An incorrect balance, default date, address, payment marker or account can affect how lenders assess you. You have the right to challenge inaccurate personal data, but the best route is evidence-led: identify who supplied the information, make a clear written complaint and keep a complete paper trail.
First, identify exactly what is wrong
- Check Experian, Equifax and TransUnion rather than assuming the error appears everywhere.
- Save a dated copy or screenshot of each affected entry.
- Compare balances and dates with statements, settlement letters, court documents and correspondence.
- Write down the outcome you want: correction, completion, removal of a duplicate, or a marker showing the account is settled.
Complain to both organisations
Raise a dispute with the Credit Reference Agency (CRA), but also complain directly to the lender, debt purchaser, utility company or other organisation that supplied the entry. The data supplier is often best placed to investigate its own records and send corrected information to the agencies.
Include in your complaint
Your full name and relevant account reference; the precise entry disputed; why it is inaccurate; copies of supporting evidence; the correction requested; and a request for written confirmation when updates have been sent to every relevant Credit Reference Agency (CRA).
Your legal right to rectification
The United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) contains a right to rectification. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) says you can challenge inaccurate personal data and ask for incomplete data to be completed. Organisations normally have one calendar month to respond to a rectification request, although the circumstances can affect how the request is handled.
The accuracy principle does not give a right to erase information that is accurate. A default, missed payment or judgment is not removable merely because it makes obtaining credit harder.
If the complaint is rejected
- Ask for a final response explaining the evidence relied upon.
- Check whether the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) can consider the complaint against the financial business.
- For data-protection concerns, review the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) complaint route.
- If a court record itself is wrong, use the relevant court process rather than relying only on a credit-report dispute.
How long will the correction take to appear?
A business may agree with you before the agencies display the change. Reporting is often periodic, not instant. Keep the written outcome, ask when the correction was transmitted, and recheck all affected reports after the next reporting cycle. If it still has not changed, return to the business with the evidence and dates.
Do not pay a credit-repair company just to send a dispute
You can raise disputes and complaints yourself for free. Be cautious of anyone promising to remove accurate negative information or guarantee a particular score. A reputable adviser should explain the limits of what can legally be changed.
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General UK information only, not personal financial or legal advice. Rules and remedies differ across the UK. Free, confidential debt advice is available through MoneyHelper’s debt-advice locator, StepChange and National Debtline.