Why has my credit score gone down?

A number of factors and changes in behaviour can affect your credit score, which usually take effect up to four to six weeks later.

Some of the more common reasons you might see a drop are: an increased number of credit applications (incl bank accounts, energy tariffs, mobile contracts etc), missed or late payments, closing down long-held accounts, or moving home. You can see the weaker (and stronger) aspects of your credit profile at the bottom of your dashboard.

But many elements feed in to your score and it’s calculated using a complex algorithm that Experian doesn’t share with us, so we aren’t able to tell you what exactly the cause will be. Our 27 tips to boost your credit score should help identify what might have led to yours dropping.

Note that lenders aren’t able to see your credit score, only what’s on your credit report (read more in our credit score need-to-knows). What’s more important are your chances of getting accepted for the best deals, as reflected in your personal Credit Hit Rate.