If you feel that your credit report is wrong, the normal first step is to ask the lender to put this right.
But when the lender is in administration, the administrators may not respond to requests from you to correct your credit files. And if the lender has been liquidated, there is no-one for you to contact.
Here the Credit Reference Agencies (CRAs) should help if you ask them to. Incorrect reporting is against the data protection rules.
Problems that need correcting
Some of the possible reasons for an incorrect credit record include:
- the debt has been settled but it still shows as open;
- the lender had agreed to delete the credit record or to remove the default before administration but didn’t do this;
- identity theft – you never took that debt out in the first place;
- the default date isn’t correct;
- the lender should have not have given you the debt as it was unaffordable but it is too late to make a claim in the administration.
The error may be showing on the records of more than one CRA. So you need to check the Statutory Credit Reports from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
You need to check those reports, not other reports such as ClearScore or Credit Karma, because you want to talk directly to the CRA, not through a third party.
First ask the administrators
It is best to first ask the administrators to correct any problem. If this works it will be the fastest option for you. Check the lender’s website to find how to contact them.
For affordability concerns, you should send the administrators a Claim. If this is upheld, the administrators will correct or delete the credit record.
Sometimes the administrators will refuse, saying you need to contact the CRAs. Sometimes you will not get a reply. Then you can go to the CRAs and you can say you have tried to resolve the problem with the lender.
Will the CRA correct this?
This is what Experian says about correcting data – Equifax and TransUnion say similar things:
We can only change this information once your lender has told us about it, or with their permission.
But when the CRA asks the administrators they are unlikely to get any response… So the CRA has a problem – it can’t leave inaccurate data on your credit record and it can’t correct it unless the lender agrees.
The CRAs get round this by “suppressing” a record. If they do this, the record still exists but it will not be shown to lenders who make a credit check on you.
Ask the CRA to “suppress” the record
Contact the CRAs where the problem is showing:
- Experian – select Get in touch about > Errors on my Experian Credit Report > I think there’s an error with an account;
- Equifax – select Do you still have questions then log in to your account (you will have created one when you asked for a copy of your Statutory Credit Report) and complete the form;
- TransUnion – go through the Disputes process.
Tell the CRA:
- which records are wrong, listing the individual loans.
- explain what is wrong and that you have asked the administrators to correct this on dd/mm/yy but they have not replied/told you to talk to the CRA. Or say administration has ended and the lender no longer exists;
- ask the CRA to “suppress the record” as it is incorrect.
If the CRA refuses (or sends an irrelevant response such as saying the account will be deleted six years after the settlement date), explain again what the problem is and why you need the CRA to suppress the record.
Be persistent – this seems to resolve the problem in the end. Say you want to make a formal complaint if necessary.
The final option if you make a formal complaint and the CRA rejects it is to send the complaint against the CRA – not the original lender – to the Financial Ombudsman. I haven’t come across anyone having to do this when they have asked for a record to be suppressed.
Evidence that may help your complaint
Sometimes there is evidence to support what you are saying.
For example you may have reported identity theft to Action Fraud and have been given a crime reference number. You may have the email from the lender agreeing to delete the record or remove the default.
But sometimes there may be little or no evidence or it may be complicated.
It isn’t clear how much effort the CRAs will put into investigating these complaints. But if your complaint goes to the ombudsman they may ask you for some evidence.
Do’s and Don’ts
Do send the complaint to the administrators first. Especially early in an administration, it may get resolved faster.
Don’t see this as an alternative to sending the administrators an affordability complaint. The process here should only be used if you missed the deadline to claim.
Don’t think this will resolve a problem you have with a debt collector who has bought the debt. It will only affect the credit record with the lender. You will need to complain separately to the debt collector if their record is wrong.
Don’t do this if the lender is still going. This is not a short cut, it will just waste your time. Complain to the lender.
Loan interest falls when score improves – good?
Overdrafts – a hard debt to get out of
Payday loans make getting a mortgage hard
Vicky says
Hmmm. Very interesting. I am going to try to “suppress” my records about Sunny loans.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So for Sunny, the administrators have said that “We have transferred the control of maintaining any remaining records to the credit rating agencies, as we will not be maintaining these records going forward. Any further queries regarding entries on customers’ credit files in relation to ECIL loans should be raised with the relevant agency directly” here https://www.insolvency-kpmg.co.uk/Viewer/pdfViewer.aspx?sid=zfb3cniajxl4s5frrmph2nke&did=61eaaf6c-f415-41b7-a22c-33601cd9728f.
You can quote that to the CRAs.
