How to check your credit score and why you need to

From managing credit cards in your 30s to mortgage payments in your 40s and 50s, your financial history has been transformed into a credit score. It’s a key factor that lenders use to assess reliability.

A good credit score makes it easier to borrow at competitive rates. A low score could limit your options and result in higher costs.

Kara Gammell, finance expert at MoneySuperMarket, says: “A good credit score remains essential whatever your age. A strong credit score can help you to secure competitive interest rates for loans, mortgages, credit cards and even your monthly insurance premiums.”

What’s on this page? 

1. What is a good credit score?
2. How to check your credit score
3. How to improve your credit score
4. Improve your credit score by using credit

What is a good credit score?

Your credit score is a three-digit figure that shows how reliable you are at managing your debts. It’s based on your credit file, which includes past addresses, previous credit agreements and your payment history.

There are three main credit reference agencies in the UK: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Each one holds a credit file about you and uses that information to generate a credit score. Each agency allocates scores slightly differently, and they all have a different maximum score, though generally a good rating with one agency means a good rating with the others too.

Alastair Douglas, CEO of TotallyMoney, says: “Credit scores are an important part of the financial system, and even if you’re not planning on borrowing money any time soon, you should still keep an eye on your report.

"That’s because it could come in useful if you’re planning on downsizing homes and want to pay your energy via Direct Debit, want to pay your car insurance monthly, or if you’re planning on being a mortgage guarantor sometime in the future.”

How to check your credit score

Checking your credit score is easy and can be free. 

"You should never pay to access your own financial data,” warns Douglas. “Any credit provider worth their salt should also help you spot errors, show you what’s holding you back and give you tips to start moving forward.”

If you want to see all your credit reports in one go, there isn’t an easy way to do this for free. But Check My File gives you a 30-day free trial to see all your reports in one place. You’ll have to cancel before the trial ends though, otherwise you’ll be charged £14.99 a month.

Otherwise, you can check each of them separately. Because each one holds slightly different information, it can be best to check them all, especially if you have any concerns, or you are planning to apply for an important piece of credit, like a mortgage.

• Experian will charge you to see your full credit report (although you could sign up for a 30-day free trial and then cancel) but you can get the score alone for free. You can also ask for the Experian basic “statutory report” (which doesn’t include your credit score) for free. 
• Equifax will charge you to see your full credit report (though you could sign up for the free trial and cancel). Or you can get its basic statutory report for free. A better option could be Clearscore, as it gives you ongoing free access (on its basic plan) to your monthly Equifax credit report. 
• TransUnion only offers the free basic statutory report on its website, but Credit Karma, Totally Money and Money Supermarket offer free access to your full TransUnion credit report. 

It’s usually more useful to also be able to check your credit report, not just your score. This shows all your credit agreements from the past six years including late payments and account statuses. 

Mistakes do happen, so check for errors and report them to the credit agency to have them corrected. Alternatively, if your credit report issues such as missed payments that aren’t errors you may be able to add a ‘notice of correction’ . This gives you the opportunity to explain why the problem arose – for example if there were extenuating circumstances, such as job loss, illness or a relationship breakdown.

“It’s common for people to only check their credit report when they’re just about to apply for credit,” says Gammell. “Instead, try checking your report regularly and identify opportunities to boost your score, which could mean that you’re offered more competitive interest rates when you do need to use credit.”

Craig Tebbutt, chief strategy and innovation officer at Equifax UK, adds: “Checking your credit score regularly is also a good way to spot any suspicious or unusual activity on your accounts, and report it quickly.”

How to improve your credit score

Your credit score reflects your financial habits. Good habits like making your credit card, loan or mortgage payments on time, boost your score. Bad habits like missed or late payments, exceeding credit limits or defaulting on debts can lower it.

“Try to keep on top of your credit card, mortgage and loan repayments, set up a direct debit where possible to avoid missing payment dates – which can lead to penalty fees and damage to your credit score,” says Gammell.

If your credit score is on the low side, check your report for mistakes, and make sure you are registered to vote (which improves your rating). 

If you don’t already have a credit card, you could consider a credit-builder credit card to improve your score over time. These cards are designed for people with a low or no credit score, to help rebuild their credit history by using it to make regular purchases and making repayments in time. They tend to have a low credit limit when you first take them out, and a high APR, to reduce the risk to the lender. So it’s important to pay the card off in full every month and not to go above your credit limit.  

• See our guide to choosing a credit card

If you already have a good credit score, it’s worth protecting it. Regularly checking your credit report will mean you know immediately if anything has damaged your score.

Improve your credit score by using credit

Many people don’t realise that not using credit can also damage your credit score, as lenders have little information to assess your reliability when it comes to making repayments. You might even not have a credit score at all.

“If you’ve not been in charge of the household finances over the years, and bills haven’t been paid in your name you’ll have what is known as a ‘thin credit file’, which basically means you have little credit history,” says Douglas. “This could make it difficult to access everyday financial products and services.”

John Webb, consumer expert at Experian, adds: “It’s often the case that when you move into your 50s and 60s you might use less and less credit. Because most credit history information expires after six years, you might find having very little recent credit history might leave you in a difficult position. So it’s good to maintain a recent, healthy track record of managing credit.” 

To maintain a healthy credit record, keep at least one active credit agreement in your name. It doesn’t have to be a credit card: utility bills also count. Or if you pay monthly for insurance (rather than paying an annual premium), that’s a form of credit. Missed payments on these agreements can also damage your score, while regular on-time payments can improve it.