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We’re taking the next big step on our journey to help you feel confident about your credit choices. Our CEO Justin Basini reveals some recent exciting changes.

When we launched in 2015, our promise was simple: to give you your credit score and report for free, forever.

Since we started, we’ve helped more than 25 million of you take control of your finances. We’ve helped you feel clear and confident about your credit choices and understand what affects your credit score.

We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, but we want to go further to help you get on in life.

The past 18 months have been extremely uncertain. There’s been uncertainty with rules and restrictions around everything from school to travel, and, of course, finance.

You deserve to feel good about the future, and we’re here to support you as much as we can. That’s why we’ve taken ClearScore to the next level. We want to give you more than just your credit score and report, to empower you to make good financial decisions and create the future you want.

We've brought your credit score in line with Equifax’s score out of 1000, to make your score easier to understand.

This higher scale offers a more detailed picture of what affects your score and lets us improve the personal insights we give you.

Whether your credit score is soaring high or on the way up, our score out of 1000 gives you a more detailed breakdown of what affects your credit score. We want you to feel confident you’ve got everything you need to improve or maintain your score, because a better score can open up a wider range of deals.

Get your credit score for free.

What the ClearScore score bands out of 1000 actually mean

A number on its own doesn't tell you much. What matters is which band your score falls into, because that's the shorthand lenders and comparison tools use when they decide what to offer you. ClearScore is not a credit reference agency, but we give you your credit score and report for free using data from Equifax, whose scale runs from 0 to 1000 and is split into five bands.

The five Equifax bands used by ClearScore, and where the cut-offs fall

Is 550 a bad credit score in the UK? Where it sits on the 1000 scale

On the Equifax scale ClearScore uses, 550 is not a bad credit score - it sits in the Good band, just above the Fair cut-off. It isn't a strong score either. At 550 you may be accepted for a fair number of mainstream credit cards and loans, but approval and the rate and limit you're offered also depend on other factors lenders consider - such as your income, existing borrowing, and whether repayments are affordable. Small, steady improvements - clearing a chunk of an outstanding balance, or simply letting six months of on-time payments accumulate - tend to move a score at this level faster than they move a score already in the 800s.

Is 620 a lower credit score? What it means for the deals you'll be offered

No, 620 is not a lower credit score on the 0-1000 scale. It falls comfortably in the Good band, roughly two-thirds of the way up. The confusion usually comes from American advice, where 620 sits near the bottom of the 300-850 FICO scale used in the US and genuinely is considered subprime. On a UK Equifax score of 620, you may see a reasonable spread of offers, subject to each lender’s own checks, though the cheapest balance transfer deals and lowest-APR loans typically open up higher in the Very good band.

Roughly how the 0-1000 scale compares to Experian and TransUnion

The three UK credit reference agencies each publish their own score on their own scale. Experian runs 0-1250, TransUnion now runs 0-999 (having moved up from its older 0-710 scale), and Equifax - the score behind ClearScore - runs 0-1000. A rough sense of the equivalence: a mid-range Equifax score around 531-670 corresponds loosely to an Experian score in the 861-1000 range and a TransUnion score of roughly 653-785. Treat those as approximations, not conversions.

Why you can't directly convert a score between bureaux

Each agency holds a slightly different set of data, because not every lender reports to all three. Each also weights that data differently - one may penalise a recent application more heavily than another, or treat a settled default differently. Two scores from two agencies on the same day are two separate opinions about the same borrower, so a gap between them isn't an error and doesn't need fixing.

What lenders actually see (they don't see your ClearScore number)

This is the part that surprises most people: no lender sees your ClearScore number. When you apply, the lender pulls your credit report - the underlying record of accounts, payments, searches and public information - and runs it through its own scorecard, alongside your application details and its current appetite for risk. Your score is a reliable indicator of how that report will be received, which is why it's worth tracking - and checking it on ClearScore won't affect it. It just isn't the figure being assessed. Get your credit score for free.

Our Triple Lock guarantee

When you apply for credit, the offer you see isn’t always the offer you get - an advertised representative APR only has to go to 51% of the people who take out the product. You could be approved for a credit card or loan only to find the amount you can borrow is less than you were shown and the interest rate much higher.

Our Triple Lock guarantee gives you the key to credit confidence.

Triple Lock uses your credit report and linked accounts to show you the credit limit and interest rate you’re likely to be offered on credit cards or loans before you apply - we’ll even tell you if you’re pre-approved, subject to the lender’s own checks. ClearScore is a credit broker, not a lender.

Pre-approval means you’re more likely to be accepted, but acceptance still rests on the lender’s final checks, including affordability. Knowing you’re pre-approved also helps you avoid applying for a product you might not be accepted for, which can hurt your credit score.

