First, the honest framing: no one can “delete” an enquiry on request, and a genuine enquiry for a loan you actually applied for stays. What you can do is dispute information that is inaccurate or not yours — and in India that process is free, time-bound and has a compensation rule behind it.
Step 1 — Identify the enquiry
Open your credit report (the free full report is enough) and read the enquiries section: lender name, date of the enquiry, and the purpose where the bureau records it. Keep the bureau's access alert too — RBI requires an SMS or email alert when a specified user pulls your report, and it arrives once the enquiry reflects.
Step 2 — Decide whether it is legitimate
- You applied: the enquiry is accurate. It stays, and the fix is spacing out future applications, not a dispute.
- You applied through an aggregator or a comparison site: several lenders may have pulled your file. Ask which, and when.
- You do not recognise the lender at all: treat it as possible identity misuse first. Call the lender, get their position in writing, and dispute in parallel.
- Duplicate or wrong details: a data error — dispute it and ask the bureau to correct the record.
Step 3 — Contact the lender
The lender submitted the enquiry, so it is the only party that can confirm whether an application exists in your name. Ask for the application details, the date and the channel in writing. This is also the step that turns a hunch into evidence — a lender confirming it has no application is exactly what a dispute needs.
Step 4 — Raise the dispute
File with the bureau whose report shows the entry, and with the lender. Every bureau publishes its own route (the four are compared on the bureau pages), and the RBI rule is the same underneath: on your request the bureau or lender must take steps to update the information within 30 days, and where the lender is at fault it must forward corrected particulars within 21 days of being told. Keep the ticket/service-request number and the date you first filed.
Step 5 — Track it, and escalate if it stalls
Bureaus publish a Level 1 consumer channel, a Nodal Officer and a Principal Nodal Officer. If your complaint is not resolved within 30 calendar days of your first filing, ₹100 per calendar day accrues in your favour; escalate inside the bureau and then to the RBI under the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026, filed through the RBI Complaint Management System. While the dispute is unresolved the entry must be flagged on the report, and you may add your own comment.
If it looks like fraud
An unrecognised enquiry can be the first sign that someone is applying for credit in your name. Treat it as a fraud case with the lender as well as a data dispute — the full playbook is on credit enquiries.
Educational content, not financial advice. This is not a legal opinion; for identity theft, use the official lender and bureau channels and, where appropriate, the police.