Vicky says
Thank you Sara. I now wrote to all three CRAs. I will let you know how they respond. Fingers crossed. It will be life changing for me as planning to apply for a mortgage.
Vicky says
Experian brushed me off already! Shall I write again and make a formal complaint and threaten to go to FO?
Hi Victoria,
Thanks for getting in touch.
*Elevate Credit International LTD Accounts
Having checked with our records, I can see that you are holding multiple Elevate accounts, all those accounts has been settled.
Settled accounts are kept on your Experian Credit Report for six years from the date of settlement.
If you have any more questions, please let me know or visit our website at https://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/help-discover/ where you can find lots of useful information.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what is your reason for saying your credit record is wrong?
Jim says
For me, my reason I put in was affordability and did not receive a response. Quoting the statement you put above. I am now waiting for a response in response to their standard reply that Vicky also got above!
Rach says
Hi,
I had mine suppressed. My sunny loans were written off and marked as satisfied on my credit record, but the email from sunny stated they would be marked as settled. I explained this to the CRAs and they’ve suppressed the information from my file.
B says
Hi there! How did you get your Sunny loans suppressed? I’ve not made a claim and feel I’m going a bit in circles. Like you, it would be life changing to have these wiped
Scott says
Hi can you ask for your credit rating to be corrected if you are in a trusted insolvency? Or do they keep your credit score the same until paid at the end of a trusted, this includes debt collection agency’s, I have informed everyone one on my credit file but nothing has changed, could you advise please.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you mean a Trust Deed?
Scott says
Yes a trusted deed which runs for 4years
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, I suggest you ask on this page https://www.advicescotland.com/home/protected-trust-deed/ – it’s on a blog fun by a Scottish adviser.
Tom says
Hi Sara,
This seems like it would be a suitable approach for my WageDay Advance marker. I did not know about affordability complaints until it was way too late!
It’s worth a go anyway.
Thanks,
Tom
Bonnie says
Hi Tom,
I am looking to do the same with Wageday Advance; did you have any luck?
Thank you!
Jay says
Thanks for this Sara and all the amazing work and support.
Sam says
Your articles are always so helpful! From a thankful debt adviser
Chris says
Is there anyone who got their reports updated? Just wondering if it’s worth to do.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
who is the lender?
Chris says
Sunny/Elevate LTD
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ah then it should be easy to get these sorted as the administrators have said they wont talk to the CRAs any more.
See the comments on https://debtcamel.co.uk/500000-sunny-customers-tiny-refunds/ and several people there are getting good results.
B says
Hi. I’ve read a few comment threads now but I’m still unsure. Is there anyone who can tell me how to complain to sunny/elevate? Or should I be going straight to the CRAs? If so, what would I say about this? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sunny administrators will no longer respond to you – there is no point in contacting them. They say in https://www.insolvency-kpmg.co.uk/Viewer/pdfViewer.aspx?sid=uaz3uyhsh21oiq4oaoj5jjq3&did=1034a426-4c73-4447-913d-2c97666cadba
that We have transferred the control of maintaining any remaining records to the credit rating agencies, as we will not be maintaining these records going forward. Any further queries regarding entries on customers’ credit files in relation to ECIL loans should be raised with the relevant agency directly.
Instead you need to contact the Credit Reference Agencies where the Sunny loans appear asking them to suppress the Sunny/Elevate loans. As the article above says. You should quote what the administrators say in your email to the CRAs.
You need a reason to say the current reporting is wrong. You can’t just say you want the debts gone. What is your reason? Any of the following could potentially be valid:
– the date / amount of the loan was wrong, or the settlement date.
– a default or missed payment was incorrectly added. pwerhaps the default should have been earlier?
– the administrators said your loan would be deleted but it hasn’t been.
– you were misled into taking the loans as you were told repaying them on time would help your credit record, not you find they make it hard to get a mortgage.
Jim says
Hi, I’m in a similar position. I had around 26 settled accounts re. Elevate with Equifax, I raised a case for each account (yes I raised 26 separate cases on their site), all I said was, please delete the credit entry from my credit file, they should’ve been deleted before the lender went into administration and they are still showing. That’s all I said. Equifax came back about two weeks later, saying Elevate have gone into administration, and they said as the lender no longer exists, they have agreed to delete the records from my file. So all 26 were deleted in one afternoon. Experian, I’m just waiting for the 30day window to pass, as they are following their own internal protocol. No answer after a certain period then they will suppress. I will update once I get an update which is another week away or so.