And that’s not all…

Your credit score is important, but it’s not the only thing lenders look at when you apply for credit.

Our new Affordability Score gives you a more detailed picture of how lenders view you.

When they’re deciding whether to give you credit, lenders look at both your credit history, and your income and spending. To make your finances clearer, we’ve launched our Affordability Score, which gives you an idea of how much you might be able to borrow in the future. Look out for more on our new Affordability Score and our other offers in the coming weeks.

Credit score vs Affordability Score: what lenders weigh up

Your credit score describes how you've handled borrowing in the past. Your Affordability Score describes whether you can comfortably handle more of it now. Lenders care about both, which is why two people with identical scores can get completely different answers to the same application.

Why a good credit score doesn't guarantee approval

A strong score tells a lender you're likely to repay. It says nothing about whether the repayment fits your budget. Someone with an excellent record and very little disposable income after rent, childcare and existing commitments can still be declined - not because the lender doubts their intentions, but because responsible lending rules require it to check the borrowing is affordable. This is the most common reason a decline feels unfair.

What feeds your Affordability Score

It's built from the money moving through your accounts rather than your borrowing history: regular income, committed outgoings such as rent, mortgage, utilities and subscriptions, and existing loan and card repayments. Linking your current account through Open Banking gives a far more accurate picture than an application form estimate, and it's what lets the score tell you roughly how much you might be able to borrow rather than just whether you'd be accepted.

How lenders combine history and affordability in their own scorecards

A lender takes your credit report, adds what you've declared on the application, layers on anything it already knows about you as a customer, and runs the lot through a scorecard it built and calibrated itself. Two people with the same Equifax score will score differently at the same lender if one earns more or owes less elsewhere. It's a single judgement drawn from several inputs, not a pass mark applied to one number.

Why different lenders and finance arms use different bureaux and scores

There's no industry-wide standard. Car finance arms such as Hyundai Finance, high street banks and specialist lenders each choose which credit reference agency to use - Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, or more than one - and none of them publish a minimum score. Any figure you see quoted online as a manufacturer's cut-off is guesswork. What's consistent is what they're looking for: a clean recent payment record, manageable existing debt, stability of address and employment, and headroom in your budget.

What to fix first if it's affordability rather than history holding you back

If your credit score is healthy but applications keep failing, work on the outgoings side. Some people reduce or consolidate smaller existing commitments to free up monthly cash flow, cancel subscriptions they no longer use, or avoid taking on new regular payments in the months before a significant application. Consolidating debt can lower monthly payments but may increase the total amount repaid or extend the term, and it is not suitable for everyone; if you are struggling with repayments, consider free independent debt advice. Reducing what you already owe helps twice over - it lowers your utilisation, which supports your credit score, and it frees up income, which supports your affordability.

Found a mistake on your credit report? How to get it fixed

Yes - errors on a credit report can be reversed, and the process is free. If something on your report is factually wrong, you have a legal right to have it investigated and corrected, and a corrected entry can lift your score quickly, because you're removing damage that was never yours to carry.

The most common errors worth checking for

• Addresses you've never lived at, or an old address still listed as current, which can break the link between you and your own accounts.

• Closed accounts still showing as open, which inflates your apparent available credit and total commitments.

• Duplicate entries - the same loan or card appearing twice, often after a lender migrates its systems or sells a debt.

• Someone else's data merged into your file, usually a relative with a similar name at the same address, or a former partner you're still financially linked to.

• Incorrect defaults or missed payments, including payments you made on time, defaults recorded on the wrong date, or a debt marked outstanding after you settled it.

• Financial associations with an ex-partner after a joint account has been closed, which lets their record affect yours.

Step-by-step: raising a dispute with Equifax through ClearScore

• Open your credit report and work through it section by section - accounts, searches, addresses, public information and associations.

• Note exactly what's wrong on each entry and what it should say instead. Specific beats general: "the default date is May 2022, it should be November 2021" gets resolved faster than "this is wrong".

• Gather your evidence - bank statements, a settlement letter, a closure confirmation, proof of your address history.

• Raise the dispute with Equifax from within your ClearScore report, or contact Equifax directly. You don't have to approach the lender first, though doing so in parallel often speeds things up.

• Keep a record of when you raised it and what you sent.

How long a bureau has to investigate, and what happens while it does

Credit reference agencies must respond to a dispute within 28 days. During that period the disputed entry is flagged on your report as under investigation, which signals to any lender searching your file that the information isn't settled. If the agency and the lender agree the entry is wrong, it's amended or removed and your score is recalculated at the next refresh. If they can't reach a conclusion within 28 days, the disputed marker stays in place while it's resolved.

