Experian India - Check How to get Free Experian Credit Score? (2024)

Experian is one of the world’s foremost credit information services companies offering a wide range of business tools to their clients based all across the globe. Widely known to be among the planet’s most innovative companies according to Forbes magazine, the company is licensed by the Reserve Bank of India and assists clients by providing a wealth of analytical as well as data tools, which help them manage their businesses in a more efficient and effective manner.

Experian is also the first credit information company to be licensed by Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act 2005 (CICRA 2005) and currently operate two firms within India, namely:

• Experian Credit Information Company of India Private Ltd
• Experian Services India Private Ltd

Experian has tied up with more than 2,900 financial institutions, counting public sector banks, telecom companies, micro finance institutions as well as non-banking financial companies. The company, which is ISO 27000:2013 certified, provides its customers with credit information as per guidelines issued by the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act of 2005.

Features and Functions of Experian

In addition to business management tools, the firm also assists businesses in the following ways:

• Helps businesses zero in on offers relating to marketing
• Helps clients by managing their credit risk in a more efficient manner
• Helps businesses by automating their decision making
• Effectively helps clients in the prevention and circumvention of instances of fraud
• The firm also helps individuals by protecting them against identity misrepresentation and theft, ascertainment of their credit scores, and drawing up their credit reports.

Factors Affecting Your Experian Credit Score

Given below are the key factors which affect your Experian credit score:

• Length of credit history
• Credit Utilization Ratio (CUR)
• Borrowing as well as repayment history
• Joint accounts
• Wide range of credit options

Why are Experian CIR and Credit Score Important?

The Experian Credit Score and Credit Information Report reflects your creditworthiness and past credit history. These reports represent your eligibility to get an approval for a personal loan, credit card, home loan and other kind of loans. These play a very important role for you to get a credit card and a loan approved.

If you have a high Experian score, then this will improve your chances of getting an approval for a credit card and a new loan. However, this may, on the other hand, help you get a lower interest rate for your loan.

Services Provided By Experian

Experian offers businesses and individual customers the following services:

Consumer Services

Experian assists its customers by providing them with the following consumer based services:

• Regularly updating clients on a monthly basis with regards to their credit performances.
• Informing clients about the current status of their credit.
• Assisting clients in making smarter and sound financially related decisions for the future.
• Ensuring that their client’s credit is protected as time goes on.
• Helping clients to understand and analyse their credit reports.
• Ensuring that credit reports obtained by clients do not contain any errors.

Apart from this, the two main services are:

Experian Credit Report:

• You can view the information lenders use when doing a credit check using your Experian Credit Report.
• Users can raise disputes on their credit reports.
• The customer support team helps the users to address their disputes or queries on time.

Experian CreditExpert

• Experian CreditExpert is a free Experian Account which provides you access to an updated credit score.
• The tool sends notifications to its users for any kind of changes to their credit score, loan or credit card accounts.

Member Services

Experian also provides special services to clientele who are members of the company. Some of their member related services are as follows:

• Assisting clients predict and forecast their credit risk.
• Providing clients with effective and efficient management regarding their credit risk.
• Helping clients lower their exposure to bad debts.
• Ensuring that clients are protected against the possibility of fraud.
• Providing assistance to clients with regards to optimisation, segmentation, custom scores and much more.

Get Your Experian Credit Report and Credit Score Online

Given below are the steps to get Experian credit report and credit score online:

• Visit https://www.experian.in/.
• Click on the ‘Free Credit Score’ button.
• You will be redirected to a new page.
• Enter your mobile number which is associated with your loan account and password.
• Click on ‘Verify Password and Send OTP’ button.
• You will receive a One Time Password (OTP) at your registered mobile number.
• Enter the OTP and click on ‘Login’.
• You will be able to view your complete credit report online.

Get Your Experian Credit Report and Credit Score Offline

The following are the steps to get your Experian credit report and credit score offline:

• Step 1: Visit the Experian website and download and in the form
• Step 2: Make sure you self-attest a photocopy of your PAN card, passport and your voter ID. These will be your identity proof documents.
• Step 3: Submit your self-attested photocopy of telephone bill, electricity bill, rent agreement, bank account statement and also a deed of purchase as address proof documents.
• Step 4: Make the payment of the fee for your Experian CIR through either NEFT or a demand draft.
• Step 5: You should send the form with the required documents to Experian Credit Information Company India Pvt. Ltd.

