Debt Camel

Answers to questions about debts and credit ratings - in plain English!

The 3 best ways to check your credit score & records – all free!

Keeping an eye on your credit reports is a good idea, but how should you do it?

In 2021 there are more than fourteen different ways to check your credit record!

The myth of a single credit score

You don’t have “one credit score” or “one credit record”. You have three different ones.

This is because there are three main Credit Reference Agencies (CRAs) in Britain:

  • Experian;
  • Equifax; and
  • TransUnion  (used to be called Callcredit).

Each CRA has a record of your data which has been sent to them by the lender. Some lenders report to all three, but most lenders only report to one or two CRAs. About 50% of lenders only report to one CRA, for example, many payday lenders only report to TransUnion.

So a report on your Experian file can look very different from a report on your Equifax file. None of them are “better”, they are just reporting on information from different lenders.

Man looking at the many different ways to check his credit score

Statutory Credit Reports – why simple is often best!

I have changed my mind on these. I used to recommend the “top three” reports listed below.

But in the last two years I have seen people increasingly struggle with these reports and now I think that the statutory credit reports are very often better.

The statutory reports are:

  • free;
  • real-time – you always see the latest information;
  • clear – many of the other reports look fancy with colours and charts, but if you want to see what the default date is, or see all your accounts, closed as well as open, the statutory reports are simple and straightforward;
  • easy to download – so they are easy to keep and easy to send on to someone else, eg the ombudsman if you have a complaint.

The downside they do not have your credit score on them.

The top 3 credit reports if you want your credit score – all free!

Tens of thousands of people are paying for expensive subscription services when they could get all the information they need for free.

If you want your credit score, use one of the following top three credit record checkers or, even better, all three to get the full picture:

They are all free, no sneaky first month free then a high charge if you forget to cancel. They are paid for by lenders paying to be included in the “you are eligible for” or “you could be eligible for” recommendations. This is just advertising, it’s not the cheapest credit you can get.

What do all the different reports give you?

Be careful of the reports that give you Equifax credit scores.
In April 2021 Equifax changed its scoring to be 0-1000, but ClearScore (and possibly the other Equifax reports) hasn’t yet changed and is still reporting the old-style 0-700 scores. This will change later in 2021.
This doesn’t really matter providing you know if you are looking at a score out of 700 or out of 1000. 

report cost CRA Tips Match Freq
Simple clear reports ( no score)
Experian statutory report free EX no no daily
Equifax statutory report free EQ no no daily
TransUnion statutory report free TU no no daily
only score no details
Free Experian account free EX yes yes monthly
score & records
Experian Credit Expert £14.99 EX yes yes daily
MSE's Credit Club free EX yes yes monthly
Equifax Credit Report £7.95 EQ yes no daily
Clear Score free EQ yes yes monthly
Credibble £7.99 EQ yes yes monthly
Credability free EQ yes ues monthly
Credit Karma free TU yes yes weekly
Totally Money free TU yes yes monthly
Credit Reports Matter £19.95 TU no no monthly
UK Credit Ratings £35.95 TU yes no daily
Check My File £14.99 all yes yes monthly

In that table:

Cost – the monthly charge
CRAs – EX = Experian; EQ = Equifax; TU = TransUnion
Tips – often unhelpful suggestions about how you may be able to improve your credit score
Match – suggests what other loans or credit cards you may be approved for
Freq – how often you can see a new report. Some let you see the up to date situation each time you use them (“daily”). Others take a snapshot every 30 days (“monthly”).

Never pay for a report!

There is no good reason to sign up for the services that charge you anymore.

You can get all the info you want, for free, every month from the other options.  So don’t waste your money.

Real-time information may sound nice but it isn’t worth paying for:

  • the statutory credit reports are all real-time and all free;
  • credit ratings usually change fairly slowly. If you have closed an account, or started making payments to a new one, it takes a few weeks for the lender to update the records.
  • if you have just got a credit builder card and you are hoping your credit score will improve, come back in 4-6 months!

A lot of the fee-charging services make a big thing about helping you with disputes about your credit record.

This is just marketing guff! All they do is send your complaint to the CRA.  But the CRAs don’t investigate anything, they just forward the complaint to the lender, who then tells the CRA it’s accurate and nothing happens. So you have wasted a month or two by going this route.

