Experian Credit Information Report

Experian is a Credit Information Company (CIC) and is one of the four credit bureaus in India. A credit bureau calculates and generates credit score and credit information report for lenders and applicants. The Experian credit score and report are reflective of one’s past credit behaviour regarding the repayment history of loans and credit cards and hence play a decisive role in your new credit application approval or denial.

Experian CIR (Experian Credit Information Report) refers to a detailed record of your credit history i.e. details of your past loans and credit cards that you have availed or applied for. It also contains information about your identity, account details, and payment history.

Experian Credit Score

Experian credit score ranges between 300 and 900. It is one of the major components of your Credit Information Report (CIR). Lenders consider the credit score as a factor to determine one’s creditworthiness. The closer our credit score is to 900 (such as 750 and above), the higher are the chances of loan or credit card approval.

Your credit score is calculated considering various factors among which the repayment history of your previous and existing loans and credit cards, including the details of enquiries made by various lending institutions, including bank and NBFCs is an important factor. It should be noted that checking your credit score or downloading your Experian free credit report makes no impact on your credit score.

Also Read: How to Rebuild or Improve your Credit Score

What Details are Mentioned in Experian Credit Information Report

The following table gives a section-wise summary of the personal information, as well as credit information present in the Experian credit report:

How to Check Experian Credit Score Online

There are two ways of checking the credit score – either directly through the Experian website or through a credit aggregator, one of the most trusted being Paisabazaar which offers credit score from other three credit bureaus (CIBIL, Equifax and CRIF Highmark) as well.

You may have to make a payment for checking your credit score through the official website whereas checking your credit report at Paisabazaar is completely free of cost. Let us find out how to check credit score for free online at Paisabazaar.

Steps to Check Experian Credit Score for Free

Step 1: Click here to get the free credit score/report

Step 2: Enter your basic details, such as gender, full name, email address and mobile number to verify using OTP authentication by clicking on ‘Get Free Credit Report’ button.

Step 3: After you click on the ‘Get Free Credit Report’ button, you will get credit scores from all 4 credit bureaus

Step 4: On Experian tab, click on ‘Download Report’ to further choose the language and month and click on the ‘Download’ button to download your credit report

Step 5: Your Date of Birth (DDMMYYYY format) is the password of your credit report.

Key Factors Affecting Your Experian Score

The following are some of the key factors that are may affect your credit score:

• Borrowing and repayment history
• Existing credit and balances
• Length of credit history
• Joint accounts – Being a co-applicant or guarantor
• Credit Utilization Ratio (CUR)
• Range of credit options (mix of secured and unsecured loans)

Suggested Read: What are the top 4 factors that affect your credit score? 

Tips to Improve your Experian Credit Score

If your Experian score is low, your chances of getting credit in time of need from a bank or other lenders may also go slim. To avoid such a situation, adherence to the further mentioned tips to improve credit score can be helpful:

• Pay your loan EMIs and credit card dues on time
• Do not submit multiple loan/credit card applications within a short duration as this may portray you as credit hungry and decrease your creditworthiness
• Regularly check your credit report and credit score
• If you find any discrepancies in your credit report, inform the credit bureau immediately and get them corrected
• Do not close your old credit accounts as they help build a strong credit history
• Maintain a low credit utilization ratio (it may not be considered bad if you have a high credit utilization ratio but repay every month diligently)

Read More about Credit Score

FAQs

Q. What is Experian Report Number (ERN)?
Ans. Experian Report Number (ERN) refers to a 15-digit unique identification number present on the top right of your credit information report. You need to quote this number on any communication with the credit bureau as it uses it to validate your information.

Q. How can I apply for my Experian credit report?
Ans. You need not apply for the credit report, as here you can download it for free and receive monthly updates. Checking your credit score is considered as a ‘Soft Inquiry’ by the credit bureau and shall not lower your credit score.

Q. How often is the Experian Credit report updated?
Ans. Generally, member financial institutions submit data on a monthly basis. For example, Bank A might submit an update to Experian on 1st of every month while Bank B might submit an update on 20th of every month. Hence, your credit report gets updated on a monthly basis as soon as the data gets uploaded in its database by the applicable financial institution(s).

Q. Does Experian credit score changes with monthly updates in the credit report?
Ans. Yes, your credit score may change with monthly updates in the credit report. For example, your score may increase on paying off a loan or may decrease on missing loan EMIs.

Q. How many times can I check my Experian credit report?
Ans. You can check and download your Experian credit report as many times as you wish from Paisabazaar.com. However, if you want to check it from the official website, you get one free credit report every year as directed by the RBI. For the second soft enquiry, you shall have to pay some amount or subscribe for a monthly, half yearly or annual plan as defined by the credit bureau.

Q. Will checking my own credit score result in a lower score?
Ans. No, checking your own credit score and credit information report constitutes as a soft enquiry and this does not impact your credit score in any way. You can check your credit score as many times as you want and you can do it for free at Paisabazaar.com.

Q. What is the use of the ‘Experian CIR’ or how is it beneficial to individuals?
Ans. The Credit Information Report (CIR) helps lenders check the creditworthiness and repayment history of applicants. Experian credit report check is requested by the lender to the credit bureau at the time of the loan approval process. A good credit score helps the applicant in availing credit facilities, such as loans and credit cards at low interest rates and preferential credit card benefits.

Q. How can I initiate a dispute online with Experian?
Ans. You can raise an online dispute with Experian, in case there are discrepancies/errors in your credit information report by following the steps mentioned below:
• Log into your Experian account
• Go to the “Dispute” tab and click on “Raise a Dispute”
• Fill out the credit report information required and details of the dispute you wish to raise
• Click on “Submit”. You will receive a tracking number after your dispute request is submitted. Preserve this number and use it for further communications with Experian India
After submission, you should receive a response from Experian India within 48 hours. However, actual rectification/dispute resolution may take longer depending on the complexity of the issue.

Q. Why do I not have an Experian credit score?
Ans. You may not have an Experian credit score or a credit score from any other credit bureau in India in the following cases:
• You have never taken a credit card or a loan, i.e., you are new to the credit
• You have recently taken a credit card (e.g. in a span of less than a month)
• You are an add-on credit card user and not the primary account holder of the credit card account

Q. What is the meaning of a credit enquiry?
Ans. A credit enquiry refers to a request made by an institution to access your credit information report from a credit reporting agency. While an enquiry made by a lender constitutes a hard enquiry, an enquiry made by an individual for their own credit score (either directly from credit bureau or through an official partner of Experian such as Paisabazaar.com) constitutes as a soft enquiry.