Experian revamps its credit score to a maximum of 1,250

Experian is changing how it calculates credit scores, expanding its range from 0-999 to 0-1,250¹. The new scoring started rolling out in November and should be completed for all Experian customers by the end of the year¹. The credit reference agency says the new system will take into account more everyday financial data, such as regular rental payments, mortgage overpayments and reduced overdraft use¹.

Experian is also renaming two of its score categories, changing "Poor" and "Very Poor" to "Fair" and "Low"¹. It says the new labels are designed to be less demotivating and to better reflect the type of credit available in these bands¹. The new bands are:

Source: Which?¹

Experian says around 42% of customers will see a positive change, either an increase in score or score band, while around 44% will see a drop in their score band¹. It says a drop does not mean a customer's financial position has worsened; it reflects the new category boundaries¹. Some people might see a larger reduction if they have been doing things lenders now view less positively, such as regularly withdrawing cash on a credit card¹.

Alongside the new bands, Experian is adding features including a percentage breakdown showing how different factors influence a score, and more personalised "actions to improve" with forecasts showing how many points could be gained by making specific changes¹. Premium users will be able to see how major financial decisions, such as paying off a mortgage, could affect their score in future¹. Experian has confirmed the premium service will remain £14.99 a month after the changes¹.

Experian has confirmed the changes will not affect any current credit applications, including mortgages, loans and credit cards¹. Eligibility for credit products will also stay the same, and lenders will continue to base decisions on the detailed information in a credit report rather than the score alone¹.

The other main agencies use different ranges. Equifax uses a scoring range of 0-1,000, and TransUnion uses a scale of 0-710¹. Lenders mainly use three credit reference agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion¹. Each must offer a free statutory credit report showing a summary of your financial history¹. Because each agency uses different data, a score can vary between them¹.

Why it matters for households

The change affects anyone who checks their Experian score, which updates automatically on an Experian account, with an email sent once the new score is available explaining the reason behind any score-band change¹. Because the boundaries have moved, a household can be placed in a different band without anything changing in its finances: Experian says around 44% of customers will see a drop in band¹. The underlying information shared with lenders is not changing, and current applications are unaffected¹. Scores from Equifax and TransUnion are calculated on separate scales, so the same person can see different results depending on which agency's service they use¹.

What happens next

Experian's rollout began in November and should be completed for all customers by the end of the year¹. Customers will receive an email when the new score is available¹.