Experian Credit Score and Credit Information Report

Experian Credit Information Report refers to a detailed record of your credit history i.e. details of your past and present loans and credit cards, etc. Apart from the Experian credit score, it also contains information about your identity, account details, payment history, recent enquiries, etc.

Experian, a Credit Information Company (CIC), is one of the four credit bureaus operating in India that calculates and generates credit scores and Credit Information Reports (CIRs) for lenders and applicants, as per the consumer credit information provided by the lending institutions every fifteen days.

The Experian credit score depicts your creditworthiness and repayment history further helping lenders decide on your new credit application’s approval or denial.

Experian Credit Score

Experian credit score is a 3-digit numeric that ranges between 300 and 900, which is also considered as one of the major components of your Credit Information Report (CIR). Lenders consider your credit score as an important factor in determining your eligibility to avail credit products. The closer your credit score is to 900 ( preferably 750+), the higher the chances of loans or credit card approval.

Your credit score is calculated considering various factors, such as the repayment history of your previous and existing loans and credit cards, including the details of enquiries made by various lending institutions, including banks and NBFCs is an important factor. It should be noted that checking your Experian credit score or credit report from Paisabazaar is free of cost without having any impact on your existing credit score.

Also Read: How to Rebuild or Improve your Credit Score

Details mentioned in your Experian Credit Information Report

The following table gives a section-wise summary of the personal information, as well as credit information present in your Experian Credit Information Report (CIR):

How to Check Experian Credit Score Online

There are two ways of checking the Experian credit score or Experian credit report – either directly through Experian’s official website or through one of the most trusted financial aggregators named Paisabazaar, which offers credit scores from other three credit bureaus, such as CIBIL, Equifax and CRIF High Mark as well.

You may have to make a payment to check your credit score through the official websites of these credit bureaus, whereas checking your credit report at Paisabazaar is free. Now, let us find out how to check your Experian credit score free here:

Steps to Check Experian Credit Score for Free

Follow the below-mentioned steps to check your Experian credit report:

Step 1: Click here to check the free credit report

Step 2: Enter your basic details, such as gender, full name, email address and mobile number to verify using OTP authentication by clicking on the ‘Check Free Credit Score’ button.

Step 3: After you click on the ‘Get Free Credit Score’ button, you will get credit scores from all 4 credit bureaus.

Step 4: On the Experian tab, click on ‘Check Report’ to view your credit report.

Step 5: Your Date of Birth (DDMMYYYY format) is the password of your credit report.

Key Factors Affecting Your Experian Score

The following are some of the key factors that may affect your credit score:

• Non-payment of loan EMIs or credit card dues on time
• Not checking your credit report for errors
• Applying for multiple credit products in a short duration
• Length of credit history – Short duration leads to low credit score
• Joint accounts – Being a co-applicant or guarantor of the applicant with a low credit score

Suggested Read: What are the top 4 factors that affect your credit score?

Importance of Experian Credit Report

Experian credit score is highly beneficial to its customers, as it helps them avail funds at ease and reflects their creditworthiness and repayment capacity with prospective lenders. Find below some additional benefits of maintaining a high Experian credit score:

• Enhance the chances of loan approvals, along with low interest rates
• Increases the options of negotiations and bargains with the respective lenders
• Helps in availing credit products, such as loans, overdrafts and credit cards with pre-approved offers
• Influences your insurance premiums, as it may tend to lower the insurance costs
• May increase job opportunities, as some employers may check your credit report before offering a job
• May help in renting a home, as many property owners across the nation, may check credit scores before renting their property

Tips to Improve your Experian Credit Score

If your Experian score is low, your chances of getting credit in time of need from a bank or other lenders may also go slim. To avoid such a situation, adherence to the further mentioned tips to improve credit score can be helpful:

• Pay your loan EMIs and credit card dues on time
• Do not submit multiple loan/credit card applications within a short duration as this may portray you as credit hungry and decrease your creditworthiness
• Regularly check your credit report and credit score
• If you find any discrepancies in your credit report, inform the credit bureau immediately and get them corrected
• Do not close your old credit accounts as they help build a strong credit history
• Maintain a low credit utilization ratio (it may not be considered bad if you have a high credit utilization ratio but repay every month diligently)

Read More about Credit Score

FAQs

Q. What is the Experian Report Number (ERN)?

Ans. Experian Report Number (ERN) refers to a 15-digit unique identification number present on the top right of your credit information report. You need to quote this number on any communication with the credit bureau as it uses it to validate your information.