Richard says
I had a Sunny loan that defaulted and was sold to SLL Capital. I don’t believe the default date is correct but now that Sunny have gone under I’m not sure how to solve this. Is there a way to speak to the administrator?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What is the current default date and what do you think it should be?
Did you make an affordability complaint to the administrators? IS the Sunny loan still showing on your credit record?
How large is the balance you owe SLL?
Gemma Friend says
Hi Sara I’ve just paid off an outstanding balance to 247 money box who are in administration. Will my default be removed or will I have to wait until it’s gone all through the progress of closing down?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did you put in a claim for unaffordable lending to the admistrators?
Gemma Friend says
Yes and they partial upheld and I just paid off what they didn’t.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Good. Did your “uphold email” say they would be removing the default?
Gemma Friend says
No nothing about it 😕
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I suggest you ask them (customer.services@247moneybox.com or via phone at 0207 183 8078) when they will be removing the default or deleting your credit record.
miss e plimmer says
Can you help? or anyone?
I have a CCJ for an UncleBuck loan, I want to claim affordability for this but I actually don’t know where my money is going that i’m paying towards the CCJ as they are in administration?
Is there a process for this as the CCJ is showing on my file and so is the original debt although the balance hasn’t been updated for years.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need to contact Harrisons, the administrators who should have assessed if you have a valid affordability complaint. See https://harrisons.uk.com/unclebuck-update/
Emma Plimmer says
Had a response this morning saying I was entitled to redress and the cRedit file would be updated in due course.
The debt though has a CCJ against it. What happens now with this? As the CCJ I’m paying to a law firm, I have complained to them and told them the response I had from the administrators.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if this a law firm collecting on behalf of UB or has the debt been sold to a debt collector?
Emma Plimmer says
Well I believe they are collecting on their behalf but I’m not 100%.
They do refer to them as their client so I’m inclined to believe it’s not been sold on
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, you need to ask the administrators if they are going to use the redress to reduce the amount you have to pay on the CCJ.
I am not answering your question about the CCJ because it’s important to first be clear what the administrators are going to do.
Emma Plimmer says
This is what it says on their response.
Unfortunately, whilst we have added your unsecured claim to the list of creditors within the Administration, regrettably due to the lack of funds in the Administration, there is no prospect of a dividend being paid to unsecured creditors. This means that notwithstanding your entitlement to Redress no payment towards your unsecured claim will be made. More detailed information on the reasons for this can be found in the Customer Redress Scheme and FAQs, which can be found by clicking on the link above.
We can confirm that as you are entitled to Redress, it is acknowledged that your loan(s) with Uncle Buck were unaffordable and should not have been made to you. We will therefore be informing the CRA’s to remove any record of the loan 1***** that you had with Uncle Buck. Due to the substantial number of customers affected, we would kindly request that you bear with us in completing this process
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need to go back to them and ask if the redress will be used to reduce the amount you are paying to the CCJ.
Emma Plimmer says
I just realised that the redress they talk of is the loan prior to the one with the CCJ.
I have now queried this
Thank you I will update
cyrilv says
Hi there, after many years of defaults and old PDLs dropping off I’m now left with one closed loan on my credit record from a firm that is now in administration. It is from Myjar, it was finally settled in June 2016, and is due to drop off in June 2022. Now that Myjar are in administration is there any way of getting this expunged from my records before June 2022?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If the loan was unaffordable you can send the administrators a complaint – if that is upheld the record may be removed.
If not, then it is too soon for the approach in the article above to work. At the moment the administrators are still likely to respond to CRA questions.
cyrilv says
Not “unaffordable” as such – I did claim back £121 from Myjar from an affordability complaint in 2019 though, long after the loan was settled in full (it was not a default)
Jonathan Hart says
I’ve just had confirmation that TransUnion will suppress my Wonga account as the date on the default was wrong (thanks to Sara who suggested I do this). What does this actually mean? That it will no longer be visible? Will my credit score benefit from this?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It will not be visible to any lenders who check your credit record.
My assumption is that it will not be taken into account in calculating your score. But in any event, lenders do not use the credit score that you can see.
James Kerry says
Hello,
I have a transunion default for wonga. I had a complaint upheld so it should have been removed
I’ve raised a dispute but any advice on how to proceed?
Thanks
James
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ask TransUnion to suppress the record as it should have been deleted by the lender but they no longer exist so you cannot get them to correct your credit record. This works, sometimes you have to be a bit persistent.
Christine Craven says
Could anyone help.
