FAQs

Credit management is the way you manage the money that you borrow from creditors; for example banks, store cards, mobile phone contracts and hire purchases.

This information is held by credit reference agencies and makes up your credit profile.

By monitoring your credit profile, you can also take action to improve it or correct information that's wrong.

Your credit profile is one of the things that lenders look at when deciding whether they will offer you credit. It can also affect the rate of interest they will charge.

By managing your credit profile you can ensure that you are seen in the best possible light by lenders when they decide whether to lend to you, and check that all the information shown is correct.

Your credit report is a summary of your financial background and status and gives an overview of your credit profile, including your credit score and rating. It's often used by lenders, such as mortgage and credit card providers, to help them make decisions on whether to lend to you or not.

Your credit report contains the following information:
- Credit score and credit rating
- Any loans, credit cards, credit agreements or mortgage that are in your name
- Payment history - including late and missed payments
- Any outstanding credit balances
- Credit searches run on your background
- Publicly available information which could affect your creditworthiness (e.g.County Court Judgements, bankruptcies or insolvencies)
- Electoral Roll details
- Address links and financial connections, e.g. joint accounts
- CIFAS Protective Registration

It helps you to see what might be impacting on your creditworthiness, i.e. how trustworthy are you likely to be when it comes to making credit repayments, and allows you to check that the information provided about you is correct.

Otherwise, incorrect or outdated information could impact your ability to get credit, which can result in you being turned down for a loan or being charged a higher level of interest.

Your MyCreditMonitor credit report is generated with the information provided by TransUnion, a Credit Reference Agency in the UK.

As long as the Credit Reference Agency has been able to confirm your details, you can view your credit report as soon as you log in. You can then view it online as often as you'd like!

Your credit score is calculated using the details in your credit profile and will normally range from 0 to 710 depending on the credit reference agency you use to view your credit report. It represents how trustworthy you are likely to be when it comes to repaying any credit that you access. You will find your credit score on your credit report.

Your MyCreditMointor credit score is produced by TransUnion and will range from 0 – 710.

The higher your score, the easier you should find it to borrow money or buy goods on credit. A high score also means you're more likely to be able to get better loan deals that can come with lower rates of interest.

Your score is a reflection of your credit history. It might be that you haven't used any credit for a while, so there won't be any information to show that you have a good history of paying off credit; this is one of the main factors lenders use to calculate your credit score.

Assets, such as your savings, do not have an impact on your credit score.

In fact, the Data Protection Act does not give permission to Credit Reference Agencies to hold information on your savings.

There could be various reasons why your credit score is lower than you thought it would be, including:

- A credit history of less than 6 years, which is the period used to calculate your credit score. The shorter your credit history, the less information a lender has to calculate your credit score with.
- Any missed payments over the last 6 years.
- Holding very few credit accounts, as less credit history is available.
- Any County Court Judgements or record of bankruptcy or insolvency.
- Having a lot of unused credit available, which could lead to a large debt if you used it all at once.
- Being very close to the credit limit on your accounts - in case you find it difficult to make payments.
- Not being on the Electoral Roll, only being on it for a short period of time, or not updating any changes, can also have a negative impact.

Your score is a reflection of your credit history. It might be that you haven't used any credit for a while, so there won't be any information to show that you have a good history of paying off credit; this is one of the main factors lenders use to calculate your credit score.

Assets, such as your savings, do not have an impact on your credit score.

In fact, the Data Protection Act does not give permission to Credit Reference Agencies to hold information on your savings.

There could be various reasons why your credit score is lower than you thought it would be, including:

- A credit history of less than 6 years, which is the period used to calculate your credit score. The shorter your credit history, the less information a lender has to calculate your credit score with.
- Any missed payments over the last 6 years.
- Holding very few credit accounts, as less credit history is available.
- Any County Court Judgements or record of bankruptcy or insolvency.
- Having a lot of unused credit available, which could lead to a large debt if you used it all at once.
- Being very close to the credit limit on your accounts - in case you find it difficult to make payments.
- Not being on the Electoral Roll, only being on it for a short period of time, or not updating any changes, can also have a negative impact.

