What you get in your Experian credit report

And how CreditExpert can help you manage your credit status.

electoral roll payment history

previous credit searches actual credit score

Don't forget that CreditExpert is the only place where you can see your Experian credit report online. You can also query anything you don't understand with a free phone call.

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Electoral roll and other public records

Information on the electoral roll helps organisations to confirm your name and address quickly. It means they can check that you live at the address you give on your application form and helps them to prevent fraud and money laundering. The electoral roll lists your official address as recorded by your local authority.

CCJs

A county court judgment (CCJ), or a Scottish decree, on your report shows that you have been taken to court for not paying money you owe. Experian holds a record of court judgments for six years. The information is provided to us by Registry Trust Ltd, an independent organisation under the control of the Ministry of Justice.

Credit payment history

The UK's major lenders have agreed to share details of their customers' credit agreements. They do this by storing the details with one or more of the three credit reference agencies. When you apply for credit you give permission to the lender to check how you have repaid other lenders in the past few years. This helps them to decide whether you can afford to take on the new credit and whether you are likely to keep up repayments.

Credit score

Many lenders use credit scoring to help them decide whether to offer you credit. They can also use credit scoring to decide what interest rate to charge you. Credit scoring gives points to the information on your credit report and to the details you give the lender on your application form. The process is often automated. Lenders then add up these points and use the total (your credit score) to help them decide whether to offer you credit. In general, a higher score suggests that you are less likely to experience problems repaying credit.

You should also remember that your credit score will change over time as your financial circumstances change. For example, paying off a debt could improve your score, while having a county court judgment made against you would probably reduce it.