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Get Your Free Experian Credit Report: Know FICO Scores

According to the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), you can check your credit report for free whenever you prefer. Previously, in the United Kingdom, you had to pay a certain amount of money to the credit reference agencies to check your credit report. 

Experian is one of the most trusted credit referencing agencies in the United Kingdom. If you learn how you can get your credit report from Experian in order to manage your credit scores. Further, you can also read your FICO scores. 

What is a Good Credit Report and How does it Help to Improve Your Credit Scores?

A credit report is basically a report that contains information regarding your financial condition from the last 6 years of your credit history. It plays a very vital role when you apply for a loan or credit card. The money lenders will ask you to show your credit report and if they find your credit scores satisfying, then they will be ready to lend you money. 

A good credit report shows how well you manage your finances. For instance,  mortgage, credit cards, overdrafts, loans, mobile phone contracts, property rentals. Along with all these, credit reports contain how well you manage your utilities like gas, water, and electricity bills. 

In case, you have a low credit score in your credit report, you can still improve it. Checking your credit report regularly enables you to see what’s the root causative agent affecting your credit scores. Further, you can also learn from your previous mistakes. 

Apply for Your Free Experian Credit Report

If you are an individual who is above 18 years old and had borrowed money from different sources, you are then eligible for creating your own credit report from a credit referencing agency. 

In the UK, there are various credit reference agencies but Experian tops the list. Credit reference agencies like Experian’s sole purpose is to hold a credit card report on you. 

To check your credit report, you simply have to request your credit history through a basic statutory report for free. In case, you are new to Experian, you need to sign up to Experian and take the free trial of CreditExpert. 

Experian credit reports contain your credit scores, fraud monitoring, and alerts. Besides that, it will also guide you on how to improve your credit scores so that your creditors have a good impression of you. 

What are the Sources Used for Gathering Informations Regarding Your Credit Report?

The information in your Experian credit card comes from mainly two sources, these are Public Information and Credit History Information. 

As you put information about yourself while enrolling your name into the Electoral Roll, Experian collects this information and uses it to make your credit report better. 

Besides this, Experian tries to collect information regarding you from the court (in case you have visited court for some reason).

The next source of information is the Credit History Information, here all your existing creditors play an important role. The agencies rate you on the basis of how frequently you make payments to them and how much money they have given you as credit. 

If you feel, your credit report includes any wrong information or if you feel you can justify the reason for any unpaid installments, you can add a “Notice of Correction” to any credit record. It will help you to explain why you delayed the payment or what was the situation then. 

With Experian, you may ask queries to your creditors if you feel like they have intentionally stated wrong information to spoil your credit report. 

Note: If you raise “Notice of Corrections” or NOC with Experian, it will be only applicable to Experian and not to the other credit reference agencies. 

What are Credit Scores and How do they Work?

Credit Scores are also known as Credit Ratings. Credit Scores are information that are displayed on your credit report. It is basically  a number that reflects whether you are eligible to pay back the credit you have taken.

When you apply for a loan or credit card, the commercial banks or the other trusted sources will ask you to show up your credit report. They will analyze it and determine the credit score. 

This credit score will let them know if lending you money will bring aNY risk to them or not. If your credit score turns out to be a positive one, you will easily get a loan or credit from any other sources. 

Your credit scores influence a lot of factors. It leaves an impact on your chances of getting loans, mortgages, credit cards, rental payments, car financing, etc. 

Is it Possible to Check Your Credit Scores for Free?

You can check out your credit score whenever you wish to see it, by just signing up to the Free Experian Account. Just log in to your Experian account and you will be able to see your credit scores and it will cost you absolutely nothing. Your credit scores get updated after every 30 days.

Know-How Your Experian Credit Score Gets Calculated

The Experian free credit scores start from 0 and ends to 999. Your credit score will depend on your past financial records or credit report. For instance, how often you apply for a loan or credit, how much amount of money you owe to your creditors, and if you make payments on time or not. 

The higher your credit score is, the faster you get the loans. Making payments on time makes your credit score a positive one. On the other hand, not paying money on time and frequently applying for loans leads to a negative credit score. Besides that, being on an electoral roll also helps you to gain a positive credit score. 

You must be wondering what a good or average credit score is. The truth is, there are no such numbers that will assure you of loan approval. There are different companies in the UK that look for different factors in their potential customers. 

So, if you have been rejected from a company, don’t feel left alone. Your credit report may get accepted by some other companies. 

According to the Experian agency, your credit score is good or fair if it is between 881 to 960. And if your credit score is between 721 to 880, it is an average kind of a credit score.  

Learn about FICO Credit Scoring 

Fair Isaac Corporation prepares your FICO scores. Majority of banks and credit grantors use the FICO model. It is mainly based on consumer credit files of 3 national credit reference agencies- Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. 

When you go to the money lenders for financial help, they check your FICO scores and the other relevant information on your credit report. Just like other credit scores, money lenders analyze your FICO scores to assess the credit risk. 

FICO scores help the money lenders to decide your credit-worthiness. In short, money lenders check your FICO score before granting you the loan because it helps them to make well-informed lending decisions. 

Note: If you don’t have any recently reported credit history, you will not have your FICO score. 

How to Calculate FICO Scores?

FICO scores are used by US lenders to understand the credit risk more accurately. Basically, it helps the money lenders to grant credit decisions. A FICO score is a credit score that represents how likely you are to repay the loan amount or how higher the risk is to lend you money. 

Your FICO score is calculated on the basis of information that is available in your credit report. The data on your credit report mainly includes the total number of creditors you recently owe to, your payment history, total debts, etc. 

This information is mainly sourced from the 3 main credit bureaus in the United Kingdom: Experian, Equifax and TrustUnion. 

You can get your FICO scores for each of your credit reports. You should remember that FICO scores are dynamic and can change every now and then. As the data in your credit reports changes, your FICO score changes with that too. 

It is calculated in real-time so there is no chance of misleading your money lenders. FICO scores start from 300 and end at 850. Higher FICO scores displays fewer risks and lower FICO scores mean, thus lending you money can be very risky. 

It mainly depends on these following factors-

1: Your payment history (35%)

2: Amounts owed to creditors (30%)

3: Length of credit history (15%)

4: Frequency of new credit accounts (10%)  and’

5: Types of credit used (10%)

Basically, your FICO scores are in your hand as it depends on your credit habits or credit history that is stated in your credit history. 

Why FICO Scores are so Important for You?

  • FICO scores make the lending process fairer and faster.
  • It provides you with various credit choices at competitive rates. 
  • FICO scores somehow help the money lenders to make the lending decisions more easily. 
  • FICO scores set the same standards for all the borrowers.