Sam Bromley
Adam French
You can use ClearScore to check your credit score and credit report for free. ClearScore gives you a snapshot of your finances and lets you know what financial products you might be eligible for.
What is ClearScore?
ClearScore is a financial technology company headquartered in London, UK. It also operates in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
You can check your credit score and credit report for free with ClearScore, but it isn’t a credit reference agency. The three credit reference agencies in the UK are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – ClearScore uses Equifax data to generate your score and report.
ClearScore is also a financial marketplace, meaning its users can get offers for financial products, such as personal loans, credit cards and car finance. The types of offer you see should be personalised based on your credit score and what you may be eligible for. ClearScore doesn’t offer these products itself, instead working with partners who provide them.
ClearScore makes its money from these financial partners. For instance, if you apply and are approved for a credit card after seeing a personalised offer through the service, the card provider may pay ClearScore a commission. ClearScore says that this is what allows it to keep access to credit scores and credit reports free.
How does ClearScore work?
To sign up for ClearScore, you need to enter your personal details and verify your identity. You can do this by linking your bank account using Open Banking, which you can unlink from ClearScore after you have access to your account.
If ClearScore can’t verify your identity, you may need to answer some security questions about your finances, or send ClearScore a copy of your ID.
ClearScore also needs you to enter three years of UK address history. If you don’t have this, you won’t be able to sign up.
Once you can access your account, you should be able to check your credit score and report, which are updated weekly. You may also see that you could be eligible for offers, for example for credit cards or loans. If you want to check these offers, ClearScore has to run a soft credit search first. Soft searches don’t impact your credit file, because they’re only visible to you and not to lenders.
If you’d prefer to access your information using a mobile app, ClearScore has one that you can download.
Your ClearScore credit score
Your ClearScore credit score is based on Equifax’s data and scoring range, which goes from 0 to 1000. The lowest ClearScore credit rating is ‘let’s start climbing’ while the best credit scores mean you’re ‘soaring high’. In the table below you can broadly see how how scoring by ClearScore and Equifax overlaps.
| ClearScore credit rating | ClearScore credit score | Equifax credit rating | Equifax credit score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soaring high | 725+ | Excellent | 811+ |
| Looking bright | 605 to 724 | Very good | 671 to 810 |
| On good ground | 520 to 604 | Good | 531 to 670 |
| Moving on up | 410 to 519 | Fair | 439 to 530 |
| Let’s start climbing | 0 to 409 | Poor | 0 to 438 |
Your ClearScore credit report
You can see information from your credit report in your ClearScore account, such as your payment history, credit account balances and credit utilisation. This is based on Equifax data and is updated weekly.
As part of your credit report, ClearScore can also share insights that can help you see where you’re doing well and where you might need to improve. For example, it might say it’s good that you’re keeping your credit use low, but you could improve your credit score by getting on the electoral roll.
You can’t download a copy of your credit report from ClearScore. Instead, it recommends that you ‘print screen’ or screenshot the details you need.
You can request a free statutory credit report from the three credit reference agencies in the UK – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
Because ClearScore uses Equifax data, if you want to download a copy of your credit report you could go to Equifax’s website. Equifax gives you instant access to an online copy that you can download as a PDF.
Your credit report has detailed information about your credit history, including:
- Personal details. Along with your full name and date of birth, you should see your address history and electoral roll details for your current address.
- People you’re financially linked to. If you have a joint loan or joint mortgage with someone, for example, they’re a financial associate and this should show on your report.
- Credit account information. This includes open and closed accounts, payment history, current balances, credit utilisation and defaulted accounts.
- Information about other accounts in your name that have a credit component. Including bank accounts, utility accounts (such as energy and broadband), and mobile phone contracts.
- Public records. Any county court judgments (CCJs), individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs), bankruptcies, debt relief orders (DROs), or protected trust deeds (Scotland only).
ClearScore features
ClearScore says that access to your credit score and report will be ‘free forever.’ There are other ClearScore free features, as well as one you have to pay for. Here’s an overview:
| ClearScore feature | What is it? | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Protect | Identity monitoring tool, quarterly scan for stolen data associated with your registered email address. | Free |
| Protect Plus | Enhanced identity monitoring tool, including more regular scans, fraud and identity insurance, daily credit report updates. | £4.99 a month (£49.99 annually, one-month free trial available) |
| Affordability score | After linking your bank account, ClearScore looks at your income and spending to give you a score that shows how lenders may view your affordability. | Free |
Is ClearScore worth it?
