How to find your score through credit reporting


Author: Pat Strickle

What is a credit score?

Your credit score will play a very important role in your life. It will determine lots of factors such as the amount of insurance premiums that you will pay or whether you can get a bank loan and at what rate of interest. Many credit bureaus will calculate your credit score based on the credit reports that they receive from lenders. Of course this information might be inaccurate and that is why you need to not only know your credit score but also to regular monitor it through credit reporting so that you can evaluate the changes in your credit rating.

The three main credit rating agencies in the UK are Experian, Equifax and CallCredit. A good credit score is a mark of your credibility as a borrower and it also shows you are capable of managing your finances prudently.

A credit score is represented between the scale of 300 and 900, where if you have a higher score then the risk is low and if the score is low then the risk involved is high. Another format used to represent a credit score is "R" format, where a number is attached to "R", for example R1 or R5. In this format, R1 is the best rating and R9 is the worst rating.

How to find out your credit score:

To know your credit score, it will be wiser to directly contact the Experian, CallCredit or Equifax, which maintain your credit score. There are some online tools that can offer you the credit scores from all the three agencies. By offering your personal details, you will be able to get an instant credit score and credit report from Experian. With Equifax, you might need to wait for 4 days before your credit report is issued.

Free Credit Score versus paid credit score

It is your legal right to request your credit score at least once every 12 months. However, the three credit bureaus have added an a la carte service that includes credit reports and credit scores together with comprehensive credit monitoring. But these usually start with free 30 day trial so if your objective is simply getting up to date credit scores and reports, you can simply sin up for the free 30 day trial period and then cancel the subscription before the 30 days elapse. CallCredit however offers free credit scores and reports. The monthly costs for Experian and Equifax are £14.99 and £8.99 respectively.


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