Build your credit score and report with ClearScore

We know it can be frustrating to be told you don’t have a credit report or score. But there are some simple steps you can take to build up your credit report and in turn, your score. We've put all of these into a personalised plan that will give you a step-by-step guide to getting your score off the ground.

Why don't I have a credit report or score?

Your credit report is a record of how you've borrowed money in the past. It's made up of your credit history from the past 6 years (approximately - this does vary sometimes). Your credit score is a rating given to your credit report, which indicates how your report might look to lenders. (So the better your credit report may look to a lender, the better your score is likely to be).

Anyone who has used credit, in theory, should have a credit report and score - regardless of whether you've seen it for yourself.

But if you’ve never used credit before, or haven’t used credit for a long time, you're unlikely to have a report, as there simply isn't any credit information on you. No credit history means no credit report which, in turn, means no credit score.

How can ClearScore help?

At ClearScore we get our credit report information directly from a credit reference agency called Equifax. This means that if you don’t have a credit report with Equifax, we won’t have anything to show you when you sign up.

So we've now created a new Coaching plan designed especially for users to start building up their credit history from scratch, in order to help create your first credit report (and calculate your first score).

How does the Coaching plan work?

Our Coaching plan uses chatbot technology to find out more about your financial situation. The answers you give are used to create a personalised to-do list. This list will take you through everything you need to do to get your credit report and score off the ground - from setting up a bank account to getting on the electoral roll.

Once you’ve started working on building up your credit history you can keep checking in for more tips to boost your score. One of the tips might recommend that you apply for a credit product to help build your credit history. We've got some personalised options in the 'Offers' section of your ClearScore account, which you can apply for, even without any credit history. These can help you get on the financial map and help build up your credit report and score.

What happens after I've completed the coaching plan?

It usually takes around 3-6 months to build up enough information to get a credit report. In that time, we’ll keep checking for your credit report and will let you know as soon as you have one. Then, you can continue to build a great credit score for life.