Credit scores and credit reports are part of many people’s lives as they affect our ability to take on financial commitments such as a mobile phone contract or a mortgage or even a job. However, until now in the UK, this information has not been easy to access and monitor. We explain here what happens when you check your report, and what happens when a company checks it.

Your credit report is a file held by credit bureaus, which contains your personal information and your credit history. It can only be accessed by you or with your permission – you usually give this to lenders when you apply for a loan, for example.

Your credit report shows when someone has checked your report. There are two types of inquiries that can be carried out on your report:

Soft check – A soft check is a type of inquiry carried out on your credit report that is not visible to prospective lenders. This type of a check does not affect your credit score or hinder your ability to get credit. You can see these for a period of 12 months.

The following fall into this category:

• When you check your own report, e.g. through ClearScore.com

• When your report is accessed for the purpose of an identity check

• Some lenders offer a soft-check to see whether you will be eligible for a loan (always check this carefully, to avoid a mark on your report)

Hard check – A hard check is a type of an inquiry which leaves a mark on your credit report. This type of a check is visible to the prospective lenders and will affect your score. Most hard inquiries stay on your report for 12 months, whilst a debt collection check is visible for a period of 2 years. The usual advice is to minimise the number of hard checks as a large number of them on your report may make you seem desperate for credit and therefore decrease your chance of getting a loan. A hard check may also cause your credit score to drop slightly for a short period of time.

The following fall into this category:

• Any application for a loan, a credit card or a mortgage

• Some mobile phone, broadband etc. contracts will require a hard check

If you’re not sure, check with your provider to find out whether they carry out soft or hard checks on your account.

ClearScore -Using ClearScore will never affect your credit score. When you register with ClearScore, a soft search will be recorded on your report. From then on, ClearScore is provided with your updated credit report and score once a month, which will show up as a soft search under our name.