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How to fix credit report errors
24 Mar 2023
If information on your credit report is incorrect, it may have serious consequences for you when you apply for credit or loans in the future. Here are some steps you can take to correct your credit report.
Key points:
How to fix errors on your credit report
What is a credit report error?
A credit report is a summary of your credit history. For example, it will include information about any credit products you have and whether you’ve made your repayments on time. A credit report error is any piece of information that appears on your credit report that is inaccurate, out-of-date, incomplete, irrelevant, or misleading.
How can I check my credit report?
It’s important to check your credit report carefully, as incorrect information may affect your credit score and subsequently your ability to receive credit or loans in the future. You can get a free copy of your credit report:
- directly from each of the three main credit reporting bodies in Australia (Equifax, Experian and illion). According to the Australian Government’s Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), a credit reporting body must give you free access once every three months. A fee may be payable if you want to access it more than once every three months. You can also request a free copy if information on your credit report has been corrected or if you’ve been refused credit in the previous 90 days. But it should be noted that the credit reports might not include all information, such as your actual credit score.
- via a third-party tool, such as with Canstar’s credit score tool. A third-party report is typically free regardless of the number of times you access it in a year. For example, Canstar’s tool asks you to create an account and then fill out some details so that Canstar can access your credit report information from Equifax. The information is then presented in a dashboard, so you can see what factors could potentially be influencing your credit score. Canstar requests an update from Equifax every month, which is then reflected on your dashboard. This way, you can check back in to see if there are any changes to your score and identify any errors in a more timely fashion. Using a third-party tool does not impact your credit score.
→ You can check your credit score report for free
How to fix errors on your credit report
If you think there is a mistake on your credit report, then you can ask to have it changed. Incorrect listings can be changed for free and you can arrange this yourself. There are a few ways you can do this, such as contacting the credit provider or credit reporting body, providing evidence of the error and asking for a correction.
Here are some steps you can take to correct your credit report:
1. Contact the credit provider or credit reporting body
Ask the credit provider (such as your bank, telco or utility provider) or the credit reporting body (Equifax, Experian or illion) to investigate the information you think may be incorrect. If they agree it is incorrect, they can get the error removed or amended. This is free to do. If they cannot correct the information, they are required to consult other credit providers or credit reporting bodies. (Unfortunately, third parties, such as Canstar, cannot assist in correcting information on your report.)
To make a request with a credit reporting body, check the website of the body to see how to raise a dispute:
- illion: illion says you can contact their Public Access Centre or use the ‘Dispute This’ option when logged in to the website: https://www.creditcheck.illion.com.au/
Moneysmart states that the credit reporting body may be able to fix some errors on your report straight away or help you get them changed. For example, if your name or date or birth is incorrect, or if a debt has been listed twice.
Either way, it’s helpful to provide supporting documentation if you have it, such as payment records. This can help speed up the investigation process.
2. Get help if you need it
If you need help, you can contact a free financial counsellor or community legal centre to assist you. You can speak to a financial counsellor by calling the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007. Moneysmart also provides a list of organisations that can provide free legal advice to people who are in debt.
Be cautious of credit repair companies that say they can “fix” or “clean” your credit report by getting negative listings removed. You cannot remove information that is correct from your credit report, even if it is negative information. Additionally, in many cases these companies charge high fees for something you can do yourself for free (such as fixing an error on the report).
3. If you are unhappy with the outcome, you can make a complaint
If you are unhappy with the credit provider or credit reporting body’s response to your request for a correction to your credit file, you can complain to the relevant ombudsman. This could include the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman and the Energy & Water Ombudsman for your state or territory. You can contact your credit provider or credit reporting body to check what scheme it belongs to. If you are not satisfied with this, you can also complain to OAIC, the Australian Government’s privacy and information regulator (OAIC advises they only receive written complaints and cannot accept them over the phone).
What types of credit report errors should I check?
When you have a copy of your credit report, some key areas to check for errors include:
Personal Information
- Check to see if your name and date of birth are correct.
- Check to see if your current and most recent addresses are correct.
Loans or Debts
- Are the loans and debts listed on your credit report actually yours? (If not, it could be a sign of fraudulent activity.)
- Are the listed amounts of the loans and debts correct?
- Are the same loans or debts listed more than once?
- Is the record of your repayment history correct?
Defaults
- A default may appear on your report if you have been at least 60 days overdue in making a repayment of $150 or more – check the amount and timeframes.
- Check to see if notices were sent informing you about the overdue payment and requesting payment (providers must send you two notices before listing a default).
- Check to see if the report accurately reflects whether or not the overdue payments were paid in full.
- Defaults will stay on your report for five years – check to make sure you don’t have any older ones listed on there.
Serious credit infringement
- If you have a serious credit infringement on your credit report, it could be because you owe a debt but you appear to have left your last known address without paying it and without providing the credit provider with a new address. Check your address is up to date.
- A serious infringement may also be listed if you have had no contact with the credit provider for six months or more about overdue repayments, and the provider has attempted to contact you during that time. Check to see if the credit provider tried to contact you.
- Credit infringements will stay on your report for seven years – check any infringements aren’t older than that.
- If you have repaid the debt, then it should be listed as a default and it will stay on your report for five years.
It is important to note that defaults cannot be removed from your credit report unless they are incorrect. Defaults will stay on your credit report for five years, even after you have paid off the debt. However, if you pay the debt, the credit provider should update your details to show it has been paid. Lenders may look at paid defaults more favourably than unpaid defaults. However, it’s still important to remove defaults if they were incorrectly listed in the first place.
How long does it take to correct a credit report error?
If the credit provider or credit reporting body is satisfied that the information is incorrect, then it must take reasonable steps to correct your credit report within 30 days. According to the OAIC, the credit provider or reporting body must also send a written notice about the correction to you, and anyone else it has disclosed the information to, within a reasonable period.
If the provider or reporting body believes the information is correct, then it must write to you and explain its reasons, the OAIC says. It must also let you know that you can access an external dispute resolution scheme or make a complaint.
Your credit report holds a lot of your personal information, so it’s worth checking it regularly to make sure that the information is correct. Once errors on your report have been fixed, this may help to improve your credit score. Check out our tips to improve your credit score. You can also check your credit score for free with Canstar.
→ Get your free credit score report
Cover image source: GaudiLab/Shutterstock.com
This article was reviewed by our Deputy Editor, Canstar Amanda Horswill before it was updated, as part of our fact-checking process.
