Find out your credit score using Credit Simple

Reviewing your credit report doesn't need to be a snore and thankfully there are tools out there that can help you interpret your full credit history including all those bill payments, accounts and enquiries.

Credit Simple takes all that information and generates a credit score that can help you predict whether you're considered a good risk when it comes to getting a loan approved or a new credit card. Find out where you sit in the credit rankings and if you've managed to land a good credit score with our Credit Simple guide.

What is Credit Simple?

Credit Simple is owned by illion Australia Pty Ltd, a data analytics company and one of the leading credit bureaus in Australia. It can help you check your credit score for free and show you how it compares by age, gender and community. You'll also be able to access insights to help you figure out what it all means.

To provide this free service, Credit Simple works with companies such as banks, insurance providers, energy companies and telcos to present offers to you based on your credit profile. If you do sign up for a deal offered through its website, Credit Simple gets a small payment from the provider or can sometimes get a fee just for showing an ad on its site.

What service does it offer?

Credit Simple works with illion to give you the information from your credit report in a format that's easier to understand.

With Credit Simple's free online service you can:

• Get access to your credit score
• Receive email alerts when changes occur on your credit file
• Learn tips to help you understand your score
• Get access to tools to help you track your money

Get your credit score through Finder

How to get your credit score with Credit Simple

To get started you will need to create an account with Credit Simple using your email, Facebook or Google account. A form of ID is also required to verify your identity and this can include your passport, driver's licence or Medicare card. The final step involves verifying either your email or phone number.

Credit Simple will then securely retrieve your credit data from illion and you can have your credit score and credit report within minutes.

What are the credit score ratings from Credit Simple?

Credit Simple gives you a rating based on your credit score using a scale from "Excellent" for the highest scores to a "Zero" for the lowest. The rating scale is devised by illion and ranges from 0 to 1,000, with a higher score indicating a healthier credit rating.

Excellent: 800-1,000

This puts you into the highest end of the score ranges, along with 22% of Aussies. It's usually assigned if you've been disciplined with your applications for credit, have a mortgage and/or an investment property and constantly pay your accounts on time.

Great: 700-799

This is where the biggest chunk of Aussies fall into (41%) and is assigned if you've paid your bills on time but have a number of applications for loans or credit enquiries against your name. Those new to credit might fall into this ranking as well.

Average: 500-699

There's likely not much information available about your credit history and it could also mean that your good history with your current credit provider has not yet been reported. 23% of Aussies are in this ranking.

Room to improve: 300-499

You're slightly below average in this ranking but you likely won't have anything really negative on your file. It could be that you are in the younger age bracket which is slightly more risky, may have recently applied to one or more smaller credit facilities or to credit providers that offer services to higher-risk customers. Just 3% of people fall into this ranking.

A low score: 1-299

Those that fall into the lowest ranking probably had payment defaults or other bad data on their file, but you're saved from having a zero score by also having some positive account payment information (when you do pay your bills on time). If you don't have defaults or other bad data such as a bankruptcy, then you've probably got poor payment history (such as paying late). You could also have a high number of credit enquiries, especially recent ones and for small amounts.

Zero score

There is a possibility of getting a zero credit score with Credit Simple and it usually means that you've had something bad recorded on your file. This could include a payment default, a court judgement, bankruptcy or summons. Even a combination of late repayments and a few credit enquiries can land you with a score of zero.

What can I do about a low Credit Simple score?

If you've gotten your score and are keen to work on it, don't stress. There are several ways to improve your credit score including making frequent payments to existing loans, paying your bills on time and lowering the limits on your credit cards.

Make sure you check out your full credit history and ensure everything on there is correct and, if you can't pay back your debts on time, put together a plan with your credit provider or collection agency handling it to pay it back. Once you start to build up some good credit history your score will change to reflect your actions.

How does Credit Simple get your credit score?

As part of the process of creating an account with Credit Simple, you authorise it to act on your behalf as an "Access Seeker". Credit Simple shares your information with illion to obtain your credit score.

Ready to find out more about credit scores? Head over to our full credit score guide which includes what they're used for, how they work, and where else you can get your credit score for free.