‘Experian’
‘Equifax’Equifax and Experian are the UK's two largest credit checking companies. Knowing which one to choose could mean the difference between getting your loan approved or getting it denied.
This website will help you decided which one is the best for your needs.
just want to know the winner? Skip to Final Verdict ↓
Experian or Equifax, both offer similar services.
Why do I need a credit check?
If you need a loan, mortgage, overdraft, credit card or even mobile phone contract the companies you're buying from will often use a company such as eqifax or experian to gauge if you will be able to keep up the payments or pay back the loan.
A credit check doesn't just inform the companies using them whether or not you should be offered a product, but also informs them what kind or how good of a product they should give you. For example, a good credit rating will allow you to get lower monthly payments on loans or mortgages.
Different companies use different credit checking agencies
More companies use Experian than Equifax
Lender |
Credit Reference Agency used for credit searches |
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Equifax |
Experian |
Callcredit |
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AA |
 |
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Abbey |
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Alliance & Leicester |
| |
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American Express |
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Bank of Ireland |
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Bank of Scotland |
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Barclaycard |
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Birmingham Midshires |
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Bristol and West |
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Britannia |
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Cahoot |
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Cambridge BS |
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Chelsea BS | | ||
Citibank | | ||
Co-op Bank | | ||
Direct Line | | | |
Egg | | | |
First Direct | | ||
Halifax | | | |
HSBC | | ||
ICICI | | ||
Intelligent Finance | | | |
Leeds BS | | ||
Liverpool Victoria | | ||
Lloyds TSB | | | |
Lombard Direct | | | |
Marks & Spencer | | | |
MBNA | | | |
Mint | | | |
Morgan Stanley | | | |
Nationwide | | ||
Natwest | | | |
Northern Rock | | | |
Portman BS | | | |
Post Office | | ||
Prudential | | | |
RBS | | | |
Sainsburys Bank | | ||
Scottish Widows | | ||
Skipton BS | | ||
Stroud + Swindon BS | | ||
Virgin | | | |
Yorkshire BS | | | |
Now the all important question;How much is this going to cost me?
Equafax is currently the cheaper option
Whichever you feel suits you needs best, Experian or Equifax, they both offer a 30 day free trial of their services. However you will need to put in your credit/debit card number to activate both free trials and often these services rely on you forgetting to unsubscribe. So make sure you unsubscribe if you're only interested in getting one free credit report.
However, it's also a good idea to subscibe to these services as they'll alert you as soon as something happens on your credit report. Applying for a loan or credit card without realising a company has mistakenly put a black mark against your name can often lead to rejection and another black mark! A self fullfilling prophecy.
Equifax costs £9.95 per month.
Experian costs £14.99 per month.
| Experian | Equifax | |
|---|---|---|
| Lenders who use it | 39 | 26 |
| Features | Email monthly reports | Email monthly reports |
| Contract Length | None | None |
| Free trial | 30 days | 30 days |
| Price | £14.99 | £9.95 |
If you can only choose one, Experian (CreditExpert.co.uk) is clearly the one to go for.
More companies use it as their credit referencing company so it's a more useful product. Both are free for 30 days as long as you cancel your membership within that time, but Experian (CreditExpert.co.uk) costs £5.04 more if you wish to continue your monthly subscription.
In my opinion, the added features are worth the added cost.