Credit Bureaus

bigkenny1975

Is there a list of all the different agencies who offer you access to credit scores? Obviously there is the Credit Club here, Credit Karma etc but who else is around?
I have become a little obsessed with my credit score which I've recently had jump into Good in Equifax by paying down debt and lowering my utilisation but Experian and TransUnion are still showing the higher balances and a Fair score.

I know it doesn't mean that much but I'd like to get the score up to try and get a better offer on a 0% balance transfer and try to clear my debts once and for all. I could just wait 30 days until the score refreshes on my free accounts but I am impatient and willing to sign up to free trials.

2021BJ

I'll give you your score for free if you want.
35.
Hopefully that has satisfied the need to see a made up "score" for a bit.

[Deleted User]

bigkenny1975 said:

I know it doesn't mean that much but I'd like to get the score up to try and get a better offer on a 0% balance transfer and try to clear my debts once and for all. I could just wait 30 days until the score refreshes on my free accounts but I am impatient and willing to sign up to free trials.

No need to wait. Lenders see a real time view and they'll never see the score in any case.

bigkenny1975

I get that but I would still like to see what the agencies will be reporting. I know Equifax seemed to have more up to date info than Experian as I ran reports on the same day. I now have to wait almost 30 days for a new Experian report to check if they have caught up. I'm sure they will have but I would like to be sure.

bigkenny1975

2021BJ said:

I'll give you your score for free if you want.
35.
Hopefully that has satisfied the need to see a made up "score" for a bit.

Was there really a need for that? It is of no use to anyone and doesn't answer the question. You could have simply ignored the comment or said 'it doesn't really matter you know' but no you had to go for a belittling comment

2021BJ

bigkenny1975 said:

I get that but I would still like to see what the agencies will be reporting. I know Equifax seemed to have more up to date info than Experian as I ran reports on the same day. I now have to wait almost 30 days for a new Experian report to check if they have caught up. I'm sure they will have but I would like to be sure.

You won't get up to date info unless you pay for it, or use the free trials direct from the CRAs themselves.

[Deleted User]

bigkenny1975 said:

I know Equifax seemed to have more up to date info than Experian as I ran reports on the same day. 

That's only because your monthly refreshes are on different dates. The lenders will almost certainly have reported to the CRAs on the same time. 

Remember also that Experian generally drop scores when you pay off a debt, so you might want to have a stiff drink ready.

[Deleted User]

Clear Score and/or Credit Karma have a novelty thing of a weekly report, I don't believe Experian do. Your monthly report is what you see, lenders will see live data so don't worry about it if your credit report is otherwise accurate.

The score is irrelevant, no lender ever sees it, it is never, ever, used for a decision on whether to give you credit or not. All lenders have their own scoring/rating system that you will never see. On any day they might decide that anyone called Kenny born in 1975 is worth lending to, then the next day they have 3 Kennys born in 1975 so decide to not lend to another one for a week and you'll never be any the wiser. Just keep focusing building a good history of responsible spending and paying off debts in full.

chrichi

OP The debtcamel site seems to be written by someone with their head screwed on right and this page might give you some new info:
https://debtcamel.co.uk/best-way-to-check-credit-score/

sourcrates

chrichi said:

OP The debtcamel site seems to be written by someone with their head screwed on right and this page might give you some new info:
https://debtcamel.co.uk/best-way-to-check-credit-score/

The site is run by a solicitor, so the advice you get for free would normally cost you on an hourly basis.

2021BJ

sourcrates said:

chrichi said:

OP The debtcamel site seems to be written by someone with their head screwed on right and this page might give you some new info:
https://debtcamel.co.uk/best-way-to-check-credit-score/

The site is run by a solicitor, so the advice you get for free would normally cost you on an hourly basis.

Yes, although the site is rather let down by giving credibility to credit scores.

A shame really.