Adding a Notice of Correction when the entry is accurate but needs context

Sometimes the record is technically right but tells a misleading story - payments missed during a period of illness, redundancy or a dispute with a supplier you'd already cancelled. In that case you can add a Notice of Correction: up to 200 words that sits on your report and must be read by anyone assessing it. It won't change your score, and it does mean applications are more likely to be reviewed manually rather than instantly, which slows decisions down. Use it where the context genuinely changes the picture, not routinely.

What to do if the dispute is rejected

If the agency stands by the entry and you still believe it's wrong, escalate. Complain formally to the lender that supplied the data, and if you're unhappy with the outcome after eight weeks, refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service free of charge. Where the issue is about the accuracy or handling of your personal data rather than a lending decision, the Information Commissioner's Office is the right route. Both are free, and neither requires a solicitor.

Signs of identity fraud on your report and what to do first

Accounts you didn't open, hard searches from lenders you've never approached, or an address you've never lived at are the classic red flags. If you see any of them, act straight away: contact the lender concerned to report the application as fraudulent, tell Equifax so the entry can be flagged, and register with Cifas for protective registration, which prompts extra identity checks on future applications in your name. Fraudulent entries are removed once confirmed - but only once someone reports them, which is why checking your report regularly matters more than most people assume.

How quickly can you actually move your credit score?

Faster than most people fear, but slower than the internet promises. Some changes register within a single monthly reporting cycle; others are governed by six-year retention rules that nothing can shorten. Knowing which is which saves you a lot of wasted effort.

How do I raise my credit score in 30 days - and what's realistically achievable?

In 30 days you can realistically do four things that move the needle. Register on the electoral roll at your current address, which confirms your identity and can show up within weeks. Pay down credit card balances so your utilisation drops below 30%, ideally below 10% - this is reported monthly and is the fastest lever most people have. Check your report and dispute anything wrong. And stop applying for credit, so no new hard searches land. A modest lift of a few dozen points inside a month is achievable if utilisation was high. A transformation is not.

How long does it take to build a credit score from 500 to 700?

Plan for 12 to 24 months. Moving up two bands usually means you're doing more than tidying up - you're building an actual track record, and a track record is made of months. If the low score is caused by high balances and a thin file, the faster end is realistic: pay everything on time, keep utilisation low, and let accounts age. If it's caused by a default or a CCJ, the entry itself stays on your report for six years from the date it was registered, and its drag lessens gradually as it gets older rather than disappearing on a schedule you control.

Can you reach a 720 score in six months?

It depends entirely on where you're starting. From 650, six months of clean payments and reduced utilisation can plausibly get you there. From 450, it can't. Nobody can promise a specific number by a specific date, because your score reflects a report that lenders update at their own pace, and because the scorecard moves as your data ages. The honest framing is that six months of consistent behaviour usually helps - but no improvement, and no particular figure, is guaranteed.

What has the biggest negative impact on your credit score?

Missed payments. A single payment more than 30 days late is recorded on your report and stays there for six years. String several together and the account defaults, which is more damaging still and also sits on your file for six years from the default date. Below that, in rough order of harm: County Court Judgments, an IVA or bankruptcy, very high credit utilisation, and a flurry of applications in a short window. If you can only protect one thing, protect your payment record - a direct debit for the minimum payment on every account is the cheapest insurance available.

Which changes show up fast, and which take months or years

• Days to weeks: registering to vote, correcting an error on your report after a successful dispute, closing an account you no longer use.

• One to two months: paying down a card balance, as lenders report to the credit reference agencies monthly.

• Three to twelve months: the fading impact of hard searches, and the benefit of a newly opened account starting to build history.

• Six years: late payments, defaults, CCJs and bankruptcies, all measured from the date they were recorded rather than the date you cleared them.

Why your score updates weekly on ClearScore, and what a jump or drop usually means

Your score refreshes every week so you can see the effect of what you've done rather than guessing at it. A sudden drop is most often a new hard search, a balance that rose just before the statement date, or a newly opened account lowering your average account age. A jump usually follows a balance being paid down or an old negative entry ageing off. If a change appears that you can't account for, open the report itself and look at what moved - that's the point of checking weekly.

Warning signs of 'quick fix' credit repair claims

Be sceptical of anyone who offers to remove accurate negative information, guarantees a specific score by a specific date, asks for a large upfront fee, or suggests applying for credit under a slightly different set of personal details. Accurate entries cannot be deleted on request, and the last of those is fraud. Everything a legitimate credit repair service can do - dispute genuine errors, add a Notice of Correction, help you build a payment record - you can do yourself for nothing.

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