Experian is a Credit Reference Agency (CRA) that’s been around for over 125 years, operating in 37 countries. There are three main credit reference agencies in the UK, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. But Experian is a market leader.
Experian was founded in 1880 as the London-based Credit Exchange Company. The company changed its name to Experian in 2003. It’s one of the most well-known and widely used CRAs in the UK.
What does Experian do?
Experian collects information about people’s financial activity, both past and present. It does this for businesses too. Information collected about you is stored on your credit file. It forms the basis of your Credit Report and it’s from this that they generate your credit score.
Lenders use this information to decide whether to approve a loan, and what interest rate to charge you.
What is an Experian credit report?
Your Experian credit report shows the information that’s recorded on your credit file. This information would come from companies you’ve had financial accounts with. It also shows anything that’s recorded about you on the public register.
Your credit report can be seen by you or by companies who you apply for credit with. It helps lenders decide whether to approve any loans you apply for.
How can I check my credit report on Experian?
You can get your credit report directly from Experian. Simply open an account with them and you’ll be able to see your credit report and score.
How can I download my Experian credit report?
To download your Experian credit report, you’ll have to register with them first. Once you’ve logged in to your account, you’ll have an option to save or print your credit report. Click on this and your report will open in a new window. From here you can print it or save it as a PDF.
Why should I check my credit report on Experian?
Your credit report shows how you manage your money. Lenders, landlords and even some employers will look at it to help them make decisions that impact you. It could make the difference to you getting a loan, renting a flat or even getting a job. That’s why checking it is important. It matters for two reasons.
- To make sure that the information on your credit report is accurate.
- If your credit score goes down, you can take action straight away to bring it back up again.
Is my Experian credit report reliable?
The information that is recorded on your credit file is put there by businesses you’ve had dealings with. Information that’s been added to the public register will also show on your credit report. This information must be correct as Experian must comply with the UK’s data protection rules.
This states that information businesses hold about you must be accurate and up to date. However, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t sometimes mistakes and errors.
Can I correct mistakes on my credit report?
Yes, you can correct mistakes on your credit report. In fact, should you find any errors on there, it’s important that you get them put right. This is because your credit report will be used by lenders to help them make lending decisions.
The way to get mistakes corrected on your credit report is to raise a dispute with Experian. Depending on what the mistake is, they may ask you to send in some further information. If necessary, they may go to the lender if the mistake has come from them.
Once Experian has investigated your claim, they’ll provide you with their outcome after 28 days.
Is my Experian credit report free?
You are entitled to one free statutory credit report every 12 months from Experian. If you want to get more than one report in this timeframe, you’d have to sign up to their membership.
If you haven’t registered with them before, the Experian membership has a 30 day free trial. After this it would cost £14.99 per month. But by signing up to their membership you get access to your credit report.
How can I cancel my Experian membership?
To cancel your Experian membership, you need to log in to your Experian account. From there you can cancel your subscription at any time. Your free Experian account will remain open. If you don’t want to cancel it online, you can get in touch with Experian by post or by phone.
What is an Experian credit score?
You Experian credit score is a number that reflects what’s on your credit file. Your score can be anywhere from 0 to 999. Depending on what your credit score is, it’ll be classed as poor, good or excellent. The table below shows the scoring range that Experian use.
| Excellent | Good | Fair | Poor | Very Poor | |
| Experian | 961-999 | 881-960 | 721-880 | 561-720 | 0-560 |
How does Experian calculate my credit score?
Experian calculate your credit score by using the information on your credit report. This includes things like:
- How often you apply for credit
- How much money you owe
- Whether you make your repayments on time
They have their own way of calculating your credit score using this information. But in general terms, late payments will lose you points, while paying off your debts on time will add points.
What is a good Experian credit score?
As you can see in our table above, a good credit score with Experian ranges between 881 and 960. But your credit score isn’t fixed for life. If your score is lower than this, then there are things you can do to change it. Keep reading to find out how you can improve your credit score.
Is my Experian credit score accurate?
