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Experian's new credit score goes live

ended 09. December 2025

Experian's new and ‘smarter’ credit score has gone live. On an email received this morning, the credit agency said: 'The way banks and lenders make credit decisions has evolved. So our score has evolved, too. Lenders are now looking at things like rent, overdrafts, and mortgage overpayments. Your new score has this all built in."'

We've just checked ours and we've gone from the Excellent category under the old regime into the Very Good category, although Experian says our score has not changed. If you're an Experian customer, let us know if your score has been impacted positively or negatively (you don't need to mention the exact number clearly).

Also keen to get views from mortgage brokers and money experts on whether they have any concerns about the changes, which are now live. In its email, Experian says 'the switch to the new score won't affect your current application'.

4 responses from the Newspage community

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Jonathan Alvarez Herrera
Mortgage Consultant at Ayla Mortgages
Any improvement in how credit data reflects real-world financial behaviour is welcome, especially the inclusion of things like rent payments, which give a fairer picture of how someone manages their money and might help first-time buyers with a short credit history or low credit utilisation. However, whenever a scoring model changes, some people will inevitably see their category shift even if their underlying financial behaviour hasn’t. That can cause confusion or unnecessary worry for consumers, especially when Experian says the score itself hasn’t changed — just the interpretation of it. From a mortgage perspective, the key point is this: lenders do not make decisions based only on the consumer score shown in Experian or any other bureau. They mainly use their own internal scoring systems and raw credit data. My advice to clients is avoiding persistent overdraft use, keep credit utilisation low and ensuring payments are made on time. These behaviours matter more to lenders.
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Shaun Sturgess
Director at Sturgess Mortgage Solutions
Experian’s revised credit scoring model is a welcome development that better reflects the way people manage their finances today. We recommend Checkmyfile to our clients to gain a complete overview across all major credit agencies, as each lender interprets data differently. The inclusion of rental payments within Experian’s new score is a positive step forward, particularly for renters who have demonstrated strong financial responsibility yet struggle to prove affordability when applying for a mortgage. It’s encouraging to see Experian recognising this, and I hope more lenders follow the example set by Skipton in using rental data to support fairer and more accessible mortgage lending.
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Aaron Strutt
Product and Communications Director at Trinity Financial
It is really hard to know exactly what data is shared between Experian and lenders because many of the banks and building societies want to know different things based on their credit scoring and risk assessments. Many people do not realise how drastically their credit can affect their ability to get a mortgage and just how automated the whole system is. Lenders want to know any applicant's credit score, track record of making or missing payments, and their overall level of debt. Plus a whole range of other financial information. It is really important to check that your credit is all OK and get an agreement in principle before viewing properties to make sure it is affordable and that you will be considered for a mortgage. The golden rules include checking your credit report before you go property hunting.
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Kundan Bhaduri
Entrepreneur, Investor and Landlord at The Kushman Group
This is an excellent start by Experian. At long last, rents and mortgage payments are going to be taken into account for people's credit behaviour. Landlords have been screaming at the top of their voice that actions must have consequences, and so it is here for everybody to see. Tenants who pay their rent on time and in full every month should see a boost to their credit history and consequently the score, and the ones that are perennially late should be penalised. Moving forward this will also form part of our reference checks, as we are going to ask new prospects to share a copy of their credit report to evidence timely rent payment. Something good has come out of Experian at long last.