The UK has 3 credit reference agencies, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, and each uses a different scale, so “what’s a good score” depends on which one you’re looking at. They don’t share identical data either: some lenders report to all 3, some to just one.
Real, practical things that actually move your score:
- Registering on the electoral roll can add real points within about a month, lenders use it to confirm your identity and address.
- Keep credit card balances well under your limit, a £3,000 limit kept under £900 used (30%) looks better to lenders than one run close to the edge.
- Checking your own score is a “soft search”, it’s invisible to lenders and doesn’t affect your score at all, so there’s no real reason not to check regularly.
- If something on your report looks wrong, you can dispute it directly with the credit agency or the lender, a genuine error, once corrected, can improve your score right away.