Errors & Disputes
Mistaken identity and how credit files get mixed together
Files are matched on name, date of birth and address, and when two people share enough of those the data can merge.
Errors & Disputes
Wrong defaults, mistaken identity and how to get a file corrected.
21 articles · updated August 11, 2026 · page 1 of 2
Errors & Disputes
How to get an error off your credit file
Files contain mistakes with some regularity, and the correction process is statutory rather than discretionary.
More in Errors & Disputes
Errors & Disputes
Financial association is the link that outlives the relationship
A single joint account can tie two credit files together for years after the relationship, the account and the memory of it have…
Errors & Disputes
Disputing a default the lender insists is correct
When the first response is that the entry stands, the case is not over. It moves to a different process with different rules.
Errors & Disputes
The paperwork that wins a credit dispute
These cases are decided on documents and dates, which means the outcome is largely determined by what you kept.
Errors & Disputes
A paid debt still showing as outstanding
One of the most common credit file errors is also one of the most damaging, because many lenders screen on outstanding balances…
Errors & Disputes
Duplicate entries after a debt is sold
One debt should appear once. When a sale leaves two live records, your file overstates what you owe and lenders act on it.
Errors & Disputes
A wrong default date is the most expensive error on a file
Of all the mistakes a credit file can contain, a shifted default date is the one that quietly costs the most time.
Errors & Disputes
Notices of correction and who actually reads them
Where an entry is accurate but the story matters, you can attach a statement to your file — with real but limited effect.
Errors & Disputes
Complaints, escalation and the ombudsman route
Most credit disputes that succeed do so at the second or third stage, which is where most people have already stopped.
Errors & Disputes
Your data rights over a credit reference agency
The agencies hold personal data about you, which in many countries gives you rights that are stronger than any consumer credit…
Errors & Disputes
Fixing one agency does not fix the others
Credit reference agencies hold separate files from separate sources, and a correction at one is invisible to the rest.