If you have a problem with your credit record, you need to complain to the creditor directly. Then you can go to the Financial Ombudsman if the creditor refuses to correct the record.

Information through your banking app

In addition to these stand-alone reports, some banking apps are providing credit record information.

These are obviously free and don’t need you to sign up for anything – good!

The main thing to be careful of is that they only report on one credit reference agency. For example Halifax and NatWest use TransUnion. That’s OK for a quick look each month, but if you are planning on getting a mortgage, then you need to check all three credit reference agencies.

Which should you use?

That depends on why you want to look. Here are some typical reasons, together with my suggestion for each situation.

See the details of your credit records

If you want to know the details of when defaults will disappear or clean up your credit record after bankruptcy or other forms of debt management, use the 3 statutory credit reports.  These are free, clear and always up to date. If you only use one you may miss something important.

Apply for a loan or credit card

Go for MSE’s Credit Club.  You have to give extra information about your income and dependents, but the extra “affordability” checks and being based on Experian data, which is used by more lenders, should make their recommendations more accurate.

But remember that the loans or cards you are offered may not be the cheapest you can get.

These are the lenders that are paying to be included in your report… this isn’t a review of all lenders to see which is cheapest for you, it’s just advertising!

Going to apply for a mortgage

Use the 3 statutory credit reports.  Looking at everything from the credit details to who you are associated with. It’s good to do this at least six, preferably twelve months before you want to apply for a mortgage so there is time to sort out any errors you find.

Pay no attention to the mortgage eligibility recommendations on these reports. Talk to a mortgage broker, you may be able to get a much better not take a punt on a suggestion from one of these services.

Surprised to be declined for credit

Checking your credit records should be the first thing you do – use the 3 statutory credit reports. If they don’t show what the problem is, you need to see if your name is in a fraud database.

Send a report to the Ombudsman

If you are making an affordability complaint you need to send the Financial Ombudsman a copy of a credit record.

It’s best to send a TransUnion Statutory report. Most payday lenders only report to TransUnion. So this is the report that is most likely to show most of your credit history, better than sending FOS an Experian or ClearScore report. And the free Credit Karma report is difficult to download.

Why I haven’t included some reports…

I haven’t included various reports including Credit Hub, Credit Perfect, Credit Angel, Social Credit, Social-score, Scope People or Your Social Presence. There are reports that people are signed up automatically to free trials from some of these when they try to get a payday loan. The trial then expires and people find the money debited from their bank account. If this happens to you, try to get the money back from your bank, complain to the firm and if you can’t contact the firm, complain to the payday lender or broker.

Apart from the dodgy sign-up methods, they all charge a lot and I think you would be better to ditch them and use the very good free options.

Some other reports aren’t being marketed anymore.

If you know a report that’s not on my list, please mention it in a comment below!

Updated in June 2021 

More Debt Camel articles:

How much will my credit score change if…

maxed out credit cards

Tackling maxed out credit cards

What should the default date be?

What should the default date be?

Comments

  1. Shannon says

    Hi,

    I was working for an agency before I took maternity leave. I have decided not to return to work as my partners wage can support us however, his credit rating is very poor due to debts. He is now paying them off with a debt management plan and hasn’t got many payments left. Will this affect us getting a mortgage?

    Many thanks!

    Reply

  2. Mary walsh says

    Hi I enquired about any Iva did not take it out went with a remortgage instead.never missed a payment in my life credit history was very good . They company I enquired to about the Iva sent letters to my creditors which now has messed up all my credit history I spoke with than the send me a email but have not been very helpful. I can not ever get a credit card now . I don’t know which way to go to sort this

    Reply

  3. Tony says

    Hi Sara, is there any way of getting an old credit report. I defaulted on Vanquis card some years ago. This has now gone off my record and does not even show on closed accounts. This is making it difficult to prove I was on token payments to Vanquis at a time I took out a loan. FOS is saying if I could find this information then they would be more likely to uphold complaint as this debt would have shown up in a search. This was August 2017

    Reply

  4. David Harley says

    How long does a incorrect default take to clear? Scottish Power applied a default in error and have agreed to remove it, but I’m currently applying for a mortgage and need to know how long this will still show on my record. Thanks

    Reply

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      Most firms update credit records once a month. So it can take up to a couple of months to go through, depending on how fast they move and when their next credit record update is. If you have an email from Scottish Power saying they will remove this, show this to your mortgage broker as it may help.

