How to Fix Errors on Your Credit Report

An error on your credit report can affect how a lender assesses you. It could also be an early sign that somebody has used your personal details.

You have the right to challenge inaccurate personal information and ask for it to be corrected. Raising a credit report dispute is free.

The key is to identify exactly what is wrong, provide useful evidence and contact the organisations responsible for the entry.

Build a credit report dispute

Is it an error or accurate information you disagree with?

An error is information that is factually wrong, incomplete or linked to the wrong person.

Examples include:

• A payment marked late when it was made on time
• An account you never opened
• The wrong balance or account status
• A settled debt still shown as outstanding after updates should have been made
• A duplicated account
• An incorrect address or financial association
• A search connected to an application you did not make

Accurate information is not an error simply because it is unhelpful. A genuine late payment or default cannot normally be removed early just because it affects your score.

If you disagree that money was owed at all, you may need to resolve the underlying complaint with the lender or service provider before the credit record can be changed.

Step 1: Record the exact problem

Save a copy of the report and note:

• The credit reference agency showing the entry
• The organisation that supplied it
• The account or search date
• What the report says
• What you believe is correct

Check your reports with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. The same error might appear on more than one file, but correcting one report does not guarantee that the others will change automatically.

Do not send an entire credit report when only one entry is relevant.

Step 2: Collect useful evidence

Evidence helps the agency and information provider understand the problem.

Depending on the error, this could include:

• A bank statement showing when payment was made
• A settlement or account closure letter
• An email confirming a payment arrangement
• A court document
• Proof of your correct address
• A fraud or crime reference number

Use copies rather than sending original documents. Hide information that is not needed to investigate the disputed entry.

Step 3: Contact the agency and information provider

Raise a dispute with the credit reference agency showing the error. Identify the entry clearly and explain the correction you want.

You should normally contact the organisation that supplied the information as well. This may be a lender, bank, mobile network, utility provider, debt purchaser or public body.

A useful dispute message should state:

I am challenging the accuracy of information recorded on my credit report.

Then explain what is wrong, what the entry should say and which evidence supports your position.

Ask for written confirmation of the outcome and keep every case reference.

The credit reference agency will usually contact the information provider. While the matter is investigated, the entry may be marked as disputed.

Step 4: Check that the correction appears

An organisation agreeing to make a correction does not mean every credit file will change immediately.

Allow time for the provider to send its update and for the credit reference agencies to process it. TransUnion advises that changes can take four to six weeks to appear after an organisation updates its information.

Check the affected report again. Then inspect your other credit files to see whether the same entry appears there.

Keep the written outcome in case the error returns.

Track your case

What if the account or search is not yours?

Contact the organisation named on the report immediately. Use contact details from its official website rather than a telephone number contained in an unexpected message.

Tell it that you do not recognise the account or application. Ask it to secure the account, investigate the activity and confirm the outcome in writing.

Raise a dispute with every credit reference agency showing the information.

If identity fraud has occurred in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, reports can be made through the official Report Fraud service. If you live in Scotland or the fraud happened there, contact Police Scotland on 101.

Review your other accounts and change passwords that may have been exposed.

When a Notice of Correction may help

A Notice of Correction is different from a dispute.

A dispute challenges information that you believe is wrong. A Notice of Correction adds a short explanation to information that may be accurate but needs context.

For example, you might explain that payments were missed during a period of illness or redundancy.

A Notice of Correction can be up to 200 words. Lenders searching your report should be able to see it, but it does not change your credit score or guarantee acceptance. It may also cause an application to require manual review.

Do not use a Notice of Correction instead of challenging a genuine error.

If the dispute is rejected

Ask the organisation to explain its decision and provide the information it relied on.

If you still believe the entry is inaccurate, make a formal complaint to the organisation and the relevant credit reference agency. Include your evidence, previous correspondence and case references.

If the issue remains unresolved after their complaint procedures, you can consider complaining to the Information Commissioner’s Office about inaccurate personal data.

Where the complaint concerns a regulated financial business, its final response should explain whether you can take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Quick answers

Keep the case factual

A successful dispute does not need to be long or emotional.

Identify the exact entry, explain why it is wrong, provide relevant evidence and state the correction you want. Keep copies of everything and check the reports again after the investigation is complete.