might be affecting your credit score.

It can also alert you to any fraudulent activity currently affecting your account.

What to look for in your credit report

When it comes to checking your credit report, it’s all about the details.

You should check whether your personal details are correct, including your name, date of birth, previous addresses and Electoral Roll registration.

This helps the credit reference agency to associate the right financial details with your account, and stops them from confusing your information with someone else’s.

You should also look at the financial accounts associated with you.

Are there any that you don’t recognise, for example, as this could indicate identity theft or fraud.

Is there anything missing that could impact your credit score?

You should also look at information around credit utilisation.

If you only use a small fraction of the amount of credit that’s available to you, and pay it off on time, that’s a very good sign for potential lenders.

However, if you’re using a lot of credit or are missing payments, it will affect the lender’s decision.

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