How to Check Your Equifax Credit Report Score for Free?

Imagine the time when you longed for your favourite motorbike and were stretched for cash from your monthly income. Chances are, that you applied for a two-wheeler loan to make things easier. This often requires research, finalizing upon a lender, gathering necessary documents and applying for a loan. All you had to do was, wait for the money to come through. However, you receive a nasty surprise! Your loan application has come back denied - the main reason being your poor credit score!

Well, this may happen to any of us. A lot of people do not know the importance of a credit score till their loan or credit card application gets rejected. If you have had a low credit score, banks and NBFCs may not approve your loan or other credit application.

So, before applying for credit of any kind, it is a good idea to check your credit score and credit report, and improve your score, if required. Here, we will explain everything you need to know about your Equifax credit score and all the necessary steps required to improve your credit health.

What is Equifax?

Equifax in India is registered as Equifax Credit Information Services Private Limited (ECIS), headquartered in Mumbai. It is a joint venture between Equifax Inc., USA and seven leading Indian financial institutions. The main objective of Equifax is to provide credit information and related services. Member institutions report to the credit bureau periodically about individuals’ credit behaviour. The credit bureau then collates and processes this information into a readable and usable form and provides credit information reports along with a credit score.

Equifax maintains records of all credit-related activity of individuals and companies including all transactions on loans and credit cards. This extensive data enables lenders to make informed decisions on evaluating applications for loans in India

What is an Equifax score?

Let’s first begin by understanding the basics of an Equifax score. An Equifax credit score is a 3-digit number between 300-900 that gives potential lenders a complete picture of your credit health. Also known as a credit rating, a higher score is indicative of good credit health and improves your chances of securing a loan/credit card. In simple terms, a credit score impacts your ability to borrow fresh credit from the banking system.

How is the Equifax score Calculated?

An Equifax score is calculated based on several factors, your repayment history being one of the most important.

Member banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) provide Equifax with information on every customer’s credit activity including payments on their loans and credit cards, their credit limit, the age and number of their credit accounts and the status of these accounts, among other data. The bureau then uses sophisticated mathematical algorithms to calculate the individual’s credit score.

How to apply for an Equifax free credit report and score?

Here are two easy ways to get a free Equifax report and score:

Apply Directly to Equifax

You can get your Equifax credit information report and credit score directly from Equifax. For this, you will need to:

• Download and fill in the Credit Report Request Form available on the Equifax website. Alternatively, you can request the form through regular mail as well.
• Self-attest your identity and address proof (as per the list of accepted documents)
• Attach DD with requisite payment for Credit Information Report or credit score.
• Send the documents (by regular post, speed post or courier) to the address mentioned on the Equifax website.

Apply through Creditmantri for a free Equifax score

If you choose to apply through the Creditmantri website, you will receive:

• Free and instant Equifax credit score.
• A free credit health check to help you identify how to become loan-eligible.
• CreditMantri will obtain your credit score and evaluate your credit health for free so that you can take the necessary steps to improve your credit score and become creditworthy.

Why is it important to get an Equifax report and score?

It is important to periodically check your Equifax report and carefully read through it. This way you can make sure that the information contained in your credit report is correct. It will also help in highlighting wrong information and misrepresentation which could negatively affect your credit score. You can also highlight potential fraud or ID theft through your report.

In case you notice any reporting errors - like your name, address, or contact details or wrong account status or credit limit, you should immediately file a dispute and get it corrected.

What are the benefits of a good credit score?

Here are some of the advantages of having a good credit score:

• It helps in accelerating the loan-approval process.
• It enables you to negotiate better terms and conditions, for instance, a lower rate of interest. An interest rate that is reduced by just 0.5% can translate into a substantial amount of savings.
• It reduces the possibility of loan or credit card rejection.

How do I maintain a good Equifax score?

There are many ways in which you can improve and maintain your Equifax score. Here are some of them:

• Pay your loan and credit card dues in full every month. This will aid in two ways-avoid accumulation of interest and improved credit score.
• Set up an auto-debit or standing instructions to debit your account to pay your monthly bills. This ensures that you do not miss a payment at any time. Keep in mind that a missed payment, no matter how small or how often, has a considerable impact on your credit score.
• Do not close your older credit card accounts for newer or better credit cards. It will cut short your credit history. Lenders always look for a long history; this will help establish that you are a trusted borrower and the lender will have more information on your credit history and repayment behaviour.
• Apply for the credit that you need. If you apply for multiple sources of credit in a short time, it will be detrimental to your credit score as it indicates that you are credit hungry.
• Only apply to the lender where you have the best chance of qualifying for credit. Every rejection can cause your credit score to drop further.

EndNote

Your credit score is an extensive analysis of your creditworthiness. Lenders rely on this number to give them an accurate idea of your credit past and current behaviour. A good credit score reflects financial maturity and experience in handling different loan accounts which is an important factor in the evaluation of your loan or credit card application. Equifax credit reports are every lender’s go-to documents before granting credit to applicants.

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