Q. How can I apply for my Experian credit report?

Ans. You need not apply for the credit report, as here you can check it for free and receive monthly updates. Checking your credit score is considered a ‘Soft Inquiry’ by the credit bureau and shall not lower your credit score.

Q. How often is the Experian Credit report updated?

Ans. Generally, member financial institutions submit data monthly. For example, Bank A might submit an update to Experian on the 1st of every month while Bank B might submit an update on the 20th of every month.

Hence, your credit report gets updated monthly as soon as the data gets uploaded to its database by the applicable financial institution(s).

Q. Does Experian credit score changes with monthly updates in the credit report?

Ans. Yes, your credit score may change with monthly updates in the credit report. For example, your score may increase on paying off a loan or may decrease on missing loan EMIs.

Q. How many times can I check my Experian credit report?

Ans. You can check your Experian credit report as many times as you wish from Paisabazaar.com. However, if you want to check it from the official website, you get one free credit report every year as directed by the RBI.

For the second soft enquiry, you shall have to pay some amount or subscribe to a monthly, half-yearly or annual plan as defined by the credit bureau.

Q. How Experian Credit Score is different from CIBIL credit score?

Ans. While calculating, generating and issuing your credit reports or credit scores, Experian takes into consideration various sources, such as your payment history, public records, utility bills, etc.

Whereas CIBIL primarily receives consumer credit information from member institutions or prospective lenders, such as banks and NBFCs to calculate your CIBIL score.

Q. Is it possible for inaccuracies to exist in my Experian credit report?

Ans. Yes, there are possibilities of errors in your credit report in the form of faulty or mismatched information, inaccuracies, duplicity, etc.

For this, you need to regularly monitor your Experian credit report for errors and resolve them at the earliest to avoid any dip in your credit score. You can resolve these errors by raising a dispute with the credit bureau.

Q. Is checking my Experian credit score free?

Ans. Experian India offers free credit score checks only once a year and afterwards, it is paid. Furthermore, you need to choose monthly, half-yearly, or annual subscriptions, as per your requirements to receive a free credit report.

Here you can check your Experian credit report free of cost multiple times with no impact on your credit score.

Q. Can I check my Experian credit score through WhatsApp?

Ans. Yes, you can check your Experian credit score through WhatsApp by sending ‘Hey’ from your registered mobile number to Experian India’s WhatsApp number +91-9920035444.

You can also receive your detailed credit report, as well as regular updates on your credit scores on WhatsApp, as well.

Q. How often does Experian update my credit score?

Ans. Experian updates your credit score at least once a month, as per the consumer credit information provided to them by the lending institutions. If your lending banks and NBFCs report your payment history more frequently, then your credit score may change more often.

Q. Will checking my credit score result in a lower score?

Ans. No, checking your own credit score and credit information report constitutes a soft enquiry and this does not impact your credit score in any way. You can check your credit score as many times as you want and you can do it for free here.

Q. What is the use of the ‘Experian CIR’ or how is it beneficial to individuals?

Ans. The Credit Information Report (CIR) helps lenders check the creditworthiness and repayment history of applicants. Experian credit report check is requested by the lender to the credit bureau at the time of the loan approval process.

A good credit score helps the applicant in availing credit facilities, such as loans and credit cards at low interest rates and preferential credit card benefits.

Q. How can I initiate a dispute online with Experian?

Ans. You can raise an online dispute with Experian, in case there are discrepancies/errors in your credit information report by following the steps mentioned below:

• Log into your Experian account
• Go to the “Dispute” tab and click on “Raise a Dispute”
• Fill out the credit report information required and details of the dispute you wish to raise
• Click on “Submit”. You will receive a tracking number after your dispute request is submitted.

Preserve this number and use it for further communications with Experian India. After submission, you should receive a response from Experian India within 48 hours. However, actual rectification/dispute resolution may take longer depending on the complexity of the issue.

Q. Why do I not have an Experian credit score?

Ans. You may not have an Experian credit score or a credit score from any other credit bureau in India in the following cases:
• You have never taken a credit card or a loan, i.e., you are new to the credit
• You have recently taken a credit card (e.g. in less than a month)
• You are an add-on credit card user and not the primary account holder of the credit card account

Q. What is the meaning of a credit enquiry?

Ans. A credit enquiry refers to a request made by an institution to access your credit information report from a credit reporting agency.

While an enquiry made by a lender constitutes a hard enquiry, an enquiry made by an individual for their credit score (either directly from a credit bureau or through an official partner of Experian such as Paisabazaar.com) constitutes a soft enquiry that has no impact on your credit score.