Your CIBIL score plays a vital role in determining your eligibility for multiple loans like a home loan, car loan, personal loan, and so on. Thus, it is important to maintain the score by making regular repayments for your existing credit card bills and loans. But what if there is an error in your credit report?
If your personal or credit information is inaccurate, it can have a major impact on your score, and in turn on your future loan applications. Hence, it is important to monitor your credit report and intimate the credit bureau in case of any mistake spotted. But, how does one do that? Keep reading to find out.
Monitoring Your CIBIL Report
It is essential to identify the errors in your credit report to get them corrected. Thus, it is important to constantly monitor your report. As of 2017, RBI mandated that all credit bureaus in India must allow consumers to check one credit report and credit score each calendar year. This means that you can check your reports at least once a year.
All you need to do is complete the CIBIL registration process and create an account on the credit bureau’s official portal to access the free report. This can help you look for any inconsistencies in your reports as well as check for any fraudulent activities or unwarranted credit inquiries. If you do find any discrepancies, you should immediately contact TransUnion CIBIL to notify them of the error to commence CIBIL correction online.
Step 1: Identifying Errors in CIBIL Reports
Here are some common errors that you may find in your credit reports. It is advisable to be aware of these and to report them immediately to TransUnion if found.
1. Incorrect Personal Information
Your credit report consists of some vital personal information like your name, age, address, birth date, and so on. It is important to ensure that this data is accurate and that there are no errors.
2. Incorrect Credit Utilisation
It is possible that the amount you owe to lenders is much lower than what is mentioned in the credit report. This error usually occurs when the lender fails to share the updated information with TransUnion CIBIL. In such cases, it is important to take prompt action.
3. Account Duplications
CIBIL might record the same credit/loan account information multiple times in your credit report. This increases the number of active accounts under your name, which leads to a decline in your CIBIL score. Thus, it is important to correct it as soon as possible.
4. Unrecognisable Account
You may find a loan or credit card account in your report that you do not recall opening. It is possible that someone has used your data for fraudulent purposes and now you have become a victim of identity theft. The culprit will default on payments, lowering your credit score drastically. Thus it is important to immediately contact the lender and the credit bureau.
5. Incorrect Record of Accounts Active
Sometimes, your foreclosed and prepaid loan accounts are shown as active. This is because the lender has failed to update the credit bureau on the status of your account. This error can also cause you to lose out on your precious credit score and thus, must be reported to the authorities instantly.
Step 2: File a Complaint With CIBIL
If you have found an error in your credit report, it is vital that you inform the credit bureau of the mistake immediately. Use the following steps to start the TransUnion CIBIL report correction process online.
1. Log in to Your CIBIL Account
To get access to your free credit report and to file complaints for any discrepancies, it is important to complete the CIBIL registration process. Following this, you will have created an account which you must log into when wanting to notify the credit bureau of the error found in your report.
2. Navigate to the Dispute Centre
Now that you have logged into the portal, it’s time to get started with filing the complaint. To do so, head on to the ‘Dispute Centre’ tab and select the ‘Dispute an Item’ option. This will take you to the next step where you can formally notify the credit bureau of the error in your report.
3. Fill the Form
Your screen should now display a form for you to fill your details in. When doing so, make sure to keep your control number handy. Make selections relevant to the error identified by you and enter the required value. You can file disputes for numerous fields and information through a single online dispute form.
4. Dispute Validated
Once you submit the form, the credit bureau will be intimated of the error in your credit report. They will validate your complaint, verify it internally, and assign it to the concerned credit institution.
5. Receive Updates
After the complaint has been verified and passed on to the concerned credit institution, CIBIL will help you keep a check on the proceedings. As soon as the credit institutions update the credit bureau of the changes, if any, CIBIL will inform you about the same, via email. Approximately, it takes about 30 days for a dispute to be completely resolved. This is dependent on the time taken by the credit institution, however, as per the law, they must solve the issue within a 45-day period.
If you do not wish to undertake the process for your CIBIL report correction online and prefer offline methods, you can do so. You can raise a request by writing to the credit bureau using the address provided here.
TransUnion CIBIL Limited,
One Indiabulls Centre,
Tower 2A, 19th Floor,
Senapati Bapat Marg,
Elphinstone Road,
Mumbai – 400 013
It is crucial to keep a constant check on your credit reports and to identify errors, if any. These can have a severe impact on your CIBIL score and create hurdles in the future when looking to get a loan or a new credit card. Thus, it is of utmost importance to immediately notify CIBIL of the issues. Get them resolved as soon as possible to avoid any damage to your CIBIL score.
