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FREE Monthly Credit Score (Experian) @ Credit Savvy

3550

There's been a lot of credit card deals lately. An average OzBargainer would probably apply for one just to get the points, cancel it and then move onto the next. Would it hurt their credit score?

On Credit Savvy, you can get a monthly credit score for free. It's basically a lender's risk assessment based on your credit application history, and they provide you a score and a rating (eg. below average, okay, good, very good and excellent).

You can use this tool as a guide to decide whether it's a good time to apply for another card with success or maybe you should wait around a bit in case you get rejected.

Experian and Veda only provide you a free credit report once a year otherwise they charge you. That's why I think this is a great deal! Also I've been using this for almost a year and nothing dodgy has come out from it.

Basically you can:

  • Find out your Expedian credit score
  • See the contents of your credit report ie. a list of credit enquiries and if applicable: defaults, serious credit infringements, bankruptcies and court judgements.
  • See a history of your credit score.
  • Compare yourself against others in Australia, your State, your Postcode, the same age or the same gender.

As other users have pointed out, Get Credit Score is another free tool which I have posted as a separate deal. Credit Savvy provides you an Experian score while Get Credit Score provides you a Veda score. Majority of credit companies use either systems or both for risk assessment.

You can use both tools to better evaluate your borrowing power.

You can use my referral link if you like. Originally I just wanted to share this deal but then I realised that there's also a competition for referring the most people. I may be able to win $1000 EFTPOS gift card. Your help is appreciated ;)

https://www.creditsavvy.com.au/?r=rvn5dlddhonktrgu

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closed Comments

        • +1

          @naritas: It's not really free if they sell your information to 3rd party's. The government should crack down on this practice.

    • +3

      Apparently not all OzBargainers know about Credit Savvy.

  • Can I actually see what items are on my credit? I have a car loan and have for the past 10 months but I can't seem to see any reference to it? Or anything at all. (Bank account/Debit card??)

    I'm not sure what to expect.

  • oh no, only "good" ><

  • +1

    What are the determinants of your credit rating? Have a few mortgages, a few credit cards and several recorded credit checks and my score comes up at 912…

    • good for you - you get a life achievement - Over 900!

  • +7

    For everyone wondering why their score is average or below, even though they've done nothing wrong, understand that Australia now uses a positive reporting system. Until 2014 only bad things brought your score down, now you need to do good things to bring your score up.
    The best way to get your score up under a positive reporting system is to have a credit card, use a small fraction of your credit limit each month (<20%) and pay it off in full before the due date. Do that for a year and your credit score will soar.

    • I can't tell you how many good deeds are needed to outweigh each "ding" from a credit enquiry because I'm not privy to the actual algorithm but we can look at examples.
      My Veda score was 714 in April 2016 and is 729 today. I gained 2 new dings in that time, which should push my score down, but I paid off my 2 credit cards by the due date every month, which was enough for a net increase.

    • +2

      I really don't know if that is true.

      For example, my Veda score is 927, I have no credit cards and no mortgage and paid off the car loan a few years ago. I have performed no activity in recent years to make my score rise to such a high level, so surely it is based only on negative factors?

      The only reason I checked it is because of a recent rash of mail and identity theft in my apartment block, I wanted to make sure there was nothing untoward on there.

      • Sounds like someone is getting credit cards in your name … and paying them off responsibly!

  • My Credit Savy score had been sitting on 561 for years of regular credit card applications. Only recently when I set up a direct debit arrangement with St George Amplify to pay only the minimum amount each month (@1%) did my score increase to 666. My circumstances otherwise have not changed. Can't help but think my score would increase further if I refrain from paying my balances off in full each month.

    • +1
      1. You expect that when you make a deal with the devil!
  • +8

    Got score of 805. Now to borrow couple of millions to buy a shack in Sydney.

    • +4

      Ha, I got 806, so I will borrow more and outbid you at the auction! Condemned shack here I come!

      • Sell as Lakefront Property!
        Profit!

  • +1

    Did anyone get a score greater than 800?

  • -1

    Did this last night - unsubscribe immediately after you get your credit score as you will get spam mail.

    • +3

      turn off newsletter in manage account

    • +1

      What @faye said is correct.

      Here is a screenshot on how to do that.

  • +2

    How can I have 766 score with CreditSavvy but 465 with Veda? So lowwwwww…

    • +1

      Credit Savvy provides you an Experian score while Get Credit Score provides you a Veda score. Credit companies use either or both systems for credit assessment. There could be a discrepancy between the two.

      • +1

        I understand discrepancy but not such a huge discrepancy :( Now not sure which one to rely on.

      • +2

        I believe Veda has been in Australia longer and has more lenders reporting to it than to Experian. That means something bad got reported to Veda.

        You should definitely ask Veda for a full report and contest anything on there that's wrong.

    • The Veda algorithm treats multiple credit enquiries in a short period of time more harshly than the Experian algorithm and this could be the reason for this discrepancy.

      They also have more lenders systems hooked into theirs as they basically 'invented' the credit reporting system in Australia.

      Get the full credit file and see how many credit enquiries they recorded in the last 12 months and 3 years.

      Also (and we don't mean to scare you yet it is possible) if you have been the victim of identity theft (the fastest growing criminal activity in Australia according to the AFP), the implications of that will be reflected in your Veda score sooner than in the Experian score.

      Finally, remember that the numbers in isolation mean nothing as each of the credit reporting companies does its own calculations and therefore scores from different companies should never be compared against each other.

      You need to look at where you are on the overall scale of each of these credit reporting companies.

  • If one has never used or applied for credit, sans a Student HELP debt, will they have a credit score?

    • If you ever had a utility account in your name or a post-paid phone or Internet plan then you will likely have a credit score (at least with Veda).