It could be for a number of reasons, as every lender is different. The best thing to do is to contact the lender directly and ask why they have declined you.

If you have more than one credit account open, but not used, then this may affect your credit score.

It may indicate to a lender that you might use all the credit available to you at once, thereby getting into more debt than you can manage.

Of course!

As a member of MyCreditMonitor, you have full access to a dispute service which will help to correct anything you think could be wrong on your credit profile.

We can't make the changes ourselves, because your credit report is made up from information that TransUnion (the Credit Reference Agency) hold about you.

But we can help you through the steps you might need to take to put things right. If you have found something that's wrong on your credit report call us on 0344 381 4163.

Yes it will, if it was within the last six years. This is because your credit profile includes six years' worth of payment history. Late payments will have a negative impact on your credit score.

Lenders usually look at the last six years of your credit history. You can see this too when you look at your credit report online.

There are lots of things which can help to improve your credit score, including:

- Checking your credit report to make sure that all the details are correct.
- Making sure you make payments on any outstanding credit accounts on time.
- If you are having difficulty making your payments, contact your credit provider to see if you can agree a payment holiday, or reduce your regular payments to an amount you can afford.
- Consider setting up regular automated payments rather than relying on manual payments.
- If you have a lot of old, un-used credit accounts, consider closing them down.
- If you are close to your credit limit on one account or more, try and reduce your balance.
- Check that your details are up to date on the Electoral roll.

You need a good credit score to be able to access credit at a reasonable interest rate and to have the financial flexibility to realise your long term goals such as getting a mortgage or a loan.

This is because credit scores are a reflection of the level of risk involved in lending you money.

A high credit score - typically anything from 605 to 710 - suggests that you are a low risk for failing to make payments, while a lower credit score - typically anything from 0 to 604 - can indicate to lenders that you carry more of a higher financial risk.

Your credit rating will be from 1 to 5 stars. It's based on how you compare to the rest of people who also use credit in the UK.

People with the top 20% of credit scores in the UK will get a 5 star rating, with the rest of the ratings based on segments broken down by a further 20% each time.

So, a 1 star rating will be given to people who have the bottom 20% of UK credit scores.

Payments are taken monthly, from the account you chose when you set up your membership. If you'd like to check or change your payment details, please call us on 0344 381 4163.

We are sorry if you feel the need to complain. We want to hear from you because telling us gives us the chance to put matters right for you, and see how we can improve what we do for others.

Please contact MyCreditMonitor on: 0344 381 4165
Email us at enquiries@mycreditmonitor.co.uk
or write to us at the following address quoting your MyCreditMonitor membership number:
Customer Services Manager
MyCreditMonitor
Sentinel House
Airspeed Road
Portsmouth
Hampshire
PO3 5RF

If you remain unhappy
If we have not resolved your complaint to your satisfaction within eight weeks from when you first contacted us you may refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service for an independent review. The Financial Ombudsman is an independent public body which aims to resolve disputes between consumers and businesses. The contact details are:
Telephone: 0800 023 4567 or 0300 123 9123
Email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk
The Financial Ombudsman Service
Exchange Tower
London
E14 9SR

Using our complaints procedure or referral to the Financial Ombudsman Service does not affect your legal rights.

No, checking your own credit report does not impact your credit score.

You can cancel your membership in the following ways:

1. The easiest option is to login to your online account and click the 'Cancel Membership' link.
2. If you have not activated your online account or have forgotten your login details, you can download a cancellation form from the website homepage. Once it has been completed, please send it by email to enquiries@MyCreditMonitor.co.uk.
3. Alternatively, you can write to us at MyCreditMonitor, Operations Centre, Sentinel House, Airspeed Road, Portsmouth, PO3 5RF.
4. You can also call us on 0344 381 4163*. Lines are open 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 5pm on Saturday (excluding Sundays and Bank Holidays).

*Calls to 03 numbers will cost no more than 01 or 02 numbers from landlines or mobiles and are included within free call packages. Please be advised calls are recorded for training and quality assurance purposes.