What should I see on my credit report?
The first thing you’ll notice when you get your credit report is your credit score, sometimes called a credit rating. This is a single-figure score calculated by each agency, designed to give an at-a-glance idea of how ‘good’ your credit is. As a general rule, the higher the score the better, although Experian, Equifax and TransUnion all have different scales, so you can’t compare like with like.
To give you a better idea of what counts as a good credit score, we can compare the rankings of each of the three main CRAs:
| Credit score |
Fair |
Good |
Excellent |
| Experian |
721-880 |
881-960 |
961-999 |
| Equifax |
380-419 |
420-465 |
466-700 |
| TransUnion |
566-603 |
604-627 |
628-710 |
While these scores can be a useful guide, they don’t give a full picture, so it’s important to dive deeper into the more detailed information to get a better understanding of your credit report.
Next, you’ll see details of all the credit accounts you currently have open. Within each of these you will be able to expand the details to show set-up dates, current balances and a table showing monthly repayments. It’s here that you will see any late or missed payments flagged.
In the TransUnion credit report via Credit Karma for example, you’ll see each month marked either with a tick if the payment was made on time and in full, a cross for a missed payment, a D for a default, an H for a payment holiday or an A if you made an arrangement to pay.
It’s a good idea to check the repayment table for each account to make sure there aren’t any mistakes. If you spot anything that doesn’t look right, contact the CRA or your lender.
For each account you should also find information about how to add a Notice of Correction. A Notice of Correction is a note, written by you, of fewer than 200 words, that can be added to your credit report to explain any isolated incidences of bad credit. This is typically a one-off event, such as a serious illness that meant you were unable to work, which caused you to fall behind on payments. The Notice of Correction gives lenders the chance to understand why the credit issue occurred and to see it in the context of what is hopefully otherwise a reliable credit history.
Further into your credit report, you’ll find sections containing some of your personal details, such as your address history and any credit that is listed under previous names you may have had, such as a maiden name.
You will also find details of any financial links to other people. These are worth checking in detail as linked finances can harm your credit rating if the person you are linked with has a history of bad credit. Linked finances come about through shared products such as joint accounts or joint mortgages.
Sally Bradbury 
Douglas Carr
Rebecca Sanderson
Liam Dunn
Justin Morris
Gavin Connellan
Alison Fidoe
John Barber