      Reply

      • David Harley says

        Thanks. I have asked for that. I received this, which isn’t as clear as I’d like.

        “Thank you for your most recent email. We have sent off the request to have your credit default removed however we will not have a reply for the next few days. Once we have a reply confirming the next actions we will be back in touch. I hope this helps”

        Second question. Once removed, will that immediately add 350 points to my score?

        Side note: I have spent a good few hours on your site today and it’s been really helpful, so thank you!

        Reply

        • Sara (Debt Camel) says

          it sounds as though they aren’t quite sure how to do this :(

          How much your credit score changes depends on what else if on there. But if you score was good apart from this then yes, it should jump.

          But for a mortgage the actual level of the credit score matters less than what problems there are showing.

          Reply

          • David Harley says

            Thanks. I should be fine once this is clear. All loans and credit cards will be paid off with the sale of our current property and we should be left with a 20% deposit after all fees etc.

          • Sara (Debt Camel) says

            ok so if you have levels of credit card utilisation your credit score may not get to be very good even without the default.

  5. laura says

    Hi a company that I have a CCJ against has another CCJ from someone else on their records. Is there a way to see who the other person is who has the CCJ against this company please?

    Reply

  8. David says

    Afternoon, trying to sign up to one of the credit report services but I cannot provide 6 years worth of addresses. My current address is fine, my previous address has since been demolished and is not correct (turned from a house to a block of flats), and my previous address to that doesn’t appear on the drop down list, even though it’s still there. What can I do in this situation?
    Many thanks for your assistance, David

    Reply

      • David says

        Credit Club. I haven’t tried the others yet, but I anticipate similar problems. I’ll look for an email address or, worst case, a phone number to try and talk to them about setting up an account. Thank you :)

        Reply

        • Sara (Debt Camel) says

          ok, one thing is to try and get the statutory reports direct from the CRAs. Links in the article above.

          Reply

  9. Martin says

    Hi, I have arrears on a loan and althogh I pay more than the monthly amount but my credit record shows these as missed payents. Is this correct as seems unfair to me as paying over contractual amount and paying on time.

    Reply

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      Missed payments are normally in months, so if you missed three months and then started making normal payments again the credit record would show 1,2,3,3,3…
      If you start overpaying so you are only two months behind, this will then change to 1,2,3,3,3,2,2 etc

      Reply

  10. Jeanette says

    I finished my IVA December 2019 and have only sent off copies of then to the three quoted in the the completion certification . I only held off as so much has happened this year. I applied and received a Capital one credit card to build up my credit rating. I have been denied by all others, do you have any idea how long it will take to re-build my credit rating?

    Thank you in advance.

    Reply

  12. Nigel says

    One thing I don’t understand on credit file, is say you miss payments for 4 months on a loan , every month this should show missed, until you clear the arrears.

    What if you then still pay your Monthley payments but don’t clear the arrears should this show Monthly payments made

    What if you continue missing the payments should this show 2 miss payments to accurately reflect credit file one for arrers and one for miss payment.

    Reply

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      your credit record should record how many months in arrears you are. If you start the normal payments but don’t pay any more to the arrears, it will continue to sit at 4 months arrears. If you miss another month, the arrears should go to to 5 months.

      Reply

  13. James says

    Hi sara,

    Hope you have a wonderful new year when it comes. I noticed my credit file went down 245 points today after it was starting to increase well.

    I am only using the free version just now and it doesn’t give much of a overview. Do you think its worthwhile paying a month’s full version in order to get a better view?

    Reply

      • James says

        Hi Sara,

        Spot on it was experian that went down by 245 points. Any ideas why the drop and if I should pay the one of fee to see if there is any mistakes? I have previously used the free month so I can’t get it again.

        I also took the free trial of equifax and they did not have me down as on the voters role so I have raised that with them as I have been on the voters role for 10 years but supposedly there is a issue with councils updating due to covid?

