CheckMyFile is a credit monitoring service that retrieves data from the major CRAs. This service was launched by Credit Reporting Agency Ltd through www.checkmyfile.com back in 2000. There has been a few multi-agency reports available over the years, but this is certainly the most popular release. They take the info directly from CallCredit and Equifax, whilst only public data is available from Experian. Public data would likely only be available, since this CRA of course runs the market leading report (CreditExpert) and so it has been important for them to maintain their prominence through exclusivity. CheckMyFile displays providing 7 scores and this package also includes identity theft assistance.

It is good to see that they do allow first time visitors to take out their product on a free trial over the first 30 days. After this time the price is set monthly at £7.99 or you can alternative opt to buy a single report from them that will come out at the price of £19.99. Although this service comes at a cost, I did notice that they also make recommendations for credit cards and loans. They will be earning from any successful leads generated there. This is how Noodle makes their money, but the difference is that they offer their reports for free.

Once signed up the servicing is managed directly through www.checkmyfile.com. Once you login here you will see that the interface has been crafted well. It is no surprise that they have become popular over the years with it being useful to compare the data of CallCredit and Equifax. It will hurt them though to miss out on Experian who are used by more lenders than any other CRA and as a result CreditExpert is by far the most popular report. The biggest emerging product has been Noddle that comes for free and so it has naturally been difficult for this paid service to stand out within this sector.

Noddle was recently introduced here that has been making waves in the industry since it reached the market. This free credit report is not the only product available from the CallCredit Information Group though and so this post will provide some insights into this second offering. Just to cover some background info surrounding this agency, they are much smaller in size than Equifax and Experian. It was originally formed in the year 2000 by the Skipton Building Society who no longer control the brand. This paid service goes by the name of CallCredit Check and this appears to have been setup in 2010 and it is available via www.callcreditcheck.com.

A limitation at hand here is that no such free trial exists and so you will have to pay for the information from day one. Its cost is reasonably priced at £4 per month although the billing is made for a full quarter and so you pay £12. This CRA is not used by many lenders and so the data that you can access here lacks the accuracy as available from the big two. Some may wonder why this product has remained active, when you can just use Noddle for free. As I’m aware, the difference would be that you are handed with identify theft alerts and a more detailed score.

If you choose to go ahead and use CallCredit Check then you just need to signup over at www.callcreditcheck.com that is where they house the secure account servicing. The lack of a trial naturally goes against them, that you can of course receive with CreditExpert/Experian and Equifax. Praise is certainly warranted though for Noddle that has shown that they can compete with these much larger CRAs. They work on that side by making specific recommendations based on your profile. If you apply through their links then they earn commissions. This appears to be working well for them, although their competitors haven’t adopted a similar strategy thus far.

CallCredit is the smallest of the big three credit reference agencies. They are used by less lenders than their rivals and for many years they have struggled to compete financially with their fellow CRAs. There was a breakthrough though in 2011 when Noddle was set upon the market at www.noddle.co.uk. This is a free credit report service that has enjoyed massive growth. Equifax and Experian offer their reports for free for the first 30 days and then full monthly charges will be imposed, but here you never have a pay a penny. They generate profits by making recommendations based on the data that they present to you.

They do this via the help of HD Decisions and MoneySupermarket and so if you for instance have a poor credit score then they may recommend a credit card from someone like Aqua or Vanquis. If you apply through their links then they will receive commissions. The CallCredit Information Group has an Original Paid Service that is still available. This is priced at £4 each month, although they bill this quarterly at £12 and no free trial exists. This comes with a score and identity theft alerts, but it would be recommended to just use this freebie choice. If selected, the reporting is managed through www.noddle.co.uk.

If you are really looking to receive the most thorough data available then Experian’s CreditExpert report is the #1 choice. This can be done for free over the first 30 days. If you do this alongside using this discussed service then this would be an advisable way to go so that you can compare in detail. Experian’s market advantage is being the primary choice with banks and other lenders and so the accuracy there is as good as it gets today. Praise is certainly due to Noddle that has enjoyed impressive growth since its launch and just remember that there is no requirement to use the products that they promote.

The Equifax credit report is accessible today through www.equifax.co.uk. This product arises from the second biggest credit reference agency. They trail behind Experian locally, but they are actually homed in the United States in Atlanta, Georgia. The most notable asset that this CRA carries is of course their vast market experience. They were formed back in the year 1899 as the Retail Credit Company with their name change occurring in 1975. Most lenders use the data of their rival Experian that has naturally helped to make their CreditExpert product the most popular report. Equifax is still widely used though and they are much larger than CallCredit.

The www.equifax.co.uk website details their local operations and this is also where the report is managed. If you are interested in this service, then you can take it out for free for an initial 30 days. After this time a monthly service charge will be either £9.95 or a little higher at £14.95 (with a score). The multi-agency CheckMyFile promotes providing this CRA’s reporting and score with their price being £7.99 monthly. It wouldn’t make sense for this CRA to allow an independent company to deliver their complete data at a cheaper cost and so we will have to check up and confirm this.

There was a time when they had a selection of showcased products, but they now just stick with the two. The top selection available at £14.95 is just a few pence lower than CreditExpert that is priced at £14.99. They haven’t really had much of an answer to compete with their major rival over the years. Perhaps of greater concern to them would be the rise of CallCredit’s Noddle service that is completely free and so this has helped to even out the playing field further. The two major CRAs may have lost some traction, but most UK lenders do use their data that makes all the difference.

CreditExpert is the most popular credit report here in the UK available via www.creditexpert.co.uk. This product is the creation of Experian who stand as the largest local credit reference agency (CRA) and they also happen to be used by the largest number of lenders that includes leading banks. They were formed in 1996 when the CCN Group and TRW Information Systems & Services merged. This is a massive global organisation that trades in 40 countries with over 17,000 staff members being spread out across these many locations. This service is actually searched more online as “Credit Expert”, but it has been titled here as it is branded.

The CreditExpert report cost is priced monthly at £14.99 that includes identity protection insurance that itself is priced at £6.40. The good news is that they do offer a no obligation 30 day free trial. What has aided their popularity has been as noted that most lenders do use their data for risk assessment and so they can offer the most accurate representation of your current financial circumstances. It of course helps that this Experian credit report is so thorough, providing customers with a score ranging between 0 and 999. This can be done for free once you have signed up and logged into www.creditexpert.co.uk.

The major rival to this CRA is Equifax, but when it comes to reporting it is really CallCredit that has posed the biggest threat to them recently. This has been through their Noddle product that is always free for those that use them. They generate income through recommending services based on your personal score with commissions being earned in the process. What is important to note is that this Experian data is not available elsewhere. The CheckMyFile multi-agency report for instance only pulls up their public data that won’t be a great help. As noted, Noddle is free to use although their data isn’t on the same level.