Your Experian credit score will be accurate so long as your credit report has no errors on it. However, it’s only a reflection of what’s on your Experian credit file. It won’t include anything that’s not reported on there.
If a lender only reports your loan repayments to say Equifax, then your Experian score won’t reflect this. That’s why your Experian credit score is only a reflection of the information held on your Experian credit file.
How often does Experian update my credit score?
How often Experian updates your credit score is dependent on what type of Experian account you have. The table below explains how your account affects how often your score’s updated.
| The type of account you have with Experian | How often your Experian credit score gets updated |
| A free Experian account | Your Experian credit score will be updated 30 days after you login |
| A paid subscription to Credit Expert, the Experian membership | Your Experian credit score will update daily |
Lenders can take up to 6 weeks to report changes to your credit report, which could impact your credit score.
Does checking my credit report on Experian affect my credit score?
No, checking your credit report on Experian won’t affect your credit score. You can check your report as much as you like, it makes no difference to your score. That’s because, when you check your credit report, it’s classed as a ‘soft check’. A soft credit check leaves no mark on your credit file so it can’t be seen when someone looks at your file.
What can I do to improve my Experian credit score?
There are a number of things you can do to improve your Experian credit score.
1. Check your credit report for errors
Mistakes on your credit file can impact your ability to be approved for loans. That’s why it’s worth checking it to make sure there aren’t any mistakes on it. If you find anything’s wrong, contact Experian to get it put right.
2. Make all your payments on time
Every time you make a late payment it brings down your credit score. You can help avoid this from happening by setting up a direct debit with your lenders. You can arrange your payments to go out on the day your salary goes in so you’re less likely to miss them.
3. Leave long gaps between any new applications
When you apply for any type of borrowing, it leaves a temporary mark on your credit file. This is because the lender does a hard credit check on you. And this affects your credit score.
So, leave a long gap between each application you make. That way you’ll reduce the overall impact each one has on your credit score.
4. Register on the electoral roll
If you’re not already registered to vote, it’s worth doing. It can be a quick way to boost your credit score.
5. Remove links to anyone you’re no longer connected to financially
Experian will report anyone you’re financially linked to. If they have a poor credit score, it’ll affect you when you apply for credit. If you’re no longer linked to someone financially, contact Experian to get them removed from your credit file.
6. Don’t use up all your available credit
If you’re borrowing up to your credit limits, it’ll hurt your credit score. If you can bring down your debts to about 30% of your credit limit it’ll help improve your credit score.
How does Experian help people?
Experian can help people’s credit score. They have a tool that can instantly improve your credit score by up to 101 points. It does this by looking at payments you make from your bank account to see if they can impact your score. It’s called Experian Boost.
Using Experian Boost is easy. All you have to do is register for a free Experian account, then follow these three steps.
- Connect your Experian account to your bank account: It’s a secure connection and Experian won’t store your bank details.
- Experian will scan your bank account: They search for any payments that they could use to boost your credit score. This could be payments for utility bills, council tax payments or even money you pay into savings.
- Experian works out if they can use this information to give your credit score a boost: If they can, your credit score will be boosted straight away.
How can I contact Experian UK?
You can contact Experian UK via their website, or you can write to them or call them. Their contact details are as follows.
Customer Support Centre
Experian Ltd
PO BOX 9000
Nottingham
NG80 7WF
Experian contact number: 0800 013 8888
Final words
Experian is one of the leading Credit Reference Agencies in the UK. It collects and processes information about consumers and businesses worldwide. The information they gather forms your credit report. You can view your credit file on Experian for free, or you can sign up to their upgraded account – Credit Expert. With Credit Expert you get to see daily updates to your credit score.
Lenders will use the information on your credit report to help them decide on whether to lend to you. That’s why it’s worth taking care of your credit score and improving it if it’s poor.
Disclaimer: The information given above on Experian is provided for reference only. Please visit their main website for detailed information. Also, the external links linked above are for reference only and we are not affiliated to any of the external parties linked here.
