equifax

Grouchy

Apologies if this is too basic, but I've never had to check my credit rating before but recently refused a credit card application and the bank cannot tell me why but say to check equifax to make sure all is clear. I can think of nothing odd, zero debt, plenty of money, no strange transactions, been at current address 6 years.  Is the free statutory credit report adequate to do the check I need?

Thank you

MorningcoffeeIV

The free version is fine.

If you have little or no history, as it sounds, then that'll be the problem. 

Check the free versions of the other CRAs as well 

Exodi

You can check your Equifax credit report for free using the ClearScore app, you can check TransUnion using Credit Karma and you can check Experian using the MSE Credit Club!

Grouchy

Thanks for comments.  I did sign up for the free one.  I've never looked before but examined what was there and all looked ok, as far as I can tell.  Electoral roll 2017-current.  A couple of bank accounts missing.  Otherwise the 6 or so that were there all had ticks etc. Credit card ok. Nothing negative looking. I didn't do the signup for the credit score, as seemed a faff having to unsubscribe to stop the monthly fee.

The credit card I applied for was for a bank I've had a current account and savings account for 30+years.  So the refusal seems odd.  At least I know it's not the credit check problem, as they suggested might be the obstacle the application fell on.  While I have plenty of other payment cards, I'm thinking of doing an official complaint as this particular card has foreign spending etc without fees that I'd find useful.

Is it worth checking the other agencies or a pointless duplication? What is the MSE credit club?

Thank you for info.

Exodi

Grouchy said:

Thanks for comments.  I did sign up for the free one.  I've never looked before but examined what was there and all looked ok, as far as I can tell.  Electoral roll 2017-current.  A couple of bank accounts missing.  Otherwise the 6 or so that were there all had ticks etc. Credit card ok. Nothing negative looking. I didn't do the signup for the credit score, as seemed a faff having to unsubscribe to stop the monthly fee.

The credit card I applied for was for a bank I've had a current account and savings account for 30+years.  So the refusal seems odd.  At least I know it's not the credit check problem, as they suggested might be the obstacle the application fell on.  While I have plenty of other payment cards, I'm thinking of doing an official complaint as this particular card has foreign spending etc without fees that I'd find useful.

Is it worth checking the other agencies or a pointless duplication? What is the MSE credit club?

Thank you for info.

There are three main credit reference agencies (Experian, Equifax & TransUnion) and they are independent from each other. Oftentimes a creditor will only report to one specific CRA, so it's not unusual that an account may show on one report and not another.

For this reason, it's always recommend to check all three CRA reports for any issues as you can't be sure which a lender might check, and having no issues on one isn't a guarantee that there are no issues on the others.

To repeat my earlier comment:

Exodi said:

You can check your Equifax credit report for free using the ClearScore app, you can check TransUnion using Credit Karma and you can check Experian using the MSE Credit Club!

Grouchy

Experian also looks clear with 999.  Hopefully that is the end of my brief dip into the murky world of credit agencies.