How to Dispute an Error on Your UK Credit File (Step by Step)

If you've looked at your credit file and something seems wrong, you're not stuck with it. You have the right to dispute inaccurate information — and the process is more straightforward than most people expect.

Common errors worth challenging

• A default or late marker that should have dropped off after six years.
• A payment marked late that you actually paid on time.
• An account that isn't yours (which can also be a sign of fraud).
• An old address still linking you to a previous occupant or an ex-partner's debt.
• A settled CCJ or debt still showing as outstanding.

The step-by-step process

1. Get your reports. Check all three agencies — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — because they don't always hold the same data. An error can be on one and not the others.
2. Gather evidence. Statements, letters, or emails that show the correct position. The clearer your evidence, the faster it moves.
3. Raise a dispute with the credit agency. Each agency has a formal process to query information. They'll contact the lender to check it.
4. Complain to the lender too. The lender that reported the information is responsible for its accuracy. Raising it with them directly, in writing, often gets the quickest result.
5. Escalate if needed. If it isn't resolved, you can take a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, and you can add a Notice of Correction to your file explaining the situation.

The wording is where people get stuck

Most people know they have the right to dispute, but freeze at the blank page: what exactly do you write, and which rules do you cite? That's the difference between weeks of frustration and an actual result.

Ready-to-use UK letter templates

The 90-Day Blueprint includes the Dispute Vault — six ready-to-use UK letter templates for the most common situations, so you're never staring at a blank page trying to word it right.