12 practical steps to a stronger score
Register to vote, pay bills on time, keep utilisation low, space out applications, and check your report for errors. Small gains that accumulate.
Credit knowledge, made useful
Understand your UK credit report
What is on your file, why your score moved, how to fix a mistake and how to protect yourself from fraud, explained in plain English. Free, with nothing to sign up for.
68 articles 24 practical guides 70 terms explained
Start here
Build a clearer picture
14 reasons your credit score dropped
Score drops trace back to four places — reporting errors or fraud, payment history, how you're managing accounts, and your personal details. Most are fixable.
Credit reports and scores — the basics
Your credit health is the full picture of how you handle borrowing — not just a number. It influences mortgages, loans, tenancies and sometimes even job…
Free tool
Is someone using your name as a company director?
Check the Companies House register for appointments under your name and month and year of birth. Nothing is stored.
Explore by topic
Find what you need
Articles for the decisions and life events that shape your credit, and step-by-step guides for reading, correcting and protecting your file.
Credit reporting foundations
Understand what credit reports contain, how scores work and where your information comes from.
9 articlesWhat moves your score
Clear answers on the everyday decisions and financial events that can change your credit profile.
13 articlesDiagnosing a score change
Find the likely reason your score changed and identify the information worth checking first.
2 articlesImproving credit health
Practical, evidence-led ways to strengthen your credit health over time.
5 articlesCredit cards
Use credit cards with confidence, from applications and APR to limits and minimum payments.
8 articlesLoans and car finance
Understand personal loans, vehicle finance, affordability and the effect repayments can have.
6 articlesBuy Now Pay Later
How buy now, pay later products work and when they appear on a credit report.
4 articlesMortgages and buying a home
Prepare your credit report for each stage of buying a home and applying for a mortgage.
5 articlesRenting, tenancy and guarantors
What tenant checks and guarantee agreements mean for renters, borrowers and guarantors.
3 articlesApplications and declines
Understand lender checks, declined applications and the most useful next step.
3 articlesAdverse credit and insolvency
Plain-English guidance on defaults, judgments, bankruptcy and adverse credit.
4 articlesFraud and identity
Recognise identity and payment fraud, protect your details and respond quickly.
3 articlesLife events and shared finances
Understand how relationships, joint finances and separation connect your credit records.
2 articlesMarket context and research
Research and analysis that puts UK credit health into a wider context.
1 articleReading Your Credit Report
Make sense of accounts, payment markers and updates on your credit report.
6 guidesAddresses And Electoral Roll
Resolve address links and Electoral Roll information.
4 guidesAssociations And Aliases
Understand names and financial connections recorded against you.
2 guidesSearches And Applications
Identify the searches on your file and what they mean.
2 guidesDefaults And Insolvency
Check and correct defaults, judgments and insolvency information.
4 guidesFraud And Notices
Respond to fraud markers, suspicious activity and notices on your report.
4 guidesGetting Things Fixed
Dispute incorrect information and find trusted support.
2 guidesYour right, at no cost
See what the agencies hold, free
Experian, Equifax and TransUnion must each give you a copy of your credit file free of charge. Here is how to ask each of them.