        Reply

        • Sara (Debt Camel) says

          There is no point in paying for Experian’s expensive service. Have a look at MSE’s Credit Club – that’s free and reports on Experian’s data. That is normally sufficient – if that doesn’t show the problem you can get the Experian Statutory Credit Report. Links in article above.

          Not being on electoral roll is pretty minor, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/credit-score-change/. That can’t be the reason your Experian score has dropped that much.

          Reply

  14. Sam says

    Hi there , I am needing a snapshot of my credit report from a few years back, for a complaint to the ombudsman, I can’t seem to go that far back on my credit reports is there a way of asking for a past credit report , from a few years back??

    Reply

    • Weatherman says

      Hi Sam

      First of all I’d ask the credit reference agencies. You can try all three (Experian, Equifax, Transunion), as they might keep the data in slightly different ways that makes it easier or harder for them to get a snapshot. I think you’re more likely to have success if the date’s within the last six years.

      If you want this info because it’s about e.g. your situation at the time you applied for a loan, the lender might also have it. They should disclose relevant info like this to the Ombudsman anyway if they are investigating, but you could also make a Subject Access Request and see if that brings anything up: https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/your-right-to-get-copies-of-your-data/

      Reply

  15. Camila tre says

    Hi, I requested a credit card in my bank and it has been declined because I didn’t pass my credit score. I don’t understand why because I have money in the bank and I never had any debts. I tried to access a credit report but they asked for 3 years in the UK and I have been living here for the last 2 years only. Is there any way I can solve this? I am very worried as I would like to request a mortgage in 1 year. any help is more than welcome. Thank you very much!!!!

    Reply

    • Weatherman says

      Hi Camila

      Because you’ve not been in the UK for long, you currently have a ‘thin’ credit file. Lenders in other countries don’t share information with UK credit reference agencies, which is annoying! So you need to ‘build’ your credit report, because at the moment potential lenders don’t know much about you, or how likely you are to repay. You can also get your credit report from the country you used to live in, and show that to lenders, which might help.

      There is helpful advice on how you can build your credit report here: https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/guides/building-credit.html

      Unfortunately you might only be able to get more expensive credit at first – if lenders don’t know much about you, they might see you as a ‘higher risk’ so charge more interest. If that happens, make sure you manage the credit card etc carefully.

      Although you couldn’t access your credit report, you might be able to get a Statutory Credit Report even with only 2 years of UK address history. This is free, and if there are any mistakes it’s important that you tell the credit reference agency. Each credit reference agency has its own – Experian’s here: https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/statutory-report.html

      Reply

  16. Sarah says

    I’ve been trying to rebuild my credit ratings so thought it best to check all 3 as I read they can all hold slightly different information. When checking my equifax score I’ve noticed that virgin mobile have been reporting account delinquent each month since 2013. It reports the balance I owe as £516 although I’ve never moved home or changed emails and I’ve had no bills for this. I was wondering if there’s anything I can do about this? Should delinquent accounts not disappear from you credit report after 7 years? Can they still default this 8 years after the original delinquency date? I’m so worried :-(

    Reply

      • Sarah says

        I had a mobile phone with Virgin back in 2008 but I had no knowledge of owing an outstanding amount. I’ve not received any bills from Virgin and was shocked that this has been reported monthly and been having a negative affect on my credit file since 2013.

        Reply

        • Weatherman says

          Hi Sarah

          Start by contacting Virgin and asking what on earth is going on!

          If you think they’ve made a mistake, complain to them in writing. If they don’t respond in 8 weeks, or reject the complaint, you can take it to an Ombudsman (there are two that Virgin might be part of – they will tell you which one).

          If you realise you do owe that money, they might not ever have put a default notice on your credit report even though it’s marked as delinquent. Ask them to do so – the Information Commissioner’s Office says that this should usually be once payments have been reduced or missed for 3-6 months. Because the default notice will be more than six years old, it will stop showing on your credit report.

          Reply

  17. Katy says

    For some reason, I have different reports from different sites: there is no one site which holds all the information about my borrowing – is there anything I can do about this? I have always updated my addresses with various credit accounts, and am on the electoral roll, but for some reason, my borrowing doesn’t show up anywhere correctly – even at Transunion. Is there any way to resolve this? I have tried writing to the companies trying to get this resolved, but it’s got me nowhere: they say to go on the electoral roll (I am, and have been for 30 years), and make sure my account details are all registered at the same address (they are) – but for some reason, things still aren’t connecting up.

