The consumer credit report, hard or soft
CallReport is the TransUnion consumer credit report. Run it as a soft quotation search to pre-qualify without touching the applicant's score, or as a full search at application. It is the report most lending, broking and decision-in-principle journeys are built around.
What it is
CallReport gives you a view of how someone has managed credit: the accounts in their name, how they have run them, and the markers a lender needs before saying yes. It is the report that sits at the centre of most consumer credit decisions in the UK.
Through Credit Canary you take CallReport over one API, at a better rate, alongside open banking, affordability, identity and decisioning. The same call can feed a rules engine so the report turns into a decision rather than a PDF someone reads by hand.
The full file is reciprocal
The complete shared credit file is available on the principle of reciprocity: a lender sees the full picture only if it contributes its own account and repayment data back to the bureau. Report your data back and you qualify for the full file; share nothing and you get a more limited view. This is the heart of how shared credit data works, and we help you set up data contribution so you qualify.
Where it wins, and where it doesn't
- Lending decisions, as the core credit view at application
- Pre-qualification and broking, run as a soft quotation search
- Decisions in principle, where a soft search protects the score
- Any journey where the footprint left needs to be controlled
- Proving identity on its own, which is CallValidate's job
- Screening for PEPs or sanctions, which is a separate check
- A purpose with no permissible basis for a credit search
Footprint and permissible purpose
CallReport supports both a hard (full) search and a soft (quotation) search, and the difference matters to the person you are checking.
A soft, or quotation, search is for pre-qualification, broking and comparison. It does not leave a footprint other lenders can see and does not affect the applicant's score, so it is the right choice when you are giving an indicative answer or sourcing a product. A full search is recorded on the file and visible to other lenders; it is used at application, once the applicant is committed to proceeding.
Either search needs a permissible purpose and the applicant's awareness in line with the rules for that purpose. The page for your use case sets out which search type fits the job.
Getting access
CallReport is consumer credit data, so you can use it only for a permissible purpose, such as assessing an application for credit, and you need to be approved for that purpose.
Credit and identity data is only available for a permissible purpose, and you need to be approved for that purpose before you can use it. We handle the integration and the onboarding once, so a single approval covers credit, identity, affordability and open banking together.
- 1Due diligenceWe run due diligence on you and submit the application to TransUnion.
- 2ApprovalTransUnion approve it and give the authority to contract.
- 3ContractWe issue your contract and pass it to TransUnion.
- 4KeysTransUnion issue your unique keys.
- 5LiveYou go live, and billing starts.
The reason to take TransUnion data through Credit Canary is a better rate, on one integration that also gives you open banking, decisioning and payments.
Best for
Where this does the most work. Each has its own data mix.
One report, or one decision
On its own CallReport is a rich report. Combined with open banking affordability, TU Affordability and a decisioning engine, it becomes an automated, explainable yes or no. Pair the soft search with our Open Banking affordability for a decision in principle that leaves no footprint, then run the full search only when the applicant proceeds.
CallReport: FAQs
Both. You choose. A soft quotation search is for pre-qualification and does not affect the applicant's score or show to other lenders; a full search is used at application and is recorded on the file.
A soft search is visible only to the applicant on their own report and leaves no footprint for other lenders. A full search appears on the file and can be seen by other lenders making their own checks.
Yes. Through Credit Canary, CallReport can feed a decisioning engine with open banking and affordability data, so the report becomes an automated, explainable decision.
Yes. Credit data is available only for a permissible purpose, and you must be approved for that purpose. We handle the onboarding once, across every product.
The full shared file works on reciprocity: you get the complete picture only if you contribute your own account data back to the bureau. Lenders that report back qualify for the full file; those that do not get a more limited view.
Put CallReport at the centre of your decision
Tell us how you lend or broke, and we will quote CallReport on one integration, at a better rate, with the soft and full search wired to the right step.