What is a credit score?
The credit reference agencies keep a credit file on you: your accounts, credit cards, loans, mobile contracts and whether you’ve paid on time. Each turns it into a score on its own scale:
| Agency | Score range |
|---|---|
| Experian | 0–999 |
| Equifax | 0–1000 |
| TransUnion | 0–710 |
Lenders don’t see these scores: they look at your file and use their own scoring. But the agencies’ scores are a good guide to how lenders see you.
What lenders look at
- Payment history: missed and late payments hurt most, and defaults and CCJs stay on your file for six years.
- How much of your credit you use: keeping card balances well below their limits.
- Being on the electoral roll at your current address, which helps lenders confirm who you are.
- Recent applications: several in a short time can count against you.
- Financial links: a joint account links your file to the other person’s.
Your salary, savings and student loan aren’t on your credit file. Lenders ask about those separately.
Credit utilisation
The amount you owe on cards, as a share of your total limits, is the quickest thing to change. Try it:
30%
Good
Under about a third is fine for most scores.
A rule of thumb: scoring models differ, and paying on time matters most.
How to raise your score
- Never miss a payment. Set up a Direct Debit for at least the minimum.
- Register to vote at your current address.
- Keep balances low, and pay down cards before the statement date.
- Use eligibility checkers before applying: they use a soft search, so they don’t affect your score.
- Check for mistakes with all three agencies and ask them to correct anything wrong.
- Space out applications, ideally by a few months, especially before a mortgage.
If something on your file is right but has a reason behind it, such as a missed payment during an illness, you can add a short notice of correction to explain it to lenders.
Check yours for free
Experian, Equifax and TransUnion each let you see your file free, directly or through free services such as ClearScore (Equifax) and Credit Karma (TransUnion). You also have a legal right to your statutory credit report from each agency for free.
Starting from nothing
With little credit history, a credit-builder card used for a small regular bill and paid off in full each month, being on the electoral roll and paying your phone contract on time all build your file.
For a step-by-step plan, see how to build a credit history from scratch.
Struggling to keep up with payments? Free advice early does less harm to your file than missed payments: see help with debt.