Experian is the largest CRA in the UK. Their scores range from 0-999. A credit score of 721-880 is considered fair. A score of 881-960 is considered good.
The most accurate credit scores are the latest versions of the FICO Score and VantageScore credit-scoring models: FICO Score 8 and VantageScore 3.0.
The three main credit reference agencies in the UK are Experian, Equifax and TransUnion (formerly Callcredit). These are the ones most lenders rely on when considering someone for a mortgage.
Is ClearScore accurate? All credit reports run the risk of containing errors or out-of-date information and this is the same for the Equifax reports used by ClearScore.
ClearScore takes your credit report and financial information from Experian and then uses that very information to generate its own score. While the credit scores can vary slightly depending on the credit reporting agency, the same rule follows for all scores – The higher the better.
Credit scores help lenders evaluate whether they want to do business with you. The FICO® Score☉ , which is the most widely used scoring model, falls in a range that goes up to 850. The lowest credit score in this range is 300. But the reality is that almost nobody has a score that low.
The main difference is Experian grades it between 0 – 1000, while Equifax grades the score between 0 – 1200. This means that there is not only a clear 200 point difference between these two bureaus but the “perfect scores” are also different, which is 1000 as reported by Experian and 1200 as reported by Equifax.
Negative information can include late payments, collection accounts, bankruptcy or defaults. Negative information can cause lower credit scores, so the addition of such information can result in a considerable score difference when compared with prior scores.
There are three main credit reference agencies in the UK. Experian is one of the largest, and we provide the UK's most trusted credit score*. *Most trusted' based on 46% of 995 respondents.
There are some lenders in the UK who only check for information with Experian only. These include; Co-operative Bank, Nationwide, Vanquis, Virgin Money and Yorkshire Bank & Clydesdale Bank.
ClearScore clearly advertise on their app that the average UK ClearScore credit score is 585, which puts most people in the 'good' bracket.
Some credit cards that use Experian only reportedly include Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Citi Premier Card, among others.
Banks and Stores
Experian, TransUnion and Equifax are the three largest credit reporting agencies, and most major banks use them to come up with a combined FICO score. International financial organizations such as Barclays, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, MBNA and Nationwide are examples of those that rely on Experian.
Is Experian Accurate? Credit scores from the credit bureaus are only as accurate as the information provided to the bureau. Check your credit report to ensure all the information is correct. If it is, your Experian credit scores are accurate.
ClearScore gets your credit score and report from Equifax. Depending on the date of your report, there could be slight differences in the score we have and the one Equifax has. Lenders can use any of the credit reference agencies to check your credit score in the UK.
While the FICO® 8 model is the most widely used scoring model for general lending decisions, banks use the following FICO scores when you apply for a mortgage: FICO® Score 2 (Experian) FICO® Score 5 (Equifax)
Best Overall AnnualCreditReport.com
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau confirms that AnnualCreditReport.com is the official website that allows you to access each of your credit reports from all three of the major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — at no cost.
Experian is the largest credit bureau in the United States. Still, it's not the only entity that houses consumer financial data. Equifax and TransUnion are the other major credit reporting agencies lenders, and creditors turn to for credit reports and scores used to make lending decisions.
For a score with a range between 300 and 850, a credit score of 700 or above is generally considered good. A score of 800 or above on the same range is considered to be excellent. Most consumers have credit scores that fall between 600 and 750.
Your Equifax score is lower than the other credit scores because there is a slight difference in what is reported to each credit agency and each one uses a slightly different method to score your data.
Lenders use Equifax or one of the other CRAs to make decisions about whether to lend you money - they don't use ClearScore. Equifax, like lenders, use your most up-to-date information. If your information is all up to date then ClearScore credit score is a very good indication of how a lender will see you.
A credit score of 721-880 is considered fair. A score of 881-960 is considered good. A score of 961-999 is considered excellent (reference: https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/guides/good-credit-score.html). TransUnion (formerly known as Callcredit) is the UK's second largest CRA, and has scores ranging from 0-710.
The highest Clearscore score is 1000.
A score between 811 and 1000 places you in the Excellent Clearscore band.
Experian is trusted by millions of consumers and businesses and is safe to use. Their free and premium services are readily available but with several layers of protection to shield your information from fraudsters.