  Consumer Services Equinox Business Park, Tower 3, 5th Floor,

  East Wing, LBS Marg,

  Kurla (West), Mumbai 400070.

How to Initiate a Dispute Online with Experian?

The following are the steps to initiate a dispute with Experian online:

• Login to your Experian account.
• Under the ‘Dispute’ tab, click on the ‘Raise a Dispute’ option.
• Fill out the credit report details needed and reason for dispute.
• Click on the ‘Submit’ button.
• Once you have submitted the dispute request, you will get a tracking number.
• The customer support team will address your queries within 48 hours.

What is a credit report?

Experian makes credit information available to their clients by means of a credit report which is generated through the conversion of existing financial information such as loans, personal credit history, credit cards etc. into a set format. This is known as a credit score. Members provide this financial information, which is used to draw up a report that assesses the customer’s credit worthiness based on past financial history.

A credit report thus gives a lender an accurate snapshot of the borrower’s detailed financial position, allowing them to make informed decisions regarding the extending of credit to these borrowers.

How is a Credit Report Calculated?

An Experian report is calculated based ion certain factors and an Experian score is provided, which corresponds to the customer’s financial position.

An Experian score ranges between 300-900 points, with a higher score indicative of a more financially sound position.

This scale helps lenders to assess the risks associated with lending to a particular borrower and also determines if the borrower will be granted credit at all.

An Experian score is divided into certain categories, as under:

Very Low (ranging between 300-500)- this score indicates that the customer has a poor history of financial management, resulting out of bad debts, payment defaults and poor credit utilization patterns. A customer with such a score is a high risk and lenders will be wary of extending credit.

Low (ranging between 500-650)- this score indicates that the customer has a low score, with instances of payment defaults, unsecured loans, etc. A customer with a low credit score is liable to default and presents a risk to the lender.

Good (ranging between 650-750)- this score indicates that the customer has a healthy credit rating and has a balanced credit history. Credit has been repaid and the report demonstrates a history of financially sound decisions. Loans, if any, have been settled within the period provided. Extending credit to such a customer is a low risk for the lender.

Very Good (ranging between 750-850)- this score indicates that the customer has a very good history of financial management and their financial history demonstrates sharp financial acumen regarding the utilization of credit. Extending credit to such a customer is very low risk to the lender as the customer has a proven record of creditworthiness.

Excellent (850)- this score is the highest allotted by Experian and indicates a customer with an almost perfect credit record. All lines of credit extended to a customer with such a score are very low risk due to their proven financial management.

How is Credit Score Calculated by Experian?

Like all the other credit bureaus in the country, Experian has a lot of financial institutions that are its members. These institutions include NBFCs and banks and they submit a credit data of the borrowers to Experian. The submissions will be in accordance with the guidelines set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) (Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005).

Experian makes use of the information creating your credit information report. A lot of the key aspects of the credit history data and an algorithm will generate your 3-digit credit score between 300 and 900.

The 3-digit number will summarise your credit history-Experian score. These are the factors that will affect your credit score:

• Credit utilization ratio
• Repayment history
• Length of credit history
• Total number of loans and credit cards availed

Additional Services

Experian Indian also provides additional services, as listed below:

Decision Analytics

Experian also provides its clients with decision analytics, which forms an integral part of the services it provides to other businesses and organisations. The company helps companies in the following sectors with decision analytics:

• Telecommunications.
• Automobile.
• Utilities.
• Insurance.
• Financial Services.

Customer Lifecycle Management

Experian provides its clients with in-depth, tailor-made solutions that enables clients to make decisions that will increase their overall performance and lead to sustainable organisation-wide growth.

Credit Risk Management

Through effective credit risk management techniques, Experian helps its clients to improve their chances of mitigating risks associated with bad debts and loan loss reserves through its analytics that offer insight and lead to better decision making.

Debt Management

Experian provides its clients with the best-in-class automation software that provides them with effective tools to manage their debt portfolios and provides them with the necessary tools to take informed decisions based on current market environments, allowing for higher efficiency through collections management.