    It’s causing me issues: it has led to a CCJ being issued to me at an old address (even though lender had been informed of move, of new address, and the electoral roll updated) and as I didn’t find out about the CCJ for some months, and then it took me several further months to pay it in full, there’s nothing I can do to resolve this now- but I’d like it not to happen in the future, if possible: and also, of course, to have my credit records all in the same place, up to date, and the “good” things I am doing (like making monthly payments) recorded also.

    Thanks so much for any suggestions – as I say, I know it won’t improve things until the CCJ finally drops off, but a) I don’t want any further issues and b) if I resolve it now, I won’t need to worry about it again!

    Reply

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      There is nothing you can do to get all your lenders to report to the same credit reference agency.

      it has led to a CCJ being issued to me at an old address (even though lender had been informed of move, of new address, and the electoral roll updated)
      who is the lender?

      Reply

      • Katy says

        It was originally JD Williams, who outsourced to Lowells (I’d also be let them know of two further changes of address). I emailed them to complain (Lowells Solicitors) and they claim this is standard tracing practice and they won’t do anything to correct it as a result.

        Whilst I can accept address two could have shown up (despite removing myself from the electoral roll when I moved, and updating bank and credit cards, it’s still showing, two years later, at my current address with Experian – and tells me that I could improve my score by being on the electoral roll: even though I have been since I moved into my current address, sigh, two and a half years ago), they sent all the paperwork and summons to address one, despite having subsequently corresponded with me at address two. (It still wouldn’t have reached me, but it seems odd not to use the most recent address you have) They also only admit to receiving letters sent signed for, another issue – as I say, JD Williams and Lowells were kept informed of everyone change.

        JD says not their responsibility, but won’t say whether the debt was sold, Lowells Solicitor won’t clarify their relationship with Lowells,, but tell me they’ll write to me themselves (haven’t so far) – and my address is still incorrect on Experian, despite it having records of one credit card registered to my current address, but apparently no way to fix this.

        Anyway, thank you for clarifying for me that there’s nothing I can do to get them to correct the address issue: it’s appreciated!

        If I can ever summon up the emotional energy, I will complain about Lowells solicitors to the SRA, I suppose, not thar it will solve the anything.

        I am sure I’m not the only one, but I find it deeply distressing to revisit the debt years. But thank you, thank you, thank you for your support and help with this site – it helped me realise I am not alone.

        Reply

  18. David A says

    Hello. I may have asked about this before but I’m having trouble with a Likely Loan from 2017 which I’m currently repaying at reduced rates due to financial difficulties experienced since 2018.

    I queried why their comments on my credit report show “Late Payment”, when I am paying regularly and there was a period of at least 6 months initially where I didn’t make a payment at all until I made this arrangement with them. Id expect the credit report to show either defaulted or arrangement to pay but this is their response…

    “Thank you for the customer query. Reviewing the account I can confirm the customer has been making regular payments, however these payments are reduced payments. This means the account is showing in arrears and these arrears will show as non-payments or late payments on the credit file. No further action required.”

    Is this right please?

    Reply

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      If there was a period of more than 6 months when you did not make any payments, a default should have been added.

      I queried why their comments on my credit report show “Late Payment”,
      Did you ask Likely Loans or the credit reference agency?

      Do you have other problem debts as well as this one?

      Reply

  19. JR says

    Hi,

    Does anyone have email addresses for all three credit reference agencies? I’ve a few disputes/complaints ongoing and I want to see about getting them suppressed ASAP due to a mortgage application very soon.

    Thanks!

    Reply

  20. Tasha says

    Hello.
    I wrote to TransUnion last month about some errors on my credit file in relation to old pay day loans from elevate and wage day advance. I had this response today:

    ‘TransUnion is unable to amend an entry without the permission of the organisation responsible for supplying it and as a result, we cannot assist you further with this dispute. We would advise you to contact Elevate Credit International Limited directly in order to discuss this matter.

    The disputed entry will remain suppressed from your credit report; however, please bear in mind that Elevate Credit International Limited can remove the suppression at any time.’