      This is because all of the above are considered credit products (because you pay for the service after you consume it and not prepay for it).

  • My brother has never taken out credit and might never at all (being a tradesman who started out early, he purchased a home and land outright in his early 20s, rents it out and continues to live at home with parents) - will he have a credit score?

    • +3

      Only one way to find out.

  • Just curious if anyone knows how the credit rating worked out and what causes it to increase/decrease? I honestly thought mine would be higher then it is.

    My score is just under 700. I can see that there were 2 credit enquires from over 5 years ago totalling around 30k. Those were paid back within a year and since then I've never needed/used credit for anything. I own my own apartment outright that I bought for approx 700k in 2013. There was no mortgage at all on this, paid it off outright and I've also got quite a sum in my ongoing investment portfolio.

    I've never owned/needed/used credit in the last 5 years even though my net worth and assets increased exponentially.

    • What do you do for a living, if I may ask? :)

      • +1

        Catches rare pokemon … now get in the ball!

  • Hi all
    I have score of excellent
    But no queries on my account
    However I have got the anz black cc with $15k, commbank cc, coles cc and 4-5 bank accounts. And going to apply for Nab and westpac cc soon.why don't there any queries on my account

    Edit 1: I don't use cc for credit, I only use for points and rewards. I don't even know what my statement dates are I just pay off as soon as I use it

    • Very strange. Every cc application does a query to your credit file. Either something is wrong. Try Veda free yearly report and it will reflect all queries.

  • +1

    Thanks for your time Op, I always used disposable email and fake number for these two companies. Very intrusive spammers

    • +1

      Me too, but the creditscore company started sending spam snailmail to my address :(

  • Thanks OP, got a "Very Good" score with these guys, and only a "Good" score with Veda
    Question: Veda lists my number of directorships. Do these have a positive or negative effect?

  • I thought its always FREE. I got register mine more than a year before and still getting my free score every month over an email.

    • It's always been free but apparently not many OzBargainers know about it.

      • +1

        The Experian score which is retrieved by Credit Savvy is updated monthly while your Veda score is updated twice yearly.

        Also, while the methodology of each credit reporting company is similar, there are variations and they also each use a different measurement scale.

        As a result, your Experian score and Veda Score (as well as the score from Dun & Bradstreet which is the 3rd mob operating in this space) will each be different.

        Your VedaScore is the most important as that's the one used by the vast majority of lenders and other credit providers (e.g. telcos, utility companies) because Veda has been around the longest.

        They used to be called Veda Advantage and before that Baycorp advantage. It's all the same company.

  • +1

    Mhhh … not sure if these credit systems really work … 2 of my credit cards and even my homeloan are not even in their system. Ah well … maybe that is not a bad thing.

  • What prevents people from enquiring about other people's score to snoop?

    • +1

      You need a form of identification.

    • You need to provide a driver's licence number, address and DOB.

  • Credit Savvy are owned by Aussie Home Loans but unlike Get Credit Score, do NOT pass on your data for marketing purposes.

    Mod: Third party website removed.

    • Aussie Home Loans is a subsidiary of Comm Bank (CBA).

      • CBA were one of the joint venture members with Experian when they launched the Aus bureau.

  • Thanks OP. Previously I had never thought of doing a review of my credit score before, until I saw this post.

  • Bit interesting to find my score was below 800 yet i've never had a single Credit card or Loan etc. I was expecting a score of 1000 to be honest.
    Safe to say when you enter then system you don't enter on 1000

    • Yeah it's weird, but my understanding is something alone the lines that a history of credit and responsible repayment is better than no history. Presumably while most people who never had a credit card are responsible, there is a proportion who never had access to credit.

      What I don't get is, as long as the credit limit is serviceable with income, isn't someone who don't pay off their card (but can afford to) more profitable for the bank anyway?

  • I am yet to get my report.

    I am always nervous that I will start getting unwanted phone calls/offers, but I really
    should just get on and do it.

    Thanks OP for the prompt.

  • This has always been a free service. Where is the 'deal'?

  • I refrained from downvoting this, but I would caution fellow OzBargainers.

    An hour ago, I got a text saying I had transacted some money from my bank account (big 4 bank), and it linked to a very clean looking website - that looked ok even to a cautious person like me.

    Before almost logging on, I noticed the website looked a little dodgy:

    with a url containing "netbank-australia.com"

    Then realised it was a phishing scam. Moments away from giving out my login details.

    Now it COULD be coincidence (most likely..), but it could be related to myself signing up to credit savvy. Just thought I'd post here.

  • Does anyone know how GE28 Degrees card applications work (in terms of credit score etc)?

    When I applied for the GE 28, I was rejected by the system. I rang and asked them about the application and they said … according to various criteria they measure … I was rejected by the system :S (So no real help there)

    I've got a couple of credit cards with 0 serious events (default, etc).
    I couldn't get their card a few years ago … I couldn't get theirs last year, but after that I was able to apply for and get a Westpac Altitude, as well as an ANZ Rewards card.

    • Also, an oddity, that I could GetMyCreditScore last year, but this year, it says they cannot find me in the system. (I'm applying now for a free report from Veda)

      Credit Savvy could find me, no issues.

  • Why is this a deal sorry, I've had this for about 6 months no problem and monthly credit score checks - is there something new here?

  • Thanks OP, let us know if you win that $1000 EFTPOS gift card (I would have helped 😊).

  • Experian is the best. The other two gave me a score of mid 500s without any history. Experian gives me a score of low 700s. Also, my Experian score actually went up 20 points after a credit enquiry.

  • Is there another way of obtaining the report or at least the details Veda has on you without providing them with a lot more of your personal information (driver licence number, Medicare number, mobile number, current and 2 previous addresses, employment details, etc)?

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