Credit Score Basics > What is a credit file?

What is a credit file?

In the UK, a credit file is a detailed record of your credit history and financial behaviour that credit reference agencies use to calculate your credit score and which lenders use to decide whether you’re creditworthy.

Who has my credit file?

Your credit file is maintained by credit reference agencies like Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. These agencies collect and store information about:

• Your credit accounts (like loans and credit cards),
• Your utility accounts (like gas and electric bills),
• Payment history,
• Credit agreements in joint names,
• Public information like bankruptcies or county court judgments,
• Previous addresses,
• And information from the electoral roll.

This information helps credit reference agencies calculate your credit score, which tells lenders if you’re creditworthy and whether they should offer you credit, loans, mortgages, and other financial products.

How can lenders view my credit file?

Lenders can only view your credit file only if you give them express permission. This is called running a “hard check” on your file. A hard check is visible to other lenders and stays on your credit file for up to two years.

On the other hand, you can request to access your credit file for free from any of the credit reference agencies. The document you will receive is called a “statutory credit report.”

This is not your complete credit file, though – to access your full file, you will usually need to sign up for a specific service:

• Experian CreditExpert costs £14.99 a month (after the 30-day trial) for your Experian file.
• Equifax Credit Report & Score charges a similar £14.95 a month (also after a 30-day trial), or ClearScore, which is free, for your Equifax file.
• And Credit Karma, which is entirely free, for your TransUnion file.

Is a credit file the same thing as a credit report?

While we might use them as if they are, technically, a credit file and a credit report are not exactly the same thing:

• A credit file is the complete record of your credit history and financial information.
• A credit report is a specific document or summary generated from the information in your credit file.

In other words, think of your credit file as a sort of database and your credit report as a document summarising the information in that database.

Is the credit file the same as the credit score?

No, a credit file and a credit score are not the same thing either:

• A credit file is the complete record of your credit history and financial information maintained by credit reference agencies like Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
• A credit score is a number calculated by the same credit reference agencies, and is supposed to give lenders a quick idea of how creditworthy you are.

What’s in my credit file?

In the UK, a credit file includes pretty much everything lenders need to determine whether you’re a good, reliable borrower who is financially stable.

Because of this, your credit file includes:

• Personal information like your name, date of birth, and any other names you might have had. Lenders need this to verify your identity.
• Your address details, including electoral roll information for current and previous addresses, are also needed to verify your identity.
• Your financial associates, such as joint account holders, who may have an impact on your life.
• Details of loans, credit cards, mortgages, and overdrafts – and information on missed or late payments associated with them.
• Current or recent default notices.
• Current or recent defaulted accounts. Lenders need to know if you’ve ever failed to repay a debt.
• Lenders also need to know what happened in that situation, which means that your credit file also includes things like Court action, such as County Court judgments (CCJs) or home repossessions, and recent insolvencies, such as bankruptcies, individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs), or debt relief orders (DROs).

Once given access to it, lenders then use the information in a credit file to determine how risky you might be as a borrower and whether they should approve your credit application.

One thing to remember here: the data in a credit file is subject to the Data Protection Act, meaning it has to be accurate and current. If you spot any errors, you can get the credit reference agencies to fix them.

What is not included in my credit file?

Your credit file does not include:

• How much money is in your bank accounts;
• How much you earn, or whether you’re employed or self-employed;
• Your student loans;
• Council tax arrears;
• Driving or parking fines;
• Your criminal record;
• Your medical history;
• Your ethnicity, religion, or political affiliation.

Some of these might be surprising – lenders, for example, do need and ask for your income information when you apply for a loan.

However, this and many other details listed above are not included in your credit file – to ensure fairness for all borrowers.

This means that if you want to improve your credit score and loan approval chances, you should mainly pay attention to your credit history, especially your repayment history.

To build and improve your credit history, consider a credit-building app like Wollit. The way it works is simple: it reports your monthly subscription as a loan repayment to all three credit reference agencies, helping you show a history of timely credit repayments and potentially lifting your credit score.

• Credit Report