How to Get a Free Credit Report Using Experian

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Whether you’re looking to get a loan for a car, take out a mortgage or just curious about your credit rating, it’s always handy to get a look at a credit report provided by one of the major credit reference agencies.  However, if you’re anything like me, you also won’t want to pay monthly subscription fees or spend hours on the phone trying to cancel an account.  So from personal experience, here is how I got a free credit report and dumped the subscription without so much as a phone call.

Credit Expert Free 30 Day Trial

I signed up for the 30 day free trial of Credit Expert by Experian, one of the largest credit reference agencies. In order to register, you will need a credit card and your address history for the past six years as well as the usual email details.  While you will have to provide your credit card details, no subscription will be charged to your card so long as you cancel within the 30 day free trial.

When signing up for the trial, ensure that you get the version with identity protection insurance.  The reason for this is that when coming to cancel your account this gives you the right to cancel via an email, if you don’t get this extra, you will still be able to cancel but unfortunately it will involve the dreaded phone call and hours of on hold music.

Most of the major credit reference agencies offer similar deals and trials although I can only comment on the Experian offering from a personal perspective.  However, the other agencies to check out are Equifax and Callcredit, together these three agencies are the major point of reference for consumer credit in the UK.

Accessing Your Credit Report

Once you have signed up for the trial, if all has gone well you will be able to access your report instantly which gives you access to a scary array of detail listing everything from your estimated credit score to where you are registered on the electoral roll.

In using your report it’s important to act fast and get all the relevant details if you intend to undertake any credit repairing exercises.  Remember, if you don’t cancel within the trial period you will be changed for a subscription and prices can be relatively high at around £14.99 per month.

So, if you need to know what your financial health looks like or are just curious to see how much data these agencies hold this is a great way to find out.  However, unless you’re really keen, don’t just create an account and forget about it as this will set you back another £180 a year.