Improve your Credit Score

Equifax has some simple steps to help you keep your credit report healthy and improve your Equifax Credit Score:

1. Pay your loans and bills on time
Consider setting up direct debits and schedule loan repayments for your pay day

2. Keep track of your credit commitments
Do your homework before applying for credit and keep track of your credit commitments. Making a number of applications within a short space of time will be recorded on your file and is not always looked upon positively by lenders, as it may be an indicator that you're in credit stress

3. If you move house or change your email address, notify lenders
If you don't advise, for instance, your phone company and utility providers of your new contact details, they won't be able to redirect bills to your new postal or email address. If you then don't pay these bills, a credit infringement or overdue debt could be listed on your Credit Report

4. If you are having trouble meeting repayments
Talk to your credit provider who may assist

5. Keep track of your credit record
Be proactive and check your Credit Report periodically. You can obtain a free credit report each year. You could also consider signing up to a monthly subscription to get your Equifax Credit Score and monitor changes on your Equifax Credit Report through credit alerts

Your Equifax Credit Score is impacted by the information contained on your Equifax Credit Report. There are a number of different factors which could impact your Equifax Credit Score.

• The type of credit providers you’ve applied for credit with. Credit providers differ. Because of this, applying for a loan from a bank may impact your Equifax Credit Score differently to, for instance, taking out store finance from a retailer
   

• The type of credit you’ve applied for. Just as credit providers differ, so do the types of credit they provide. Mortgages, credit cards, personal loans and store finance may carry different levels of risk and impact your Equifax Credit Score in different ways
   

• The credit limit or size of the loan you’ve requested in your application. A smaller loan or credit card limit may carry a different level of risk to a larger loan
   

• The number of credit applications you have made. Each time you apply for credit and a credit provider obtains a copy of your Credit Report, an enquiry is added to your Credit Report. Applications for credit can include loans, credit cards and applications for phone and utilities contracts. Even buy now pay later retail finance can result in a credit enquiry
   

• The ‘shopping pattern’ of credit applications over time. The spread of activity over the credit report’s life to date can have an impact on your Equifax Credit Score. Shopping around for credit and applying to a number of different credit providers within a short space of time may negatively impact your Equifax Credit Score. This flags you as a greater risk than if you had infrequent credit applications with only a few credit providers. As well, a relatively new credit file with many enquiries may represent a different level of risk than an older file with only a few credit enquiries
   

• Directorship and proprietorship information. If you are a company director or a proprietor and this information is listed on your credit report it may impact your Equifax Credit Score. If you are or have been a company director or proprietor, it's important to check the individual and commercial sections of your Equifax Credit Report
   

• The age of your Credit Report. The date your Credit Report was created may impact your Equifax Credit Score. For example, a relatively new Credit Report may indicate a different level of risk than one that has been established for many years
   

• Your personal details. Your Equifax Credit Score takes into consideration personal circumstances, such as age, as well as ‘stability factors’, such as how long you’ve been employed in your current position and how long you’ve resided at your current residential address, to help assess credit risk
   

• Default information. Default information on your personal or business credit report, such as overdue debts, serious credit infringements or clearouts, may negatively impact your Equifax Credit Score. On the other hand, a lack of default information in your file may positively affect your score
   

• Court writs and default judgements. A court writ or default judgement on a Credit Report is an indicator of increased risk and may negatively impact your Equifax Credit Score. On the other hand, if you don’t have this information it would indicate a reduced level of risk
   

• Commercial address information. Information such as location and the length of time you have resided at your current business address is a measure of stability and may impact your Equifax Credit Score

Yes. Even if you don’t actually use the credit you’ve been given access to, your application for it will be recorded on your Equifax Credit Report. If you have a large number of credit applications on your Equifax Credit Report – or even just an above-average number of credit applications in a short space of time – this can lower your Equifax Credit Score.   

Not necessarily. If you’ve been late paying your debts in the past this information will remain on your Equifax Credit Report for up to five years and for a serious crime imfringement it will remain for seven years. Even if you’ve now paid off all your outstanding debts, your Equifax Credit Score will likely continue to be negatively impacted by your prior late payments or defaults. That noted, you can improve your Equifax Credit Score by always making your loan repayments and paying your bills on time.  

If you do have a default on your credit report you can help improve your credit profile by repaying credit accounts you have on time each month such as a personal loan or mortgage repayments or the minimum balance on your credit card. Please note that not all credit providers provide Equifax with repayment history information. 

No. Getting your Equifax Credit Report will not negatively impact your Equifax Credit Score. In fact, it may help you improve your Equifax Credit Score by helping you identify any errors or if your identity has been compromised.

Ordering a copy of your Equifax Credit Report may alert you to information on it that could be negatively impacting your Equifax Credit Score. For example, if you request and review your Equifax Credit Report, you may discover inaccurate information that, once corrected or deleted, will improve your Equifax Credit Score. 

If there is something incorrect on your Equifax Credit Report, find out how to fix it here.

If, after reviewing your Equifax Credit Report, you think your identity has been compromised, you should contact the relevant credit provider for more information and, if necessary, seek an investigation. You can also place a ban on your Equifax Credit Report. Find out more here.