An error in your credit file: how to check for free and fix it

For newcomers, a credit file matters especially — and it can contain errors. The good news: you can check it for free, and the law lets you fix wrong entries.

Check it first

Using your right of access to your own data (UK GDPR), you can see your credit file for free at the credit reference agencies — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Check: is the address right, are there accounts in your name that aren't yours, is a settled debt shown as open, are there signs of fraud?

How to fix an error

Under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (section 159) you can write to the agency requiring it to remove or correct a wrong entry. The agency has 28 days to reply: removed, amended, or no action. If it is not removed, you can require them to add a «notice of correction» — up to 200 words in your own words giving your side; the agency must include it whenever it shares information about you. Disputes go to the regulator (the ICO, or the FCA for some).

At the same time, report the error to whoever supplied it (the bank, the provider). A corrected file means better access to renting and credit — especially if you are still building a UK credit history.