Credit Report Companies - help needed!

tomt

Hi all,
I hope I'm posting this to the right place, as this is my first post.

Basically I've just signed up to checkmyfile to see my credit reports from three companies - Experian, Equifax and Callcredit.

My credit score is OK at Equifax and Callcredit - the only thing that is bad is the lack of searches on my credit: I have 2 at Equifax and 3 at Callcredit from the past 12 months. I guess I should just apply for a card every three months or so to keep this up(?).

The problem is Experian - they have no lending listed for me, and they also have no searches for my credit history with them. This drags my credit rating down, when everything else is OK.

Is this possible? Do banks/card companies etc. only use one particular company for their credit searches? And if so, who uses Experian so that I can try to ensure there are a few searches every 12months going through my Experian credit file?

Also, in general, what is the best way to keep the number of searches at an acceptable level - I really don't want to take out new cards - can I apply, get my credit checked, then decide not to proceed further?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I don't want this to drag down my credit-worthiness!

Thanks,
Tom

grumbler

tomt wrote:

.. the only thing that is bad is the lack of searches on my credit

I never tried to check my credit score (always ordered my files for £2), but I am pretty sure that 'lack of searches' cannot be bad. Quite opposite: a lot of searches is bad.

The problem is Experian - they have no lending listed for me, and they also have no searches for my credit history with them. This drags my credit rating down, when everything else is OK.

Is this possible? Do banks/card companies etc. only use one particular company for their credit searches? And if so, who uses Experian so that I can try to ensure there are a few searches every 12months going through my Experian credit file?

Regarding searches look here:
http://www.stoozing.com/cards.htm
Experian vs. Equifax
Credit Reference Agencies - Who uses who?
However, in your case it is important who reports your credit history to what CRA, but not who searches what CRA.

Also, in general, what is the best way to keep the number of searches at an acceptable level - I really don't want to take out new cards - can I apply, get my credit checked, then decide not to proceed further?

As above, searches don't improve your rating, but damage it. To improve rating you should have some CCs and other credit and deal with your debts without mistakes - no late and missed payments, never go over limit ...
See also Your Credit Rating: How they decide and how you find out for free

tomt

Thanks for your help Grumbler, you've been a great help!