Experian Credit Score

Credit Score Ace provides an overview of Experian credit scores. You can also learn more about why and when to check these scores from Credit Score Ace

The largest of the three credit reference agencies in the UK is Experian, with the other two being Equifax, which is the second largest, and TransUnion, which is the smallest of these agencies. All of these credit reference bureaus offer access to pay monthly credit reports and with these consumers are also able to benefit in a number of other ways, including being able to get access to their credit rating as well as their credit report.

In order to access your credit score you need to be signed up to one of the pay monthly credit report schemes or a free account from Experian. With Experian the pay month service is called Credit Expert, and this offers continuous access to your credit report and credit score for a set monthly fee. You will also get 30 days’ free access with this Experian service, and you can cancel at any time during that thirty day period, which means that you won’t pay a penny. If you decide to continue you will pay £14.99 per month for the credit report service, which you can cancel at anytime.

How the credit scoring system works

Each time you apply for finance and a search is carried out on your credit file the lender allocates a credit score to you. The credit score from Experian and the other credit reference agencies is a guide to this. Credit scores are not cast in iron and they can move both upwards (if your credit improves) or downwards (if your credit gets worse).

It is possible to improve your credit score over time, but there is no quick fix that will work in these cases – you need to persevere, make responsible and timely payments on debts and bills, avoid making a lot of applications for finance in a short period of time, make sure that you are on the electoral roll and that all of your details such as address are up to date, and check your credit report for any problems such as out of date information that could be affecting your credit.

Experian Credit Score Range

• 0-560 points – Very poor (this is where you are a very high risk for lenders)
• 561-720 points – Poor (this is where you are seen as a high risk)
• 721-880 points – Fair (this is where you are classed as being a moderate risk)
• 881-960 points – Good (this is where you are seen as being low risk)
• 961-999 points – Excellent (this is where you are classed as very low risk)

Obviously the better your rating the less of a risk you will pose to a lender. This in turn means that you have a higher chance of getting finance from a lender and you are more likely to get a favourable deal in terms of interest rates on your borrowing. You will also have a far wider choice of financial products to choose from if your credit is good or excellent.

How to improve your Experian Credit Score?

We have written elsewhere on how to improve your credit score but this includes registering on the electoral roll, checking for any errors in your Experian credit report and regularly paying your credit commitments e.g. paying a credit card bill on-time every month.

When to check your Experian Credit Score

If you are considering applying for any form of finance in the future, such as a mortgage, car finance, loan, credit card, or any other form of finance, you should check your credit score to see which category you fall into and whether you are likely to get the finance that you need.  It is also advisable to check your score if you are applying for a job that could be affected by your credit or if you are applying to rent a home, as credit checks are often carried out by private landlords and lettings agencies.

You should also make sure that you check your credit score if you are working on your credit to try and improve it. Checking your score will ensure that you are able to keep an eye on your progress and see whether the changes you are making are being reflected in your credit score in terms of improving your score.

Bearing in mind that your credit score and report can change it is advisable to keep tabs on it and check it each time you apply for finance, tenancies, etc, as it may have gone up or down since the last time you checked it. With Experian you can then view your score quickly and easily online to make a more informed decision over whether to apply for any finance, a rented property, a job, a bank account, etc.