Credit bureaus keep the exact algorithm they use to calculate your credit scores close to their chest. Nonetheless, they have revealed certain information about how they calculate your credit score.

Here are some of the general factors considered when calculating your credit score:

• The number of accounts you have;
• The types of accounts;
• The length of your credit history;
• Your payment history.

For more information, check out our article on how credit scores are calculated here.

There are few simple checks you can carry out to improve your credit score fairly easily:

• Keep up to date with your repayments and pay bills on time;
• Don't apply for multiple loans at once;
• Check your Tippla credit report regularly to ensure there aren't any mistakes on your report;
• Make sure you are registered on the electoral roll at your current address;
• Close any credit accounts not being used.

There are three main reasons why your credit score might be different across Equifax and Experian. These are:

• Equifax uses a different scale than Experian;
• They all use different algorithms to calculate your score;
• Not all credit providers report your information to all three credit reporting agencies.

Whilst these are the three main reasons why your credit scores are different across the two agencies, that doesn’t mean they are the only reason. Another reason, and one you should really look out for, is mistakes on your credit report.

The credit scores available through Tippla come from the two major bureaus in Australia - Equifax and Experian. Your Equifax credit score is out of 0 - 1,200, and your Experian rating is out of 0 -1,000.

Your scores reflect your credit history and indicate to credit providers how risky of a borrower you are. If you have a high score, lenders will view you as a lower risk applicant, and as a result, you could likely have a greater chance of being approved for credit.

It’s also important to know lenders won’t solely make a decision off your credit score. They consider a number of factors around creditworthiness and review other recent financial data sets such as 90 days of bank statements. This means that a high score doesn’t always mean you’ll be approved for credit if your income to debt ratio is high.

Credit reporting agencies consider a bunch of different factors when calculating your score so there are many reasons why it could be changing regularly. Some of the most common explanations include:

• You submitted a credit application
• You changed your credit limit
• You cancelled a credit card or paid off a loan
• A listing expired on the report
• You paid a bill late

If you think something has been incorrectly added to your report (or removed), get in touch with the relevant credit reporting agency. They’ll be able to help you sort it out.

All the time! New information is constantly added and removed from your credit report, so your score technically could change every time you check it. Generally, though, the information in your credit report will be updated on a monthly basis.

Your credit score can drop for a number of reasons. Here are a few reasons why your credit score has fallen:

• You recently applied for credit with one or multiple lenders;
• You defaulted on a payment;
• A negative entry has appeared on your credit report (bankruptcy, court judgement, etc)