Have you ever been turned down for a loan and not understood why? Is your car insurance premium high even though your driving record is clean? Have you been offered a job only for the employer to change his mind? If the answer to any of these is yes, then there is a fair chance you need to order a credit report. If you have a poor payment history, or have been unable to manage your debt, ordering a credit report would enable you to identify the negatives and aim to prevent their reoccurrence.

The FICO number is determined by numerous factors, only ordering a credit report would enable a consumer to identify which of these is bringing the figure down (range is from 350-800.) The complicated logistic regression statistical technique employed by banks in the UK make it very difficult to second guess what your credit score will be; even when declined for credit, the lender is not obliged to reveal the score. In the US, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion dominate the market for supplying credit data to lenders and a consumer credit report will come through a third party but from this same source.