Why is my credit score different on different sites?

Where can I find my credit score? 

Under the Consumer Credit Act (1974) and the General Data Protection Regulation (2018), you have the right to access your ‘statutory credit report’ from any of the credit score agencies for free. This report will show the credit information lenders may use to assess your creditworthiness – but you won’t actually see your score. 

You can see your Equifax credit report for free (for life) through our member-only platform, CredAbility.  

You can access your TransUnion credit score for free via Credit Karma or TotallyMoney. 

You can access your Experian credit score through a free Experian account. 

Why is my credit score different on different sites? 

There are several reasons why your score might be different on different sites. 

The information each CRA holds about you may be slightly different. This is because banks, utility companies and other organisations may report information about your credit to one, two or all three CRAs.  

The CRAs also use various scoring models and algorithms. Credit scoring models can weigh certain information in your reports more heavily than other factors.  

Which credit score is the most accurate? 

No single agency is more accurate than the other two. The three UK CRAs all use different scoring ranges and bands. 

Your credit score will change as information in your credit reports is updated. Lenders tend to report information to the CRAs monthly, but not all lenders will update the agencies on the same day.  

Be sure to check that all information on your credit reports is accurate across all three CRAs.  

Credit score ranges 

The following table shows credit scores and banding with the three CRAs. 

As the table shows, the TransUnion credit score range has a much lower maximum (710) than Equifax and Experian (1,000/999). So, your TransUnion score will always be a lower number than your Experian credit score or Equifax credit score. 

For example, a score of 700 with TransUnion is ‘excellent’, ‘very good’ with Equifax, but ‘poor’ with Experian. 

Should I be worried if my credit scores are different? 

There’s no need to worry if your score differs between CRAs as what is a good credit score will vary between CRAs. 

In general, you should fall into the same banding with each CRA – poor, fair, good, very good or excellent. 

If you are rated poor with one CRA but good or excellent with the others, you should check your report with that agency for mistakes or signs of fraud.