In short
- Your report is a record of how you have serviced borrowing, and every lender reads it.
- Repayment history is the strongest part, and recent behaviour carries the most weight.
- Read your own report before a lender does — errors are correctable.
What the report contains
A credit report is a factual history rather than a judgement. It records the borrowing you hold, how you have serviced it, and who has looked at it. Lenders read it as evidence of behaviour over time.
- Accounts: loans and credit cards, with balances and repayment status.
- Repayment history, including any late or missed payments.
- Enquiries: records of lenders who have checked your report for a credit application.
- Settled or written-off accounts, where these exist.
Repayment history is the core
The single most important thing in the report is whether you paid on time. A long, unbroken record of on-time repayment is the strongest asset a borrower can carry into an application, and it is worth more than almost any other single factor.
Open loans and how much you use
Lenders also read how much borrowing is already running, and how heavily you use revolving credit such as credit cards. High utilisation of card limits, or a pile of small unsecured loans, can suggest pressure even when nothing has actually been missed.
Enquiries
Every time a lender checks your report for an application, an enquiry appears. A single enquiry is unremarkable. Several within a short window can read as pressure — like someone applying everywhere, or urgently in need of cash. Applying in sequence rather than in a cluster is part of managing this.
Settled and written-off accounts
An account 'settled' for less than the amount owed is not the same as a loan that ran its course and closed. It records that a difficulty occurred, and it is read that way. If you have one, understand how it appears before you apply, and expect questions about it.
Read it before a lender does
You are entitled to see your own report, and doing so does not affect it. Check for errors: accounts that are not yours, duplicates, or payments marked late that were made on time. Errors are correctable, and a correction is far easier before an application than after a decline.
Questions this raises
Does checking my own report hurt it?
- No. A self-check is not a lender enquiry and has no effect on how your report is read.
How long does negative information stay?
- It forms part of your history for a long period, but recency matters most. Recent, repeated problems weigh more heavily than an old, isolated one. Focus on the behaviour you can change now.
Read the full guidance on personal loan.