What is my credit rating?

A credit rating is a score based on your financial history, designed to help lenders to lend responsibly and profitably.

A credit rating is one of those invisible factors that can actually play a significant role in your life. Not only can a poor credit rating exclude you from offers, products and services, it could affect your ability to open a bank account, get certain employment or even get a roof over your head.

Some people know they have a poor credit rating and know why. Over-extended borrowings that were not repaid, difficulties with repaying mortgages or simply administrative misunderstandings.

But if you have none of this in your past, why would you want to see and monitor your credit rating?

Why check my credit rating?

People often ask, “Why should I check my credit rating?” Here are a few reasons:

• Your credit report is updated regularly and this can affect your credit rating. Monitoring means you can deal with problems before they become a barrier to your ability to get credit
• ID fraud is becoming increasingly common. Credit monitoring will alert you to any fraudulent activity occurring in your name
• If you have had some indiscretions in your past, monitoring enables you to see when your credit rating has recovered

How do I check my credit rating?

An Experian credit check will help you keep track of your credit-rating. Experian is the UK's largest credit reference agency and offers a service that allows you to monitor your credit rating.

Sign-up now for a free, 30-day trial of CreditExpert, the leading monitoring service, and get your credit report for free.