If you’re about to apply for a mortgage, it’s a good idea to check your credit score to make sure there are no mistakes that could hurt your chances of being accepted. It can also speed up the application process if you have your credit report to hand when meeting your mortgage broker.
Your credit score can affect your chances of getting a mortgage, and conversely, being rejected for a mortgage can affect your credit score. For this reason, it helps to speak to a whole of market mortgage broker and let them see your credit report before choosing a lender and mortgage deal, to ensure you only apply for deals you’re likely to be accepted for.
Checking your credit report using a credit reference agency is classed as a soft credit check, and therefore your credit score is not at risk. In this guide, we’ll explain all you need to know before getting your credit score, including the best company to check your credit score with in the UK.
What is a Credit Score?
A credit score in the UK is a number between 0 – 999 which represents how good you’ve been at managing debts in the past. Lenders will typically check your credit score before deciding whether to lend to you or not. The higher your score, the more likely it is you’ll be able to borrow in the future, as you’ve proven that you can pay off debts responsibly in the past. You may also be able to borrow more than those with low credit scores, and you may be offered lower interest rates.
Credit reference agencies decide your credit score by collecting data from your previous lenders of loans, credit cards and mortgages, and examining it for any missed or delayed payments or defaults. Your credit score can vary between different credit reference agencies, which is why we recommend using Check My File, as they pull data from all three credit reference agencies to give you a more accurate score.
Is it Free to Check My Credit Score?
Credit reference agencies typically provide a free tier allowing you to check your credit score without paying. Our recommended credit report agency, Check My File, is completely free for 30 days and allows hassle-free cancellation at any time. Check My File do charge a monthly fee if you’d like to track and improve your credit score with their service beyond the initial 30 days – but the benefit is that you can monitor your credit reports from all three credit reference agencies in one place.
Which is the Best Credit Score Company in the UK?
As mentioned above, we recommend getting your credit score from Check My File. There are three credit reference agencies in the UK – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion – but each of these agencies compiles their own data sets and uses their own models to analyse them. This means your score can fluctuate depending on which one you use and you may not get a complete picture of your credit health unless you use all three. We recommend Check My File because they pull data from all three of the credit reference agencies mentioned above, allowing you to see all your credit reports in one place and providing a more accurate and balanced credit score. As lenders will tend to use just one credit reference agency, using Check My File means you’re more likely to see what the lender is seeing. You can sign up to Check My File for free here.
Can a Credit Check Damage My Credit Score?
There are two types of credit checks, one is called a soft credit check and the other a hard credit check. A soft credit check does not affect your credit score and can be carried out by yourself, by a lender when you pre-qualify for a credit product, or by a potential employer when you apply for a job. When you use a service such as Check My File, you are carrying out a soft credit check, and therefore your credit score will not be affected.
A hard credit check is typically carried out by lenders when you apply for credit, such as a credit card, loan, or mortgage. Each hard search can lower your credit score by a small amount and can remain on your credit file for up to two years, but as long as you manage your credit responsibly, any impact on your credit score should be small and temporary.
Can I Get a Mortgage With Bad Credit?
If you have a low credit score, it’s often known as having bad credit. Bad credit can come about if you have a history of missed or delayed payments, defaults, or other negative marks on your credit file.
Having bad credit doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t get a mortgage, but it can be more difficult and may come with higher interest rates and stricter lending criteria. This is because it may be seen as a higher risk to lend to you.
If you have bad credit, there are some things you can do to increase your chances of being approved for a mortgage. To find out more about this, please read our guide, ‘Can I Get a Mortgage With a Bad Credit Score?’
The Bottom Line
You can check your credit score for free using Check My File. Check My File pulls data from all three of the main credit reference agencies to give you a more accurate credit report. This type of check is known as a soft credit check and it won’t affect your credit score. If you have bad credit or a low credit score, you may still be able to get a mortgage but it’s important you only apply to lenders who are likely to accept your application – because if you get rejected, this can damage your credit score further. Our advisors will be able to search the market to see what options you have.
At Michael Usher Mortgage Services, we’ve been helping our local community for over 30 years! We’re whole of market mortgage brokers and we search thousands of products to find a deal that suits your needs. We’ll guide you through the process and liaise with your lender, estate agent and solicitor to ensure your application goes smoothly, and we can also help to protect your mortgage with our FREE Insurance Service.
Talk to one of our friendly mortgage advisors for free to get going quickly. Our head office is on Frimley High Street, but we can also help you remotely via phone or video call if you’d prefer. We look forward to chatting with you!
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Think carefully before securing any other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage.
