How to Check your Credit Reports

In the UK we have 3 Credit Reporting Agencies and each one could hold slightly different data.

Whenever you apply for a service which involves regular payments, the company will very likely perform a check with one or more of these agencies to see your history and whether they want to take you on as a customer.
For some types of companies, usually those involved with loans & mortgages, have an obligation to check this data to make sure they don't miss-sell you a product, when you can't actually afford it.

Because of this it's a good idea to check the report at least once a year, and if you find items on there which are incorrect you can challenge them and get them changed,

The 3 agencies are:

  1. Trans Union
  2. Experian
  3. Equifax

To obtain a copy of the report they hold against your name there are a few options. Remember that the "report" is different to the "score". The report is a list of information that has been reported to your account, but the score is just a number based system based on that report.

  • Free Statutory Report. You have the legal right to access a copy of the credit report an agency has on you under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) & the Data Protection Act 2018.

    This can be requested on their website or by post. They usually do not include a overall numbering "credit score" or other features for education that help you understand the report in more detail, but they will contain details of what has been reported.

  • Online. All of the agencies have an online service which will give you regular updates and will include much more information including the "credit score".

The Agencies

Trans Union online options:


These are third parties so they also will be gathering data from you as well, but will give you much more educated overview. I personally use Credit Karma & Money Saving Expert Credit Club.


Experian online options:

Free Experian Credit Score Only
Credit Score & Report (£14.99 per month)