Experian CreditWorks Premium Review

Experian is, first and foremost, one of the three major credit bureaus. Experian also offers consumer services, including credit score monitoring and identity theft protection.

Experian is a legitimate, publicly-traded company. It started doing business under its current name in 1996 and is one of the three major credit bureaus in existence. Experian operates in 37 countries worldwide and is also a well-known credit monitoring and identity theft protection company.

Experian monitors credit using the FICO scoring model from one or all three credit bureaus, depending on your plan choice.

There are several credit score reporting systems in existence. FICO and VantageScore are the two most prominent ones lenders and credit-monitoring companies use. While both models use numerous scoring metrics, FICO and VantageScore incorporate different ones to determine your score. Seldom do the two types of scores match, and in some cases can vary widely from each other.

While credit monitoring can only report your credit scores and provide advice to help you improve your credit score on your own, Experian has a program called Experian Boost that can help you improve your credit score by proving on-time utility bill payments that might otherwise be overlooked.

Experian credit monitoring services do offer a paid plan for a one-time cost of $39.99 that provides and monitors all three credit reports.

However, Aura credit monitoring offers the same service for nearly half the price.

Additionally, Aura’s plans include VPN protection, password management, ID theft insurance, fraud protection, and credit reporting from all three bureaus.

The information reported on your credit report comes from your creditors, including lenders and credit card companies that you do business with.

Often, this information may be inaccurate. Therefore, it’s recommended to review your credit report at least twice per year.

With Experian credit monitoring services, you can easily dispute any inaccurate information through their user-friendly interface. Simply click on “dispute” and provide a valid reason for the dispute.

For free, you can utilize Experian’s credit monitoring services to check your credit score and keep track of your credit activity. Additionally, they provide free access to Experian Boost, which allows you to report your cellphone and utility payments to potentially enhance your FICO score.

Experian’s credit monitoring alerts you in the following scenarios:

Any indications of fraud or identity theft arise.
Changes occur to your credit score.
New accounts are added to your credit report.
A payment is missed.
Your credit limit experiences changes, either increases or decreases.

Cost for Experian’s 3-Bureau CreditWorks Premium Plan:

For $24.99 a month, you gain access to Experian credit monitoring’s advanced features, including identity theft insurance, fraud resolution support, live customer support, and, of course, access to all three credit reports from Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian.

Experian’s BBB customer reviews have an average rating of 1.08/5, based on 272 reviews.

Additionally, Experian has 12,318 customer complaints listed at the BBB, as of August 2023.

For more information about Experian credit monitoring customer reviews, visit Experian’s BBB profile page.

Is Experian BBB Accredited? Experian is not a BBB accredited company.

Recent complaints against Experian’s credit monitoring services:

Here is a summary of recent complaints submitted to the BBB regarding Experian credit monitoring services:

Remayne W: The customer experienced a drop in credit score due to a mysterious inquiry that was not visible on their credit report. They faced unprofessional and unhelpful customer service when trying to resolve the issue.

Garvin M: The customer received an email from Experian stating that they no longer have a FICO score and their credit history seemed to have disappeared after disputing student loans.

Teri S: The customer had a negative experience with Experian’s credit program, which charged them in the middle of the month for the full amount but only provided limited access to their credit report. They also had issues with the Experian Boost service.

Jeff D: The customer faced difficulties in contacting Experian’s support in their region (Germany) and experienced concerns about their phone number being used by someone else.

Lavon O: The customer criticized the credit agency’s system, expressing frustration over their credit score declining despite their efforts to improve it responsibly.

Keith M: Experian charged the customer for a credit report they did not request, and the company declined to reverse the charge.

LaShanna W: The customer had a terrible experience with Experian’s online support, being unable to log into their account and receiving no help from customer service.

Piper B: The customer was locked out of their account and found it impossible to speak to a human representative, leading to a frustrating experience.

Jonathan A: The customer had a dispute with Experian regarding a debt claim that they believed was incorrectly reported. Experian’s dispute handling was perceived as ineffective and unhelpful.

Mohammad A: The customer had a negative experience when trying to lift their credit freeze, as the agent asked for more personal information and the customer doubted the company’s security measures.

Overall, the complaints cover a range of issues, including discrepancies in credit scores, unhelpful customer service, difficulties with dispute resolution, concerns about data security, and frustrations with Experian’s services and communication channels.