What’s the difference between ClearScore and Experian?

Experian is a credit bureau. It’s one of four main agencies in South Africa that is licensed to collect information about your borrowing habits, and put it into a credit report. When you apply for credit, you give lenders permission to check your credit report. This helps them decide whether to lend to you.

The other three credit bureaus in SA are TransUnion, Compuscan and XDS.

ClearScore is not a credit bureau itself: it gives you access to your Experian data. We do this for free, because we don’t think people should have to pay to access their own information.

Can ClearScore change the information on my report?

Because ClearScore pulls your data directly from Experian, we can’t change it ourselves. We simply show you the information Experian currently hold about you. You can raise a dispute with Experian through ClearScore.

How do I change information on my report?

If there is a mistake on your report, you can tell Experian using our official disputes process. Experian will then look into your dispute, and will contact you once they have a resolution. This can take up to 20 days, but it’s usually quicker than this.

If you want to track the progress and outcome of your dispute, you can contact Experian directly.

If you need any help with your dispute you can contact ClearScore using our Ask a Question form.

Can lenders see my ClearScore account?

Lenders can’t see your ClearScore account directly. However, your ClearScore account uses Experian data, which lenders do look at.

For example, lenders can’t see the ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ factors in your ClearScore account in the exact way we have written them. When you apply for credit, lenders will look at your Experian data rather than how it appears in your ClearScore.

Bear in mind that your credit report is only one factor in a lender’s decision. They also look at the information on your application (e.g. job, salary, whether you’re a home owner) and any past dealings you’ve had with them.