Your credit file is a precious thing that’s worth protecting. It’s all too easy for scammers to steal your identity or passwords and take out credit in your name.

Keeping a close eye on your credit report means you can spot fraud quickly before it can do too much damage. Plus, an up to date and accurate credit file opens the door to more affordable credit in future, should you need it.

There are now lots of services competing for your attention which claim to guard your credit file, but are they any good? What’s the catch with the free services, and are any worth paying for?

There are three major credit reference agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, and Experian is the largest so it tends to be used by lenders such as the big banks.

Since 2018, you’ve had a legal right to check your credit report for free, under GDPR rules (it used to cost £2 to see your statutory report, the most basic one). To see your more detailed full report, you may have to sign up for 30-day free trial which you must then remember to cancel to avoid being charged monthly fees.

The paid-for services typically give you enhanced monitoring of your credit file, so you will get fraud alerts or instant updates when something changes with your file, or they might give you tips on how to improve your credit score. If you use other providers rather than going direct to the credit reference agencies themselves, you can get more detailed reports for free, but the companies will try to make their money by selling you other products and services.

SHINING A LIGHT ON THE DARK WEB

ClearScore Protect is one of these companies, and it is particularly eye-catching as it gives you access to your Equifax credit report and also promises to monitor the dark web – the hidden part of the internet beyond the reach of search engines, where criminals lurk – to check whether any of your passwords or personal details have been stolen.

The best part is, it’s free forever. The company sends you offers for other products when you sign up for this service, but you can opt out of marketing emails.

Justin Modray, founder of Candid Money, says for those who want to keep on top of their credit score, ClearScore is ‘a no-brainer’ because it offers for free what Equifax charges £7.95 a month for.

‘The downsides are currently minor, the report is updated monthly, although paid-for services may update more frequently, and you’ll be targeted with offers on which ClearScore earns a commission. But if you’re happy to skip the offers, which may not be the best deal for you, then it really is a free service,’ he says.

‘Whether their business model can sustain this long term remains to be seen, but for now it’s well worth taking advantage of. And its new dark web monitoring tool sounds very useful on paper, as it looks for signs of fraud and stolen passwords.’

Protecting your access to credit

Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfacts, has used ClearScore herself for three years and says she hasn’t had any problem with the service, and has also tried out Experian. She found it easy to change preferences and opt out of ‘selling emails’ such as product recommendations so there’s little worry about being bombarded with spam if you sign up to these services.

She explains why, especially in the era of Covid, it’s good practice check your credit report regularly. ‘With coronavirus and everything else, there are a few scam artists out there looking to get your cash and your valuable information and sell it to other dodgy people. Make sure you keep a close eye on your credit reports for any suspicious activity.’

Equally, an inaccuracy on your file such as a default, late payment or linked person or address could still affect an application for credit years later. Go through your report thoroughly and check everything to make sure you can get the best deals if you need credit in the future, she advises.

OTHER COMPETITORS

Other options he suggests are MoneySavingExpert’s Credit Club, a free service which offers access to your monthly Experian credit report, although you don’t get the dark web monitoring ClearScore gives you. ‘Going to Experian direct costs £14.99 a month, so it’s a big saving if you can live with monthly rather than real-time updates, and most of us likely can,’ says Modray.

Then there’s a less comprehensive (but also free) service from Credit Karma (formerly known as Noddle), which accesses TransUnion credit reports, but there is less reason to choose this over the other options because TransUnion is less widely used by lenders.

‘I’ve already felt it’s a rip off to pay for accessing your own credit details so it’s great to see that, for now at least, there are perfectly adequate free services providing this facility,’ Modray adds.

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