Start with your own report
Get your free report from each bureau and list every negative entry: who reported it, what it says, and when it was added. The next step depends on whether the entry is wrong, right but paid, or right and still owing. Our guide on checking your credit record explains how to get the reports.
Dispute anything that is wrong
The National Credit Act gives you the right to challenge information a bureau holds about you. Lodge the dispute with the bureau that shows the entry, usually online, and attach what proves your case: proof of payment, a settlement or closure letter, or a court order. Disputing is free.
The bureau must investigate, generally within 20 business days, and asks the company that reported the entry to back it up. If that company cannot, the entry must be corrected or removed. If you are unhappy with the outcome, you can take the matter to the National Financial Ombud Scheme.
Pay up a judgment and send the proof
If a judgment is correct, paying it in full is the quickest way to have it removed. Ask the creditor or its attorney for a letter confirming that the judgment debt is paid, and send it to each bureau that lists the judgment. Under the 2014 removal regulations, a bureau must remove a paid-up judgment within seven days of receiving proof of payment and tell the other bureaus.
A judgment can also be rescinded by the court that granted it, for example when it was granted without you knowing or the debt has been settled. When a bureau receives the rescission order, it must remove all information about that judgment.
Finish debt review properly
If you are under debt review, the flag comes off when your debt counsellor files a clearance certificate with the bureaus after every account under review is paid. Keep a copy of the certificate and check your report a few weeks later. If the flag is still there, send the certificate to the bureau yourself.
Let correct listings expire
Information that is correct and still owing cannot be removed early on request. It falls away when its legal period ends: one year for an adverse listing such as an account handed over, five years for an unpaid judgment. Our guide on how long blacklisting lasts lists every period.
Avoid paid blacklist removal
Companies that promise to remove you from the blacklist for a fee are selling something you can do yourself for free, and none of them can legally remove correct information before its time. Some take the money and do nothing. Dispute, pay up or wait — those are the routes that work.
Once your record is cleaner, lenders will see a different picture. If you need to borrow in the meantime, our page on loans with a poor credit record explains who still lends and what to compare.