Fraud Management

Experian’s range of products enable clients to manage fraud at all levels through effective screening at all levels that provides continued access through a single platform to ensure fraud is detected instantly.

Experian is one of 4 credit rating companies that operate in India, the other being CIBIL, Highmark and Equifax. All 4 agencies provide similar information, though CIBIL is the most prominent. However, as per an RBI directive, the credit information provided by all four carry equal merit.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Experian Credit Score

1. What is Experian?

   Experian is a credit information company that started operating in India in 2010. It is registered as Experian Credit Information Company of India Pvt Ltd and is a part of the global company called Experian that has operations in multiple countries.

2. What information does the company collect?

   For the purpose of credit reports, Experian will collect information regarding credit, both offered and applied for, along with basic details of the person. These details may include things like names and Permanent Account Numbers.

3. How is the information collected by them used?

   The information collected by Experian is assimilated under the person’s name and serves to create a credit profile that shows the payment/repayment behaviours of the individual.

4. Who will be using the information used by Experian?

   The information collected is made available to those members who need access to such information for the purpose of offering credit or checking the identity of a person. No non-member has access to this information.

5. Why are these credit scores important?

   These credit scores are important because the help financial institution like banks and other lenders decide on whether they can offer a loan or credit card that has been applied for by an individual. The main purpose of this score is to help prevent bad debt and fraud.

6. How will the Experian credit score affect my loan applications?

   The effect of a good/bad credit score is seen in the approval or rejection of a credit score. Should the score be low and payment history bad for other credit products, the banks can reject a loan or credit card that has been applied for. Should it be good then the banks can go ahead and offer the loan or credit card to the individual.

7. What is an Experian Credit Score?

   A credit score which is offered by Experian Credit Information Company of India Pvt Ltd. is known as an Experian Credit Score. It is a numerical representation of your credit worthiness. The Experian credit score is calculated by the bureau after taking into consideration factors like debt amount, credit exposure, credit history, repayment behaviour, loans, credit cards, among others. All the above information is present in your Experian credit report. A higher Experian credit score makes you eligible to receive quicker loan approvals and better credit cards.

8. How many times can I check my Experian credit score?

   You can check your credit score as many times as you wish. There is no limit on checking your credit score.

9. Will my Experian credit score will be affected if I check it multiple times?

   No. When you check your credit score, it is referred to as a soft inquiry. A soft inquiry is harmless and does not bring down your credit score.

10. How will I benefit from a high Experian credit score?

    A high credit score makes you eligible for getting credit cards with better rewards and benefit, loans with attractive interest rates. Moreover, lenders like banks and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs)also offer preferential pricing to consumers who have a credit score of 750 and above. A high credit score gives you leverage at the time of negotiating for better interest rates for loans.

11. Can I check my Experian credit score from any web/mobile browser?

    Yes. You can access your Experian credit score from web and mobile browsers. It is compatible with Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Internet Explorer (10.0 and above) browsers.

12. How can I check my Experian Credit Score online?

    You can check your Experian credit score online after you fill the online form and verify your identity by answering a couple of questions. You have to pay a fee of Rs.399 (including GST). After successfully completing the online authentication, you will instantly get your Experian Credit Report and Experian Credit Score online on your verified email address.

13. What are the charges for obtaining an Experian Credit Score online?

    Your Experian credit score is available in your credit report. In order to get your Experian credit score online, you will have to pay Rs.399 (including GST).

14. What are the charges for obtaining a physical copy of my Experian Credit Score?

    For obtaining a physical copy of your Experian credit score, you will have to pay Rs.138 (Rs.100 for the Experian Credit Report + Rs.38 for Speed Post).

15. Can I access my Experian credit report without the Experian credit score?

    Yes. You can access your Experian credit report without the Experian credit score.

16. Will my Experian credit score change if there are changes in my Experian credit report?

    Your Experian credit score changes in respect to your credit card usage. Therefore, if you have missed some payments or have paid the minimum amount due, it might have a negative impact on your score. However, if you have maintained discipline for paying your bills, your credit score might be the same or a bit higher.