Review your credit report
Pull your free credit report, check it for errors, and learn what's affecting your score.
- Time:
- 45 min
- Cost:
- free
- Difficulty:
- easy
- Where:
- Indoors
- Best:
- Solo
Errors on credit files are common and expensive, and almost nobody checks. When you review your credit report you are looking for two things: mistakes that are dragging your score down, and accounts you do not recognize. Both are fixable, both are free to fix, and an hour is more than enough to find them.
Why review your credit report is worth an hour
Credit files are assembled from data submitted by lenders, and that data is entered by people and systems that make errors. A closed account still showing as open, a late payment that was not late, an address you never lived at. Each can affect what you are offered on a mortgage or loan, and correcting one is a form letter rather than a legal battle.
How to review your credit report step by step
- 1
Get all your reports, not one
Several agencies hold separate files and lenders use different ones. An error can appear on one and not the others.
- 2
Check the identity details first
Name, addresses, date of birth. Wrong addresses are the most common error and can suppress your score meaningfully.
- 3
Verify every open account
Confirm each is genuinely yours and genuinely open. Old closed accounts still showing open distort your apparent exposure.
- 4
Look for accounts you do not recognize
An unfamiliar account can indicate identity fraud. Report it immediately rather than assuming you forgot something.
- 5
Dispute anything wrong in writing
Each agency has a dispute process. They must investigate, and corrections are free; nobody needs to pay a repair service.
Tips to get more out of it
- Checking your own report is a soft search and never affects your score, regardless of what the marketing implies.
- Register on the electoral roll if you are eligible. It is one of the cheapest score improvements available.
- Set a calendar reminder to recheck annually. Errors reappear, particularly after moving house.
Ways to mix it up
If your report is clean, spend the rest of the hour on credit utilisation instead, since keeping balances well below your limits is usually the fastest lever available. If you are preparing for a mortgage application, do this six months ahead so any disputes have time to resolve.
Review your credit report: frequently asked questions
Does checking my credit report lower my score?
No. Checking your own file is a soft search, visible only to you and with no effect on your score.
How do I fix an error on my credit report?
Raise a dispute directly with the agency showing it. They are obliged to investigate, and the correction costs nothing.
Should I pay a credit repair company?
Generally no. They do what you can do free. This is general information, not financial advice; a debt charity can help if you are struggling.
This guide is general information, not professional financial advice. See our disclaimer.
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