    What does suppression on my credit report mean? Will it positively impact my credit file?
    Thanks

    Reply

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      Suppression means no lenders will be able to see the information – so far as I can tell it is as good as getting them deleted.
      Elevate Credit has said it will not deal with CRAs any further, so that is not a concern.

      Reply

      • Tasha says

        Great. Ive had 4 emails altogether this morning from TransUnion in relation to Elevate (x2), Lending Stream and Wageday so in theory that should mean they are all ‘hidden’ eventually?

        Reply

  21. Christina says

    Hiya, I’m a real credit fanatic in terms of checking my scores, quite fascinated by it ( no life :). But there a few more decent ones that I’ve discovered. Some do have free 30 days and then charge but I find that depending on your requirements they are useful because they do give some really handy tips on credit education.
    They are: credibble uses data from Equifax although I think they also calculate a bit of their own input because the score disparity between them and say clearscore is a good few hundred points.
    Then there is myukcreditreport which uses TransUnion and really focus on credit education rather than being a broker. Then there is credAbility which uses Equifax and is definitely a broker but free. Then you have credit scores through your banking app. Halifax credit checker, NatWest credit score and Barclaycard credit too. These are free on their internet banking app.
    Side note:
    I don’t think creditwise exist any more and totally money I think give a real time update too.

    Reply

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      Thank you!

      I have added Credibble and credAbility.
      myukcreditreport seems to be just different branding for UK Credit Ratings – and they are an outrageous amount to pay!

      Reply

    • Tasha says

      Thanks for this, really useful. Where would the Halifax credit checker be on the app? I have looked today but can’t seem to find it anywhere on my app.

      Reply

      • Christina says

        Hey Tasha,

        If you go to https://www.halifaxcreditchecker.co.uk/

        Then you can register for free and Halifax will send you any updates and monthly links to log on to check your report.

        NatWest : the credit score option is when you click on the little figure of a person top right and you will see it there

        Barclaycard : seem to have discontinued their credit score option- apologies.

        Thanks

        Reply

  22. Christina says

    Over all I agree with Sara, the most effective way to know a full picture of your credits financial health is to access the statutory report. And even to go as far as to print it off and map out a monthly tally of progress towards your optimum credit position.
    An example is you can visually see the lender then if anything is incorrect then wrote down the lenders details on that area of your report and put notes about on going disputes and any outcomes or further action required until you get the final outcome desirable or not, then should there be on going action put reminders in your phone about dates where items should actually change even as far as a few years into the future in the case of CCj’s etc because you’ll notice that your score will alter ( should everything be maintained) quite dramatically at certain mile stones when you were least expecting it….

    The aim is to understand that nothing on your report is irreversible but understanding it will give you a sense of confidence when you are ready to make financial commitments that help you to progress

    Access to finance can be a hope or a hindrance ( if not understood) but it shouldn’t be daunting, so use the free resources until you feel as though things make sense and should you need to take it seriously then map it out ……using the other resources listed here……

    Reply

  23. Christina says

    @Sara have you any threads on the notion of AI and algorithms of Credit applications?

    I think it would be interesting to address the possibility that companies could actually be setting their algorithms to actually exclude/ include thier “ideal” client. I understand the widely accepted terms that companies have a risk factor to consider and it’s Thier “money” that they are lending but it’s also interesting that these AI settings are actually programmed to discriminate/ cherry pick. And this should be challenged.

    Reply

  24. James says

    Hello,

    I’m having trouble locating the dates of when my defaults were registered on Clear Score’s Exuifax and sites that use Experian – CreditKarma’s transunion seems to be the easiest to locate a defaulted date for an account.

    I’m sure I’ve seen it mentioned that default dates can differ across different record checkers, with the majority of mine scheduled to drop off within a year on TransUnion, I’m keen to see what the others say but aren’t too helpful.

    Any comments or suggestions would be much appreciated,

    Thanks

    Reply

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      I find the statutory credit reports are the clearest to see which accounts are defaulted and the default dates.

      Reply

  25. Louise says

    Hello, I am about to start checking my credit reports after years of having payday loans. My only concern is that I have moved address a few times and had different loans at different addresses. Will this make any difference to my report if I search using my current address? Will the loans only show under past addresses of where I was at that time?

    Reply

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      When you sign up to check a report, you are asked for previous addresses so they can pull it all together.

