How often should you check your credit report?

Your credit report is regularly updating as your financial life moves along, capturing everything from new accounts to public records tied to your name.

A distinction worth making early on is that your credit report and credit score aren't the same thing.

Lenders never actually see your score, and it doesn't factor into their decision-making at all. What they do see is everything sitting on your credit report – up to six years of how you’ve handled credit.

So, getting familiar with your report, rather than fixating purely on your score, gives you a much truer sense of what a lender is actually looking at. And once you know how the data on your report influences your score, the better placed you are to identify ways to improve it.

Checking in on it regularly is one of the simplest habits you can build for your overall credit health. But how often often is enough?

Why checking your credit report regularly matters

You don't need to be applying for a loan or a new credit card. Checking your credit report regularly helps you understand what's actually influencing your score, spot any early warning signs of identity fraud – like a credit application you don't recognise, or an account that's suddenly appeared out of nowhere – and catch errors like a spelling mistake or formatting inconsistency in your Electoral Roll listing.

Not all lenders report to every credit reference agency – what shows up on one report might look different on another, depending on which one you're using. Your report is pieced together from a whole range of sources, other than lenders, including:

• Banks.

• Building societies.

• Local authorities.

• Courts.

With that many places potentially adding new information every month, there's always something worth keeping an eye on. And it's not just about catching errors – things like financial associations and credit utilisation can impact a credit application.

How often should you check your credit report?

Things can update on your credit report at different times. Lenders typically update the credit reference agencies one a month, while a change to your Electoral Roll listing could take up to three months to reflect on your report.

It’s a good idea to regularly monitor your report so you know where you stand. Aside from tracking your credit history, it can also help you spot any signs of potential identity fraud. Credit applications or new accounts you don’t recognise will show on your credit report, and the sooner you see them, the sooner you can get things sorted.

And if you’re preparing to apply for credit – be it a mortgage or a mobile phone contract – making sure everything’s in shape on your report could help you avoid any surprises.

At Checkmyfile, we put all your info from the UK’s three main credit reference agencies – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion – in one place. Not every lender reports to all agencies, so seeing everything in one file means you won’t miss anything.

Get started with a 7-day free trial. It’s then £14.99 a month, cancel online anytime.

Does checking your own credit report affect your credit score?

Checking your own credit report doesn't impact your credit score. Monitoring your report is a good thing for your credit health – it helps you spot any issues early and track progress towards your financial goals.

What could affect your score is a formal credit application, which results in a hard search of your credit report. Hard searches occur when you apply for products like a loan, mortgage or mobile phone contract. These searches are visible to credit providers, and multiple hard searches in a short period can make lenders think you rely heavily on credit – this is because they can only see the application, not the outcome. So, they could think you’re taking on a lot of credit at once and may struggle to pay them back.

What should you do if you find incorrect information?

If something on your report doesn't look right, you can raise what's known as a data dispute – simply flagging the information you believe is incorrect so it can be looked into. And in most cases, going directly to the lender is the quickest way to get it sorted.

Here's how to get a data dispute started:

• Get in touch with the source. That's the bank, lender, provider, or utility supplier behind the entry. Let them know you've spotted information on your credit report that you believe is incorrect.

• Give them time to investigate. Most lenders will set out their own response times, but around 28 days is fairly typical.

• Give them time to resolve it. Once a change is agreed, it usually takes another four to six weeks for new or updated information to filter through to your credit report.

If you still can’t get it sorted, Data Dispute Resolution is included in your Checkmyfile subscription, which means we can contact the credit reference agencies on your behalf.

So if the lender doesn't resolve things – or agrees to make a change but it doesn’t reflect on your report – just let us know. We'll take a look and see whether a data dispute with the credit reference agencies would be the right next step.