It’s worth using ClearScore if you want to get a free credit score that uses Equifax data. It also has a clear breakdown of information from your credit report. It’s useful to check your credit score before applying for credit, such as a mortgage or credit card, because it helps to show you how lenders may view your application.
But if you want to get a copy of your credit report, it’s best to request it for free from Equifax, because ClearScore doesn’t offer a way to download it.
To help you compare whether it’s worth using ClearScore, here’s how much it costs to access your credit score with the three credit reference agencies:
- Equifax: free 30-day trial then £14.95 a month
- Experian: free (but Experian doesn’t give you access to your credit report through its free account and instead you have to request it separately)
- TransUnion: doesn’t calculate credit scores itself, but you can check your credit score for free using Credit Karma and Totally Money, which calculate credit scores using TransUnion data
Keep in mind that the main way ClearScore makes its money is by advertising financial products to users. If you know that you want to apply for a loan or credit card, it can be helpful to see the types of product you might be eligible for and at what rates.
However, it’s important that you don’t apply for credit that you don’t need. And keep in mind that multiple applications for credit over a short time can hurt your credit score whether they’re successful or not, because lenders may think that you’re relying on credit.
If you just want to see your credit score, it’s worth ignoring the offers that ClearScore advertises to you.
Is ClearScore accurate?
ClearScore uses Equifax data to work out your credit score.
Each credit reference agency calculates credit scores in different ways, meaning your score can look different depending on who you check it with. Considering Equifax uses its own credit rating system, it’s no more or less accurate than scores based on Experian or TransUnion data.
Some financial firms may not report data to all the credit reference agencies, which can also contribute to variations in your score.
While variations may exist, each credit reference agency will generally have similar information about your credit history. This means that if your score sits in a certain range with ClearScore, it likely sits in a similar range elsewhere.
If you think there’s a problem with your score, whether it’s from ClearScore or another provider, it’s a good idea to investigate further. You can check your full credit report with Equifax to see what information ClearScore is using. If you think it’s inaccurate, you can raise a dispute.
Is ClearScore safe?
While ClearScore is a relatively newer name in the credit scoring and reporting industry, it has been around since 2015. It’s authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK.
In terms of signing up for an account, ClearScore has a thorough-looking process in place to help ensure you are who you say you are.
If you want to get your affordability score by linking your bank account to ClearScore using Open Banking, the firm says that this is safe and secure. You can check what information ClearScore will have access to and how it uses this information before linking your account, and you can unlink it at any time.
ClearScore has a detailed privacy policy and has to comply with the UK’s data protection rules.
It’s always a good idea to keep online safety in mind. You can activate two-factor authentication with ClearScore, which gives you an extra layer of protection if your account details are compromised.
You’ll also want to use a strong password, keep an eye out for suspicious contact and use antivirus software. The National Cyber Security Centre has information about protecting yourself online.
Frequently asked questions
ClearScore Triple Lock is ClearScore’s guarantee that an offer for credit you’re seeing in your account is the one the provider will give you. According to ClearScore, if you see three green ticks for a particular offer it means it’s locked and that:
- you’re ‘pre-approved’, but you’ll still need to pass the lender’s checks and all of your information in ClearScore needs to be correct
- the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) that you see in your ClearScore account is the one that the lender will give you
- the credit limit or loan amount you’re seeing in ClearScore is also what the lender will offer you when you apply
Keep in mind that while ClearScore uses the word ‘guarantee’, what you’re offered by the lender will depend on your information being correct in ClearScore and you passing the lender’s checks. However, it may give you more confidence that your application will be accepted.
The lender’s checks will involve a hard credit search, which impacts your credit score.
Experian is a credit reference agency. Financial institutions generally report data about your credit agreements to credit reference agencies, who then build a credit report that gives a detailed view of how you’ve managed borrowing in the past.
On the other hand, financial institutions don’t report data to ClearScore directly. ClearScore bases its credit score and report for you on Equifax data, which is also a credit reference agency. The three credit reference agencies in the UK are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
ClearScore provides most users with free access to their credit score and report, something that credit reference agencies don’t always offer.
You can contact ClearScore on 020 7582 8212, but ClearScore says that this number goes straight to voicemail. If you leave a message, it will be transcribed to email and then someone will be in touch.
ClearScore also has an email address, which is [email protected]
Image source: Getty Images
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