      Reply

  26. Fred says

    Hi Sara, I have just had my equifax account switched to the new myequifax layout,

    It says I have missed payments and 4 loans. But I don’t have any missed payments and do not have 4 loans. I looked through all my account status and it doesn’t match.

    I’ve sent them an email to enquire.

    Do you know what the letters stand for after the company names?
    For instance, Mail Order from FREEMANS (F) (I)

    Reply

  27. Rachel says

    Hi! I am looking to pay off my old debts, older than 6 years, by partial payment. I am worried these payments will show on my report, as I am not sure how to check that those old debts were reported as default at the time. I dont want them showing up on my report as I hope to apply for a mortgage soon. I have been paying them all via a payplan. Thanks!

    Reply

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      You need to look at your credit records with all three credit reference agencies to see which debts are still on there, and if they are, what the default dates are, as that will show you when they will drop off. See the article above which has links for how to get the Statutory Credit reports from each agency.

      When you know that you will be in better position to plan what to do.

      You could also ask the current creditors first to produce the CCA agreement for the debts if the debts were originally loans, credit cards or catalogues (not if they were overdrafts, utilities, mobiles etc). See https://debtcamel.co.uk/settlements-old-debts-cca/ for more about why this may be a good idea for you.

      Reply

  28. Graham says

    I took out a credit card to boost my score and have it set so that the full amount is taken by direct debit when due.
    However I see that my credit score has now gone down (by a huge jump).
    My understanding was that if I payed the full amount due each time then it would raise my score – not drop it.
    Are there any do’s and don’ts for using credit cards as this is not clear at all – and I am not particularly happy about it.

    Reply

  29. J Lawrie says

    Hi I’ve noticed on my credit report that two closed accounts have my wrong date of birth. June instead of July. Both are defaults. I’m going to be remortgaging soon to pay off my outstanding nect. Will this affect it? Thanks

    Reply

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      You are remortgaging to pay off defaulted debts? Have you talked to a debt adviser about your options first? When your debts are unsecured you have a lot more options than you have left when you have swapped them for a mortgage – and with defaults you may not get a good mortgage rate. If you are looking at a second mortgage at a high rate, this is usually best avoided…

      Reply

      • J Lawrire says

        Hi Sara, I’m remortgaging as my current interest only ends soon and I don’t have the funds to repay. Or I would need to my home which I don’t want to do. I’ve got an approval in principle for outstanding mortgage balance and extra to pay off debts. I know the next step is to do a hard search. And it’s in checking my credit report in detail I found two closed default accounts have the wrong date of birth for me. I worried this may affect the remortgage.

        Reply

  30. Jane says

    Hi

    Will the 3 credit agencies tell me who my CCJ is with?

    I didn’t even no I had 1 until I opened up a credit karma account !!

    Reply

  31. Harry says

    Hello Sara,
    I have noticed on my reports that there are ‘hard searches’! These are from when I used to try every company going for a loan.
    Are they bad to have on your report? Can they easily be removed?
    Thanks in advance.

    Reply

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      They suggest to other lenders that you are desperate and that other lenders have turned you down – not good! But they are usually ignored after 6-12 months. No way to get them removed.

      Reply

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      You can’t, not unless you had one then and have kept it. FOS knows this.
      Just send them a copy of your TransUnion statutory credit record – that is simpler to download than most reports.

      But you have had several affordability complaints before – have you never been asked for this? If you have already sent them one, they should still have that. An older report is better as it will go back further than a report you now get.

      Reply

  33. Terry says

    Hello Sara

    Good, informative article.
    With regard to the free statutory reports direct from the credit reference agencies.
    Do you know if there is a limit (legal or otherwise) as to how often one is entitled to receive a statutory report from a CRA?
    E.g. is one limited to a single request annually? Half yearly? Quarterly? Monthly?

    Reply

  34. Nigel says

    On experien my credit score is 999
    Credit karma 548
    On clear score 505

    I know there will be diffent but why’s my credit so good on experien on other 2 really bad

    In last 2 years only thing I can see is 3 miss payments in a row to natiwondie and 3 before that.

    I now have 0 debt

    They only thing on all 3 websites says to do to improve is take out a credit card and pay on full which I will be doing

    Which such huge diffrnce is there not a mistake somewhere?

