What's Included?
Introduction to a credit report
We pull your credit report from Equifax, one of the three credit bureaus in the UK. You are able to get your score and report form here too, however, it will cost you money and will not give you the same amount of insight as Credibble.
At Credibble we can give you everything that Equifax can, and more! You can get much more information on your credit file and how you can improve it free of charge!
Everything we do at Credibble is read-only, so we are unable to add, remove, or change anything on your report.
Who is Equifax?
Equifax is one of the three credit bureaus in the United Kingdom alongside TransUnion and Experian. They gather information from lenders about your borrowing and payment history such as how much credit you have, how often you use your credit card, if you’ve had any missed or late payments. They compile this into one report alongside your electoral roll information. This is known as your credit report. They will also give you a score based on how likely they deem you to be accepted for credit – this is your credit score. Your credit score with each bureau will be different as it’s judged on a different set of metrics.
When you apply for some form of credit, you will give permission for the lender to perform a credit check on you. The lender will get your credit report from one of these three bureaus in order to help them determine whether or not they should lend to you.
It’s assumed (and widely marketed) that your credit score is taken into consideration when you apply for credit. This is completely false information. Lenders judge you on their own set of metrics, not the ones that the bureaus deem important. Your credit score is only for you. It is merely a representation of your likelihood of being accepted from the bureau’s perspective and isn’t used in determining whether you will actually be accepted.
What is Credibble.com?
Credibble.com is a website that presents your credit report to you in a way that is easy to read in the form of the Lender Report. This helps you to fully understand the different aspects of your credit file and gives you the knowledge on how to improve. The information on your credit report is organised into six different Lender Factors, showing you exactly how a lender sees you. Your Lender Score is a much more advanced version of the credit score and tells you precisely how creditworthy you are. On top of all of this, you’re given a list of helpful Booster Tips which are personalised and can tell you exactly what you need to do to improve – the best part? It is completely free for its users.
Equifax is one of our partners, which means that this is who we pull your credit report from when you sign up for Credibble.
What’s the difference?
So why not go direct to Equifax? That is an option, however, you would be charged for doing so and wouldn’t receive even nearly the same amount of insight that we can give you at Credibble.
By getting your credit report with Credibble you’ll get completely free access to your credit report, Lender Report, Lender Score, Score Booster, and if you wish, your Equifax score. Credibble is the first-ever company that gives you a Lender Report and Score Booster completely free of charge – many companies will charge you for personalised hints and tips, and sometimes even just for the report.
Take a look at the table below to see the differences between the two.
| Equifax | Credibble | |
| Credit Report | YES | YES |
| Credit Score | YES | YES |
| Lender Report | NO | YES |
| Lender Score | NO | YES |
| Personalised Score Booster | NO | YES |
| Cost | £7.95 per month after free trial | FREE |
Can Credibble change my credit report file?
At Credibble we only ever have read-only access to your file. This means that we cannot make any changes to your credit file in any way. This doesn’t mean mistakes cannot be removed – you’ll simply need to raise a dispute with us. We will assess your dispute and forward it on to Equifax, if applicable. In some cases, you may need to go direct to the lender in question to ask them to remove marks on your credit file.
If you have something on your file that you don’t recognise, your first port of call should be the lender. You can find out who the lender is on your credit report. They will be able to give you more information on when the agreement was taken out, how much for, and what services they offer that you might be paying for.
If you still do not recognise it, you’ll need to ask them to remove it from your credit file. You may need to report fraudulent activity if you believe it is fraudulent. If you have any upcoming applications, you may want to hold off until it has been removed from your credit file. This is especially the case if there are missed payments or defaults on the account.
Can lenders see my Lender Factors?
When you log in to Credibble.com you’ll see your six Lender Factors: Credit cards, payment history, bad credit, affordability, credit activity, and stability. This information in this form is for your eyes only – the lender will be able to see the information on the credit report in its raw form, but won’t be able to see how we have judged you on each factor.
The same applies to the booster tips. These are specific to the Credibble site so no lender will ever be able to see them. It’s also important to note that you should never give up your Credibble login details to have a credit check performed against you. A legitimate lender will go direct to the bureaus with your details (provided by you) and your permission for them to check your file. You never have to give them access to Credibble or any other similar sites.
What searches can lenders see?
Furthermore, not everything on your report is accessible to potential lenders. An example of this is your soft searches. Searches on your credit report are split between hard and soft (like eggs). In short, lenders can see hard searches but cannot see soft searches. You’re able to see both of these on your Credibble account.
Hard
A hard search is when a credit check is done on you because you applied for credit. You’ll always know when you’re about to have a hard credit check performed as you’ll be asked to confirm that you’re aware of it – whether this is over the phone or online. Online there is often a box to tick. If you are making an application, then make sure you read everything on the page through the application process to look out for this. Over the phone, they will read out a script telling you they are performing a credit check and you’ll need to confirm that you understand.
Soft
A soft search is when you check your report or when your credit report is used to give you a quote (a quotation search). It’s often believed that looking at your credit report will count against you. This is never the case – you can look at your credit report every day if you want to and no lender will be able to see! You’ll see a soft search for Credibble every month – this is just us getting a new up-to-date report for you so that you’ve always got the right information on your account.
Other considerations
Alongside your credit file, there are other things which can affect your likelihood of being accepted for credit. Some of these are included in your Lender Factors – such as your employment status, the amount you earn, and the length of time you’ve been living in your current property. These are examples of questions you will be asked when you make an application for credit. By asking you these questions on sign up, we are giving you even more insight into your credit report.
Credibble offers two fabulous solutions
If you’re preparing to take a mortgage, never apply until you’ve tried our unique and FREE Credibble Home app. Our smart technology will tell you what you need to fix so you avoid rejection. The app predicts when you will be able to buy, for how much and tracks your month-by-month progress to mortgage success. We’ve even added your own mortgage broker, so you get the best deals available.
More focused on your credit rating? Well, get started for free with Credibble’s 24- Factor Credit Check to truly help you improve your creditworthiness and how lenders view you. (Remember: lenders don’t use your credit score! We’ll show you what lenders look for and how to get your credit report in the best shape possible).
Last updated by Oliver Macmillan, May 2022
