What to do this month
September is a practical moment to check your credit file before any year-end borrowing decisions, such as car finance renewals, mortgage remortgages, or festive credit applications, come around.
Three things worth doing this month:
- Check your file with all three agencies. Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion each hold a separate record. A lender may search any one of them, so a problem on one file may not show on another. Statutory reports are free from each agency.
- Look for errors or accounts you don't recognise. Mistakes happen, an old address, a closed account still showing as open, or a missed payment recorded incorrectly. Any of these can affect how a lender views your application.
- Note any hard searches from the past 12 months. Multiple hard searches in a short period can signal to lenders that you have been seeking credit frequently. This is worth being aware of before you apply for anything new.
Why it matters
Your credit file is the record lenders use to make decisions. It is not updated in real time everywhere, changes can take four to six weeks to appear. Checking now means there is time to raise a dispute and request a correction before you apply for credit.
A single error can result in a declined application or a less favourable interest rate. Catching it early costs nothing.
Who may be affected
- Anyone planning to apply for a loan, mortgage, credit card, or car finance before the end of 2026.
- Anyone who has recently moved home, changed their name, or closed a credit account.
- Anyone who noticed an unexpected decline or a hard search on their file they did not authorise.
- Anyone who has had a missed payment, default, or county court judgement in the past six years, these remain on your file for the full six-year period and it is worth confirming the details are recorded correctly.
If you are struggling with existing debt and are thinking about applying for more credit to manage repayments, free debt advice is usually a better first step. StepChange (0800 138 1111), National Debtline (0808 808 4000), and MoneyHelper (0800 138 7777) all offer free, confidential guidance.
What to read next
- Understanding credit reports and scores, a full explanation of how credit files work, what lenders see, and how to dispute errors.
Sources
- MoneyHelper, guidance on checking your credit report and understanding what it contains.
- Experian, free statutory credit report service and explanation of credit file contents.
- Equifax, free statutory credit report service for UK consumers.