What is Experian Credit Score – Here’s Everything You Need To Know.

Credit Score plays a huge role in your whole credit journey as the approval or rejection of your loans/credit card applications depends on it. Your credit score is calculated by the credit bureaus, which collect your credit information and prepare your credit report. There are four major credit bureaus in India and Experian is one among them; the other three being CIBIL, Equifax, and Highmark. Experian has become one of the most trusted credit agencies in the country. It collects the credit histories of individuals as well as businesses and prepares their credit reports accordingly. Do you know what is an Experian credit score and how to check it? If not, this article will help you understand everything about an Experian credit score and the factors that affect it. Keep reading for more information:

What is An Experian Credit Score?

An Experian credit score is the three-digit credit score calculated by Experian India, which shows the creditworthiness of an individual. In short, it is a number that is calculated on the basis of your payment history, hard inquiries on your credit profile, and several other factors. It helps the money lenders or card issuers understand how responsible or risky you can be as a borrower. Your Experian credit score can be any number between 300 and 900, where 300 represents the poorest financial behavior and 900 shows responsible and excellent financial behavior. You must try to achieve an Experian credit score near 900 to get approved for credit cards and loans easily. Following are the points explaining the range of Experian credit scores:

• An Experian credit score between 300 and 579 represents a poor score, which means that the individual has a non-responsible payment behavior. If you have a poor Experian score, your chances of getting a loan or an unsecured credit card are very low as you will be considered a very risky borrower by most financial institutions.
• An Experian credit score between 580 and 669 is considered a fair score, which shows that the individual might have missed or delayed payments several times. It is better than having a poor score but still, you can be considered a defaulter if you have a credit score within this range.
• An Experian score between 670 and 739 represents a good score, which is decent enough to help you get approved for loans and credit cards easily.
• An Experian score between 740 and 799 is a very good score and makes you a trustworthy borrower. In this case, you may get loans and credit cards approved quickly with a hassle-free application process.
• An Experian score above 800 is considered an exceptional score, which shows that the individual has excellent and responsible payment behavior. Having an exceptional score can be very helpful for you as it can get your loans and credit cards with the lowest interest rate and best deals.

How To Get Your Experian Credit Score & Report?

Experian India allows you to get your Experian CIR (credit information report) for free once every year here. Other than the free report, you can request your Experian credit report and score anytime online or through post:

Online

• Visit the official website of Experian India and fill the online application form for Experian credit report along with credit score.
• Verify your identity by answering a few simple questions based on your previous loans and credit cards.
• You will be charged Rs. 399 every time you apply for an online credit report along with a credit score.
• Make the payment and get your credit report and score online. A copy of your credit report is also sent to your verified mail address.

By Post

• You can also download and fill the physical application form to get your Experian Credit report via post.
• You will have to pay Rs. 138 (Rs. 100 for credit report and Rs. 38 for postal charges) in this case. You can make payment through NEFT or through a Demand Draft.
• Send the NEFT receipt/DD along with your application form and required documents at the postal addresses mentioned on the official website.

What Information is Mentioned in Your Experian Credit Information Report?

• Personal Identity Information – Under this section, all your relevant personal information is mentioned, including your name, contact details, current as well as permanent addresses, etc.
• Credit Accounts – This section contains all the information about all your credit card accounts, loans taken by you, and your payment history.
• Inquiries – This section shows all the soft and hard inquiries made on your credit profile. Very much hard Inquiries can have a negative effect on your credit score whereas soft inquiries do not affect your score in any manner.

How To Raise a Dispute Against Missing/Incorrect Information on Your Experian Report?

The Experian website also allows you to raise a dispute in case any information is missing or inaccurate in your Experian report. You can get it corrected by raising a dispute so that it doesn’t affect your credit score. Following are the steps to raise a dispute against your Experian credit report:

• Log into your Experian account by visiting the official website.
• Go to your ‘credit information report.’
• You will see the option ‘dispute’ on the top of your screen. Click on that.
• Select the option ‘Raise a dispute.’
• Select the category of your dispute and fill in all the required details.
• Submit the form.

Factors Affecting Your Experian Credit Score

Payment History

Your payment history is the most important factor that affects your Experian score. 35% of your credit score depends on your payment history. So, paying your bills on time is really essential in order to maintain a healthy credit score.

Credit Utilization Ratio

It is never a good idea to spend a lot of your credit limit as a high credit utilization can have a negative effect on your Experian Credit score. If you want to maintain a good credit score, you should try to spend only 30% or less of your credit limit.

Length of Credit History

The longest the length of your credit history, the better your credit score is. So, you should avoid closing your credit accounts, even if not in use, as it can help you maintain a good length of your credit history.

Credit Mix

Having only one type of credit will not help you achieve a good credit score. So, you should try to have a good credit mix, i.e, try to have different types of credit, including personal loans, credit cards, home loans, etc.

Hard Inquiries

Every time you apply for a new credit card or a loan, the card issuer/moneylender checks for your credit score, and this is known as a hard inquiry. Too many hard inquiries on your credit profile within a short time period can have a negative impact on your credit score.

Bottom Line

Experian is a trusted and major credit bureau of India and provides its consumers with a detailed credit report and credit score at a very nominal price. However, it gives you an opportunity to get your Experian credit report for free once every year. You need to keep checking your Experian credit information report regularly so that you can keep yourself updated and improve your mistakes. If you still have any doubts regarding how to check your Experian score, make sure to ask in the comment section below.

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