    Reply

  35. Andrew S says

    Hi Sara,

    Just to double check, lenders of all kinds cannot see soft searches at all when they do a credit check? Just hard searches?

    Worried about a comment I have had from a broker about the number of searches I may have had.

    Reply

  36. Andrew says

    Yes, was concerned about how many soft searches Id been using. Basically I’ve just been obsessing about whether I would get accepted. I’ve only got 1 hard search in the last year.

    All the credit reference agency sites say soft searches aren’t visible?

    I’m very confused.

    Reply

  38. Andrew says

    Should that say:

    Soft searches “aren’t” visible to lenders?

    I might have to rethink using them as a broker if so

    Thanks.

    Andrew

    Reply

  39. George says

    I have a default that was registered by Equifax on my credit report December 2015. It was then registered by Experian in January 2016, and finally TransUnion but not until October 2017. Will this default stay on my credit report 6 years from December 2015 or October 2017. (At the time of writing it still shows on my credit report, so I’m thinking it’s unfortunately from the latter, 2017. Is this the case? Thank you!

    Reply

  40. A p says

    Hi today I received an email stating a hard search has been added to my clear score account. Having checked the report it shows the hard search was in July 2021 so I’m wondering why would it appear on my score now/so late after. Its caused my credit score to go down and I’m aware these companies may not be reliable and I’ve checked my experian account which hasn’t changed but is yet to update. My equifax account however shows no hard search placed within the last 6months. This is very confusing and frustrating as I’m trying to build my score

    Reply

      • A p says

        I had a car insurance policy with the company which ended on the 25th of July. I didn’t renew my insurance with them so I’m not sure why this has been added to my account. The creation account shows as settled in July 2021 on all my credit reports.

        Reply

  41. julie says

    Hi Sara

    I have just registered with Equifax and my credit score is 0. I’ve had quite a lot removed from my file after complaints have been upheld.

    I’ve never used Equifax before, Just Transunion and Clearscore. Should I get InTouch with Equifax?

    Reply

          • julie says

            Yes, everything more or less matches other than a Lantern account. this is why I am confused as to why it would show as 0

          • Sara (Debt Camel) says

            I think they haven’t linked you with your credit records. A bank statement should show on all credit reports as they report to all three credit reference agencies. I suggest you go to Equifax and give them details of your bank account and ask why the Equifax system is not finding it.

  42. Barbara Smith says

    We had years ago a CCJ served saying we owed the vendor , wr paid it in full and had to pay courts charges , I’ve just received a letter from link financial saying we have overpaid and asked for details of my Husband’s account to pay him back this money ? How can the vendor issue a CCJ against us when we had overpaid? This CCJ can send us nothing but trouble for our credit rating this is going back over 10yrs ago , have got the company’s name but no other details

    Reply

  43. Simon says

    Hi, Sorry if this has been asked before
    How do I get my old credit reports?
    I have clearscore, experian and transunion but non of these show past reports?

    Reply

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      You can’t, unless you had a paid subscription. But the current reports show a lot of details going back 6 years. So just take to copy of your current reports.

      Reply

  44. Danni says

    Equifax is dodgy, there’s lots of misinformation on there to incriminate people and bring their scores right down to poor

    Reply

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      you need to challenge any incorrect information with the creditor, it’s a waste of time trying to get Equifax to correct it.

      Reply

  45. Mario says

    I just checked my credit score and on it there’s something a bit weird. British Gas who never had put any amount info on my credit report, decided a few months back to start doing so. I find it a bit odd that after being with them for 10 years they decide to start doing it. OK, fine. Now when I checked on Clearscore and Credit Karma next to the British Gas entries it says disputed on Clearscore and query on Credit Karma. Not that it matters really, just finished a DRO so it’s probably not going to make any real difference to my credit worthiness. Should I be concerned or is it just part of the credit score mechanism?

    Reply

      • Mario says

        No, when I set up the DRO I was asked if it was to be included but the price of energy isn’t as crazy as it is at the moment and I didn’t owe them anything at the time.

        Reply

    • Sara (Debt Camel) says

      Then whatever is going on with BG is nothing to do with the DRO. I suggest you wait a few months and see if it sorts itself out.

      Reply

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