I had numerous loans from WONGA 2013 -2016. I was refused a mortgage in 2017. becauae of these being on my credit file ..And missed dead lines of Adminustrators. I always belueved the loans would improve my credit score.. How do i get these temoved off my ctedit file, has i need to move house threw ill health.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Many of these loans have presumably already dropped off your credit record? Were the ones that are left repaid on time?
Julia says
Hi everyone, thanks so much Sara for the advice. I had success getting my Sunny Loan remove from Equifax, so far Experian seem to be batting the issue away so I’m pursuing with them, will keep this updated incase anyone else has the same issue. A quick question, I missed the claim deadline for ICL, I had some very personal and upsetting circumstances so I missed putting in an affordability complaint. Can I ask them to remove these for me seems I missed the deadline? Seems so unfair to be penalised until these loans drop off because of a terrible time in my life. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think ICL will do that. However if you wait a few more months ICL will then probably have stopped talking to the CRAs so you can then ask for the ICL loans to be supressed. But it’s too soon now.
Laura says
Hi Sara
With quick quid asking for more time to raise cash for creditors. is this likely to extend the time scale to ask for the loans to be suppressed . I was hoping in a couple of months to ask the cra to suppress the information. As I did not manage to get my claim in but had 15 loans with them.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes probably.
Claire says
Hi
I have 14 loans from lending stream from July 2017-feb 2019, is there anything I can do to have these suppressed? All were paid off and closed but it is stopping me getting a mortgage. Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No there isn’t – this “suppression” only works where the lender has gone under.
You can make an affordability complaint to Lending Stream – that may get you some money back.
Claire says
Ok thank you will have a look into it. I’ve just had a mortgage rejected due to the amount of loans. Do you think they will reconsider once the loans are 2 years satisfied or longer due to the amount of them?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t know, but next time go through a broker, not direct to a lender.
Catherine says
Hello, I was hoping someone can help me ? A Wonga loan was taken out under my name by a family member, which is very awkward ! How do I get this taken off my credit file please ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This is identity theft – you can contact the CRAs as the article above says asking for the record to be suppressed as you can no longer ask Wonga to do this.
N says
Hi all. I made a complaint to the financial ombudsman about Experian not removing my Elevate accounts from my credit file. Experian has now agreed to remove all elevate accounts but say that there is a chance this may have a negative impact on my credit score as they will be removing accounts which show no missed payments and now settled. My question is, is it worth having them deleted?. Thankyou
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What is the rest of your credit record like? Is there any chance you will apply for a mortgage?
N says
Hi, thanks for the quick reply. On credit karma my scored is in the ‘needs work’ category. I currently rent but am looking at applying for a mortgage in the next few years when my record is better.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then I suggest you want as many payday loans as possible off your file. Even if your score drops in the short term.
N says
Great, thankyou for the advice.
Nigel says
So a payday loan company that has closed, can you contact their admin and say can you remove the loan now it is paid off as it was unaffordable, if they don’t reply go to cra and get them to suppress it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Which lender? different administrations are at different stages…
Nigel says
Just got this reply from Experian what can I say in response, how do I reply raise it again
In October they ceased sending us updates and their active/open CAIS records are now being deleted from the report.
However, settled accounts and satisfied defaults will remain on the file for the six years from the date of settlement and default respectively.
Furthermore, if you have anymore concern about these accounts then please contact the lender directly at:
Elevate Credit International Ltd: Ross House, Kempson Way, Bury St Edmunds, IP32 7AR.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You should reply that you think the records that are still showing should have been deleted by Elevate (assuming that is what you think?), however the administrators have said in https://www.insolvency-kpmg.co.uk/Viewer/pdfViewer.aspx?sid=zfb3cniajxl4s5frrmph2nke&did=61eaaf6c-f415-41b7-a22c-33601cd9728f that
“We have transferred the control of maintaining any remaining records to the credit rating agencies, as we will not be maintaining these records going forward. Any further queries regarding entries on customers’ credit files in relation to ECIL loans should be raised with the relevant agency directly. ”
so you want Experian to suppress these records as they are incorrect.
Jim says
Does anyone know when QuickQuid are due to be finally liquidated and gone? They are refusing to remove the 3 entries from my credit file. All paid on time no issues. 3 years old. Affordability complaint last year thrown out. So now, only option is to suppress, but they still exist and surprised the administration is still going on!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They aren’t close to ending. I suggest you come back in 6 months and ask again. But it is a mistake to ask too soon.
Jim says
I haven’t asked the CRAs yet. I am waiting for QQ to liquidate first. Just looked on the administrators website and states the extension is now until 21 Oct ‘21. Hopefully this will be the last extension but they alluded in their narrative they could extend again!