Finding and fixing mistakes on your credit reports

Once you’ve checked your three credit reports online, it's time to check for potentially damaging inconsistencies. Why? Because mistakes on your credit reports can cause problems for you if and when you decide to do something like apply for a loan, credit card or mortgage.

Here’s how to check for mistakes:

Read all three of your credit reports carefully and check for differences. If you notice anything wrong or missing, make a note of the reporting organisation (this might be a bank, card provider or loan company) as you’ll need to contact them to correct it. 

How to fix mistakes on your credit reports:

If there are any issues with your credit reports, here's what you'll need to do right away.

1. Contact the credit reference agency (CRA)

Clearly explain your problem: Who filed it? What's wrong with it? What should it say?You can do this directly through the relevant credit scoring membership (ClearScore, Intuit Credit Karma, MSE's Credit Club).

The CRA only holds the data on behalf of whichever company posted it. They'll need the company's permission before editing or removing anything, so don't expect them to be able to make instant changes. Lenders have 28 days to investigate and respond.

2. Add a notice of correction

This sometimes happens automatically but you may need to ask the CRA to add it to your file. By adding this notice, anyone who credit checks you will see you're disputing some of the data, and take that into account when making their decision (more on this in our next topic).

Remember, don't just check one CRA. You'll need to correct any others that contain errors, too.

3. What if the data provider doesn't agree?

You'll need to take your complaint directly to the lender. If that fails, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk). They control how companies share your data.