Credit scores: what lenders see and what they don't

A credit score is a statistical estimate of how likely you are to repay on time. It is calculated from the information in your credit report at a given moment, using a model owned by a scoring company. Change the model or the bureau and the number changes, which is why people encounter several different scores for themselves.

What goes into the calculation

• Payment history: whether you have paid accounts on time, and how recent and severe any missed payments were.
• Amounts owed: balances relative to available credit, often called utilisation.
• Length of credit history: how long accounts have been open.
• Credit mix: revolving accounts such as cards alongside instalment loans.
• New credit: recent applications and hard enquiries.

Mainstream US models weight payment history and amounts owed most heavily. UK and EU bureaux use different data and different presentations, and in several European markets lenders rely more on their own affordability assessment than on a single bureau score.

How to check without harming it

Checking your own report is a soft enquiry and does not affect your score. In the United States, consumers are entitled to free reports from the nationwide bureaux via the official AnnualCreditReport service. UK and EU residents have statutory rights to access the data bureaux hold on them.

Errors are common and fixable

Reports can contain accounts that were closed, balances that were settled, or entries belonging to someone else. Both the bureau and the furnisher of the data have legal obligations to investigate a dispute. Disputes should be filed in writing with supporting evidence, and outcomes should be re-checked on the report afterwards.