What impacts my Equifax Credit Score?

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