How to Download Your Credit Reports
Find out how to access your full credit reports and check your scores for free. This page contains affiliate links. Find A Mortgage Online Ltd may receive a commission for qualifying purposes.
Author: Pete Mugleston
CeMAP Mortgage Advisor, MD
There are many reasons to download your credit reports, whether to optimise them before a mortgage application or check whether a debt repayment plan has cleared. In this guide, you’ll learn how to access them, their benefits, and more.
What is a credit report?
A credit report is a collection of information about you, any credit you’ve held in the last six years, and how you’ve managed it. This could include credit cards, mortgages, loans and other borrowing. Any time you miss a payment, apply for credit or have issues such as defaults, CCJs or bankruptcy, it gets recorded on your report. Lenders can access this information when you apply for credit to help them decide whether or not to lend to you.
How to get your credit reports for free
There are several credit report providers in the UK. Below is information on the provider we recommend:
- Checkmyfile: Offers a free 30-day trial, during which you can access your credit files and cancel at any time.
Checkmyfile provides a multi-agency report comprising data from the UK’s three leading credit reference agencies, Equifax, Experian and Transunion.
Why view your credit file?
You might need to access your credit reports and numerous benefits to downloading them for several reasons.
Here are some of the main ones:
- To check your credit score: Each credit reference agency will assign you a score based on your credit history. Keep in mind that this is merely a rough picture of your creditworthiness. If you’re applying for finance, some banks and building societies don’t use credit scoring and will take a broader view of your credit profile.
- Monitor or check for bad credit: Many people who have bad credit are unaware of it. You can check for any adverse issues by downloading your credit reports and keep track of them once they’re on your radar. All types of bad credit only stay on your file for a certain amount of time, so you can keep tabs on when they will expire.
- Optimise your credit files: If you are applying for finance, such as a mortgage, downloading your credit reports will give you the opportunity to optimise them by challenging any inaccuracies and requesting for outdated information to be removed. This can improve your credit rating and increase your chances of securing finance.
- Check for fraud: If you are concerned that you have been a victim of fraud, downloading your credit reports can help you confirm this and assess the impact of it. You will be able to see whether there are any applications for credit that you do not recognise and contact the lenders directly to report the issue.
View your credit reports today
Viewing your credit report is quick and easy. The credit report provider we recommend offers a free trial that you can cancel anytime.
Check My File
Access your credit report, view insights into your credit history, correct errors, and take action to improve your score. Get prepared for your mortgage application today. Free for 30 days then £14.99 per calendar month - cancel anytime.
Where to find more information
Which Credit Reference Agency Should You Use?
Read up on the UK’s leading credit reference agencies, find out how they differ and access your reports through them for free.
Credit Reports For Landlords
All you need to know on credit reports if you’re a landlord, including how to review your credit and how to check a tenant’s.
Removing a CCJ From Your Credit Reports
Find out when and how you can remove a CCJ from your credit files and how much your credit rating will improve as a result.
Removing an IVA From Your Credit Reports
Find out when and how you can remove a IVA from your credit files and how much your credit rating will improve as a result.
Removing a Bankruptcy From Your Credit Reports
Find out how you can remove a bankruptcy from your credit files and how much your credit rating will improve as a result.
Removing a Missed Payments From Your Credit Reports
Find out how you can remove missed/late payments from your credit files and how much your credit rating will improve as a result.
Removing a Default From Your Credit Reports
Find out when and how you can remove a default from your credit files and how much your credit rating will improve as a result.
FAQs
There should definitely be an improvement, particularly if you’ve taken certain steps beforehand (as outlined above). However, it’s impossible to estimate by how much as everyone’s financial situation will be different.
Whilst the bankruptcy note remains on your credit report it can have quite a negative affect on your ability to secure any form of finance, even after you have been discharged.
A prospective lender uses your credit report and history to assess whether they can trust you as a borrower and evidence of bankruptcy in your recent past would indicate to them you could be at a higher risk of defaulting on future repayments.
Getting a mortgage after bankruptcy can be very difficult as it’s regarded as one of the most severe credit issues you can have registered on your credit report. But it shouldn’t mean that it’s impossible once you’ve been discharged.
The best thing to do is contact a bad credit mortgage broker who will know which specialist mortgage lenders can consider your application.
Pete Mugleston
CeMAP Mortgage Advisor, MD
Pete, a CeMAP-qualified mortgage advisor and an expert in all things mortgages, cut his teeth right in the middle of the credit crunch. With plenty of people needing help and few mortgage providers lending, Pete successfully went the extra mile to find mortgages for people whom many others considered lost causes. The experience he gained and his love of helping people reach their goals led him to establish Online Mortgage Advisor, with one clear vision – to help as many customers as possible get the right advice, regardless of need or background.
Pete’s presence in the industry as the ‘go-to’ for specialist finance continues to grow, and he is regularly cited in and writes for both local and national press, as well as trade publications, with a regular column in Mortgage Introducer and being the exclusive mortgage expert for LOVEMoney. Pete also writes for Online Mortgage Advisor of course!