Credit reports
How to dispute a credit report error in South Africa
If something on your credit report is wrong, you have the right to challenge it, and it costs you nothing. Under the National Credit Act you can dispute any information a bureau holds about you free of charge. Once you lodge the challenge, the bureau or the source that supplied the information has 20 business days to provide credible evidence for the entry or remove it, along with all record of it. This guide walks you through the process step by step, and shows you where to escalate if the bureau does not put it right.
Your right to challenge a wrong entry, for free
You can challenge any information a credit bureau holds about you free of charge, and once you do, the bureau or the source of the entry has 20 business days to provide credible evidence for it or remove it and all record of it.
This is a right worth knowing, because it puts you in a strong position. The National Credit Act lets you challenge the accuracy of any information a registered bureau holds or reports about you, and there is no fee for doing so.
What happens next favours you. Once you lodge the challenge, the party that holds or supplied the information has 20 business days to either give credible evidence that supports the entry or remove the information, and all record of it. If they cannot back it up, it comes off. The burden of proving the entry is theirs, not yours.
Your part is straightforward: give enough to identify the entry you are disputing, such as your ID number and the account or listing in question, plus any proof you have. You do not have to prove the entry is wrong yourself, you simply have to raise it and let the process run.
And checking your own report to find these errors does no harm. Looking at your own record is a soft, own check: it is logged, but it is not treated as a credit application and it does not lower your score.
Common errors worth checking for
The errors most worth looking for are a wrong balance or amount, an account you already settled that still shows as owing, and a duplicate listing where the same debt appears more than once.
Not everything that looks off is an error, but a few things are worth a close look:
- A wrong balance or amount. The figure shown does not match what you actually owe.
- A paid-up account still showing as owing. You settled it, but the report has not caught up.
- A duplicate listing. The same debt appears twice, making your obligations look larger than they are.
An error like these can drag on how a lender reads your record, so it is worth fixing. Bear in mind this is only about entries that are genuinely wrong. If an entry is correct but simply old, that is a different question, covered further down.
How to lodge the dispute step by step
Get your report, identify the exact wrong entry and gather your proof, then lodge the dispute with the bureau that holds it through that bureau's own dispute channel. The bureau then has 20 business days to prove the entry or remove it.
The process is the same shape whichever bureau holds the entry. Work through it in order.
- Get your report first, so you can see exactly what is listed and which bureau holds it. Our guide on getting your free credit report shows how to pull it from each bureau.
- Identify the specific wrong entry and gather your proof. Pin down the exact account or listing, then collect anything that supports your case, such as bank statements, a settlement or paid-up letter, or correspondence with the lender.
- Lodge the dispute with the bureau that holds the entry, using that bureau's own dispute channel. Experian takes disputes online through its Up platform. XDS takes them by email at [email protected] or through its online dispute form. TransUnion handles disputes through its consumer support channel. VeriCred logs disputes through the threesixty.me platform. Give your ID details, point to the entry, and attach your proof.
- Wait for the outcome. The bureau or the source has 20 business days to provide credible evidence for the entry or to remove it and all record of it. You do not have to prove it is wrong, they have to prove it is right.
- If you are not satisfied with the outcome, escalate. The next section covers where to take it.
One caution the regulator itself has flagged: an entry that is removed is sometimes reloaded later, which is not allowed. If a listing you had removed reappears, you can dispute it again and escalate.
Where to escalate if the bureau does not fix it
If the bureau does not resolve it, you can take a credit-report error caused by a lender to the National Financial Ombud Scheme, report a breach of the Act to the National Credit Regulator, or raise the data-accuracy angle with the Information Regulator under POPIA.
Complain to the bureau first, that is the fastest route. If that does not work, you have three escalation options, depending on the nature of the problem.
- National Financial Ombud Scheme (NFO). The NFO's credit division handles credit-report errors, particularly where a lender or other source supplied the wrong information. Since 1 March 2024 the NFO has taken over this role from the former Credit Ombud, which no longer exists as a separate body. Lodge through the submit-a-complaint form at nfosa.co.za, email [email protected], or call 0860 800 900. The service is free.
- National Credit Regulator (NCR). If a bureau or lender has not followed the Act, for example by ignoring the 20-business-day rule, you can report the breach to the NCR at [email protected] or on 0860 627 627. The NCR enforces the Act and can act against a party that breaks the rules, but it is not a personal-refund body, so use it to report non-compliance.
- Information Regulator (POPIA). If your concern is really about a bureau holding inaccurate personal information, you can raise it as a data-accuracy complaint with the Information Regulator under POPIA, free, through its eServices portal or at [email protected].
You may have seen the old Credit Ombud mentioned elsewhere. Its contacts still circulate online, but it is gone. The live body is the NFO.
When the entry is an account you never opened
If the disputed entry is an account or loan you never opened, it may be identity theft, so dispute it with the bureau and treat it as fraud at the same time by gathering evidence and considering a police report.
This one deserves its own care, calmly. If an entry is for an account or loan you never took out, it is not an ordinary mistake, it may mean someone has used your identity. This is upsetting to discover, but you have clear steps and you are not powerless.
Handle it on two tracks at once. First, dispute the entry with the bureau exactly as above, so the wrong listing is challenged. Second, treat it as fraud: keep every piece of evidence, note dates and any communications, and consider laying a report with the South African Police Service, since a case number often helps when dealing with the lender and the bureau.
There are also fraud-alert or protective-registration services that can flag your identity so future applications in your name get extra scrutiny. [VERIFY: SAFPS Protective Registration mechanism and current channel] Because the details of who runs this and how to register were not confirmed for this guide, check the current process with your bureau or the police before relying on it.
Throughout, stay methodical rather than panicked. Disputing the entry and reporting the fraud are the right moves, and they work best done steadily.
When the entry is correct but old
If an entry is accurate but simply old, that is a question of how long a listing legally stays on your record, not a dispute, and correct listings drop off only after their set retention periods.
It is worth being honest with yourself here, because it affects what you can do. A dispute is for information that is wrong. If an entry is genuinely correct, disputing it will not remove it, because the bureau can produce credible evidence for it.
What governs a correct entry is retention: the law sets how long different kinds of listings may stay on your record before they must fall away. That is a separate topic from disputing an error. Our guide on bad-credit loans and how long a mark stays on your record explains the retention periods.
This distinction matters for a reason that protects you, covered next.
Beware anyone who offers to remove a genuine bad mark
No one can make a bureau delete a correct listing for a fee, so treat any service that promises to clear your name or remove a genuine bad mark for payment as a scam.
Here is the line that keeps you safe. You dispute a wrong entry with the bureau, and the bureau decides. Nobody else can order a bureau to remove information, and a correct listing cannot simply be paid away.
So be wary of anyone who offers, for a fee, to clear your name, remove a genuine bad mark, or erase a listing. That is a credit-clearing scam, and it usually ends with your money gone and the listing untouched. Our guide on loan scams and upfront-fee tricks covers how these work.
To be plain about our own role: BetterLoans does not remove listings, and neither do the lending partners we introduce you to. None of us can influence what a bureau records or decides. You raise the dispute with the bureau yourself, and the bureau makes the call. That is exactly how it should be.
When your report is straight and you are ready, you can check your options with our NCR-registered lending partners with no obligation. If you apply and a partner takes you on, they pay us once your application is completed. You never pay us, and it does not change your rate or what we publish. We cannot remove a listing or influence a bureau, that is always between you and the bureau.