What Is A Credit Score?

Your credit score is a 3-digit number that indicates how reliable you are at borrowing and repaying money – ranging from ‘very poor’ to ‘excellent’.

Here, we look at what is seen to be a good credit score, why it matters and how credit scores are calculated.

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What is a good credit score?

A “good” credit score typically starts at 881 with Experian, 531 with Equifax, and 604 with TransUnion. These are the 3 main credit reference agencies (CRAs) in the UK who securely hold data about your financial history – known as a credit report – and use it to generate a credit score.

Each CRA has its own scoring system, so your credit score may vary slightly depending on which one you choose. However, you’ll probably find that you fall into the same category across all of them.

What ‘fair’, ‘good’ and ‘excellent’ credit scores look like for each CRA:
CRA	Excellent	Good	Fair
Experian	961 to 999	881 to 960	721 to 880
Equifax	811 to 1000	531 to 670 (Good) 671 to 810 (Very good)	439 to 530
TransUnion	628 to 710	604 to 627	566 to 603

What ‘fair’, ‘good’ and ‘excellent’ credit scores look like for each CRA:
CRA	Experian	Experian
Excellent	961 to 999	961 to 999
Good	881 to 960	881 to 960
Fair	721 to 880	721 to 880

CRA	Equifax	Equifax
Excellent	811 to 1000	811 to 1000
Good	531 to 670 (Good) 671 to 810 (Very good)	531 to 670 (Good) 671 to 810 (Very good)
Fair	439 to 530	439 to 530

CRA	TransUnion	TransUnion
Excellent	628 to 710	628 to 710
Good	604 to 627	604 to 627
Fair	566 to 603	566 to 603

Why is your credit score important?

If you apply to borrow money, lenders will look at your credit score before deciding whether to accept your application. It may also help them decide how much to offer you.

A good score can help you get approved for credit cards, loans and mortgages, while a poor score can stop you getting approved.

What happens if you have a poor credit score?

If you have a poor credit score, you may find you're offered a higher interest rate. It can also affect other types of credit agreements, such as mobile phone plans.

Explore: 5 reasons to care about your credit score

How are credit scores calculated?

Your credit score is calculated using a points system, based on what’s in your credit report – also known as your credit file – which reflects how you’ve managed your debts and bills in the past.

For example, if you’ve always paid your bills on time, this would have had a positive impact on your score. But a history of missed or late payments would have had a negative impact.

If haven’t borrowed money before, it's difficult for lenders to assess the risk of lending to you and your credit score will reflect that.

Does an overdraft affect your credit score?

How your overdraft affects your credit score depends on how you use it.

If you manage your account and overdraft well, this can help build your credit score. However, if you go over your agreed limit and into an unarranged overdraft, this can have a negative effect on your score.

Explore: Overdrafts explained

How to improve your credit score

You can improve your credit score by:

Getting on the electoral register
Building your credit history if you’ve never borrowed before
Making sure you pay bills on time
Staying within your credit limit
Avoiding multiple credit applications
Correcting any errors on your credit report
Removing yourself from joint accounts with someone with a poor credit score

It may not happen overnight but improving credit score can make a difference to your overall financial health and your ability to borrow money in the future.

How to check your credit score?

To check your credit score number in the UK, you can use services offered by credit reference agencies (CRAs), such as Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion.

Checking your credit score with a CRA is free and doesn’t affect your credit score.

Explore: How do credit reference agencies work?

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