Alternative access to free Equifax report

[Deleted User]

In the light of Clearscore being acquired by Experian, it’s likely they will start offering an Experian based report for free rather than Equifax.

You can now get your Equifax report free from Capital One Creditwise:
https://www.capitalone.co.uk/creditwise/

You can see the score (and ignore it!), and also all your accounts etc. as per other CRA’s.

It also gives you a breakdown of your credit utilisation by percentage as well, which a lot of people ask to see.

TadleyBaggie

Do you have be an existing customer of Capital One?

TadleyBaggie

Answered my own question. I have no Capital One products but I was able to sign up in minutes. On first glance it looks easy to navigate than Clearscore.

It is also showing more up to date info than Clearscore, I settled a PCP account in February. Clearscore is still showing it as active, Creditwise is showing it correctly as settled.

PixelPound

The question is why do they need extra information, like job, salary, phone number, etc. Signed up but if I start getting post from capital one its going straight in the bin :rotfl:

[Deleted User]

Probably the same reason Clearscore do. And mse.

Nebulous2

nic_c wrote: »

The question is why do they need extra information, like job, salary, phone number, etc. Signed up but if I start getting post from capital one its going straight in the bin :rotfl:

The same reason facebook is worth so much money - because that data is valuable. They aren't a charity and are looking for something in return for providing a report.

The CRAs have traditionally only had one side of the equation; credit agreements, limits and usage. They haven't had income and have had a very limited amount of info on expenditure.

They are now trying to fill in these gaps as that information has a market value.

PixelPound

Nebulous2 wrote: »

The same reason facebook is worth so much money - because that data is valuable. They aren't a charity and are looking for something in return for providing a report.

The CRAs have traditionally only had one side of the equation; credit agreements, limits and usage. They haven't had income and have had a very limited amount of info on expenditure.

They are now trying to fill in these gaps as that information has a market value.

It's just a pity they aren't open about it, giving marketing options. I'm sure people don't mind alternative funding methods - like we have for mobile apps.

RG2015

TadleyBaggie wrote: »

Answered my own question. I have no Capital One products but I was able to sign up in minutes. On first glance it looks easy to navigate than Clearscore.

It is also showing more up to date info than Clearscore, I settled a PCP account in February. Clearscore is still showing it as active, Creditwise is showing it correctly as settled.

I wonder if this is more up to date because it has updated today but won't update again until this time next month. If your Clearscore updates in say two weeks, it will be more up to date than Capital One Creditwise.

Unless it updates every time you log in like GiffGaff for Callcredit. Now that would be a step up!

[Deleted User]

They don't update daily.

But at the same time, you're also waiting on your lenders/creditors to update the CRA's with accurate information as well.

You can use both Clearscore and Creditwise - open one at the beginning of the month and it will updates around that time. Open the other mid-month and then that one will update around that time each month.

RG2015

!!! wrote: »

They don't update daily.

But at the same time, you're also waiting on your lenders/creditors to update the CRA's with accurate information as well.

You can use both Clearscore and Creditwise - open one at the beginning of the month and it will updates around that time. Open the other mid-month and then that one will update around that time each month.

I was one of the Equifax hacked so have 2 years free access to Equifax Protect. This can be updated daily if I so desire.

I imagine that things will be different in 2020 but for now it is only Experian that I can only update once a month for free.

Also, whilst the bank accounts and credit cards only update once a month, all the searches are updated on a daily basis.

[Deleted User]

I read on Experian yesterday that from 25th of May they'll be giving "credit report" away for free, because of GDPR. I wonder if Equifax will follow suit.

I actually think a formal request for ALL information (as opposed to their version of a "credit report", which will be limited info) will be more useful to people "in the know".

I guess Experian are giving away the credit report for free in the hope they don't get flooded with formal requests (as they would do if they still had the cheek to charge £2).

If Joe Bloggs can see his "credit report" for free, he's probably not going to give two hoots about the other data they hold. Other people will want the other data regardless, and will raise a request regardless of what they can get for free!