A credit report is a comprehensive chronicle of an individual’s credit history, and hence is a good indicator of your financial health to banks and other financial institutions. Credit reports are generated by a credit bureau. The four retail credit bureaus in India are CIBIL, Equifax, Experian, and CRIF High Mark. CIBIL is the oldest, and hence very often, a credit report is understood as one from CIBIL. However, all bureaus provide similar reports, and a consumer can choose to obtain a report from any or all of them.
Identifying errors in a Credit Report
Given that a credit report plays a significant role in the loan approval process, it is essential that all the information contained therein is both accurate and updated. Any error in a credit report can adversely impact your financial plans. Hence, any incorrect or erroneous information needs to be addressed at the earliest.
Some of the errors include:
- Incorrect account balance – Generally, an institution submits information to a bureau on a monthly basis. If you do happen to check your report before the latest information has been reported and updated, there is a possibility that it would show up on the report as an overdue amount on the existing loan or credit card account. However, if it is over two months and the information still does not reflect – and shows the said account as overdue – a dispute can be raised, to have the same corrected.
- Incorrect personal information – This includes details pertaining to name, address, date of birth, PAN card, etc.
- Ownership – An important piece of information, this covers both personal details as well as details pertaining to the accounts (both loans and credit cards). If you find that the accounts captured in the report do not pertain to you, do flag this immediately to the concerned bureau.
If you find any inaccurate information in your credit report, you can raise a dispute with the concerned bureau. Remember, any incorrect information that stays on your record will pull down your credit score.
Raising a dispute
The credit report contains four sections – credit score, personal details, account details, and inquiries. If any of these details need to be corrected or updated, the bureau in question would be able to assist you. This, simply put, is known as a dispute.
Identity theft is a serious error that occurs when someone steals your personal information to apply for a loan or credit card. If the application does go through, and the individual who has stolen your identity is not able to repay, it will reflect on your credit report as a default. If you see enquires (for a fresh line of credit that you have not applied for) in your report, do raise a dispute immediately.
This also highlights the importance of regularly monitoring your credit report.
Dispute resolution process
This can be carried out online by following a very simple process:
- Fill and submit an online dispute form, with details of the information you wish to dispute and submit for correction.
- Based on the type of dispute, the bureau will investigate your claim and will take it up with the concerned credit institution.
- Upon getting a revert from the institution regarding the claim (whether valid or otherwise), the bureau will make the necessary changes after the credit institution submits the correct/ updated information.
- This information will now reflect in the revised credit report.
Once you have submitted your request, the bureau typically reverts within a turnaround time of 30 days. This of course may differ, subject to the time taken by the concerned financial institution to revert to the bureau.
What happens once the dispute is resolved?
Upon resolution, the bureau will share a revised credit report with you. However, if you are still dissatisfied with the resolution, you can choose to contact the concerned financial institution directly or you can also raise the dispute with the bureau again.
The errors in your credit report need to be addressed on priority, and once the dispute is resolved, it would improve your credit score.
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