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Credit score · Chapter 05 of 08

Fix errors on your credit report

A visible error on the report is the one thing you can get removed. RBI sets the clock: the bureau must act on your correction request within 30 days, and from the 31st day a delay costs it ₹100 for every calendar day — paid to you.

When things go wrong · 10 min read · reviewed 2026-09-23

Section 1

What counts as an error worth disputing

  • An account, card or loan that is not yours — including one opened fraudulently in your name.
  • A loan you repaid still reported as open, or an outstanding amount you already cleared.
  • A days-past-due or default mark on an account that was never late.
  • Wrong personal details (name, PAN, date of birth, address, phone) that make your file look like someone else's.
  • A duplicate entry for the same loan.

Section 2

The rule and the clock

  • On your request the bureau or the lender must take steps to update the credit information within 30 days.
  • Where the lender is at fault, it must forward the corrected particulars to the bureau (or to you) within 21 days of being told of the inaccuracy.
  • If your complaint is not resolved within 30 calendar days from the date you first filed it, you are entitled to ₹100 for each subsequent calendar day of delay.
  • While an entry is disputed and unresolved, the report must disclose it — dispute code, description and date — and your own comment can be added to the record.

Section 3

How to file it, in order

  • If the data is wrong, the fastest fix is usually with the lender who reported it — it is the lender's submission that must be corrected. Raise it with the lender's grievance team and keep the reference number.
  • In parallel or instead, raise the query with the bureau whose report shows the error: log in, open the report, choose the account or field and submit. You get a service-request/ticket number by email.
  • Phone, walk-in and email channels exist as a first level at the bureaus (see each bureau page for its own contact list).
  • Keep a dated record of the first filing: the 30-day clock and the ₹100/day entitlement run from it.

Section 4

If 30 days pass with no resolution

  • Escalate inside the bureau: every bureau publishes Level 2 (Nodal Officer) and Level 3 (Principal Nodal Officer) contacts above the first level.
  • Then use the RBI's alternate grievance route: the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026, in force from 1 July 2026, which covers Credit Information Companies. File through the RBI's Complaint Management System.
  • Bureaus must disclose the complaints registered against them and their lenders on their websites, so an unresolved complaint is not invisible.
  • The ₹100-per-day entitlement is a direction on the bureaus and lenders, not a fee you must claim through a service — keep the filing dates and reference numbers as your evidence.

Key takeaways

  • Disputes are free, and the bureau must act within 30 days of your request.
  • Unresolved past day 30, ₹100 per calendar day accrues — the clock runs from your first filing.
  • An unresolved dispute must be flagged on the report, and you can add your own comment.

Common mistakes

  • Filing everywhere at once but never with the lender that actually reported the wrong data.
  • Losing the first filing date and the ticket number — the clock and the compensation both hang off them.
  • Assuming a dispute can remove an accurate late payment; it cannot.
  • Paying a third party to “remove” a genuine entry — no legitimate lever exists.

Questions

How long does a credit-report dispute take?

The bureau or lender must take steps to update the information within 30 days of your request, and the lender must forward corrected particulars within 21 days of being informed. If it is not resolved within 30 calendar days from your first filing, RBI's compensation framework applies.

What is the compensation for a delayed correction?

₹100 per calendar day where a complaint is not resolved within 30 calendar days from the date of your initial filing with the lender or the bureau. Keep the filing date and the ticket number — the entitlement depends on them.

Can I dispute something and see it on the report meanwhile?

Yes. While a disputed item is unresolved the report must disclose the dispute (code, description, date), and you may have your own comment added to the credit information report.

Where do I go if the bureau does not resolve it?

Escalate within the bureau first (Nodal Officer, then Principal Nodal Officer), then to the RBI under the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026 via the RBI Complaint Management System. Some bureau pages still name the 2021 scheme; it was replaced on 1 July 2026.

Does a dispute hurt my score?

Requesting a correction is not a negative event. The disputed status is disclosed while it is unresolved, and a successful correction improves the accuracy of the file — that is the point.

Go deeper

Glossary

Credit ReportCredit Bureau (CIC)Credit Report Dispute

Guides

How to remove a wrong credit enquiry

Five steps from spotting an unrecognised enquiry to disputing and tracking it, with what cannot be removed.

Educational, not advisory — and never a score-fixing service. LetsInvest is a research publication, not a credit bureau, lender or SEBI-registered investment adviser, and we do not check credit scores ourselves. Corrections and disputes are free at every bureau, nobody can legitimately sell you a higher score, and no page here asks for your PAN. Confirm anything that matters against the RBI directions and the bureau's own site before you act.

Sources

Reviewed 23 Sept 2026. Rules change — the RBI directions and each bureau's own pages are the authority, and this hub links straight to them.

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