To dispute an error on your credit report in South Africa, you lodge a challenge directly with the credit bureau that holds the record, supply your identity and supporting documents, keep the reference number the bureau gives you, and allow its investigation to run before escalating to the National Credit Regulator. You have this right under section 72 of the National Credit Act, and the bureau must investigate a genuine challenge free of charge. What you cannot do is have accurate negative information deleted because it is inconvenient, so the first job is to be clear about what actually counts as an error.
What Counts as an Error You Can Dispute
You can challenge information on your report when it is factually incorrect, incomplete, outdated or prescribed, or linked to fraud or identity theft. That covers an account you never opened, a payment recorded as missed when you paid on time, a settled debt still showing as owing, a duplicate listing, wrong personal details, or a listing that should have fallen away under the retention periods set in law. What you cannot do is dispute your way out of accurate information. A late payment you genuinely missed, a default you did incur, or a judgment correctly granted will stay on your record for the period the law allows. TransUnion, one of the registered bureaus, is explicit that only inaccurate information may be removed, and that accurate negative information remains for the legal retention period. Read the entry carefully before you lodge anything. If you have not yet pulled your report, our guide on how to get your free credit report in South Africa shows the direct routes to each bureau.
The Bureau-First Dispute Process, Step by Step
The process runs through the bureau first, not the regulator. Skipping this step can put your complaint outside the National Credit Regulator’s jurisdiction, so follow it in order.
- Get the report showing the error and note the exact account name, reference number, dates, amount and reason for the challenge. A report tells you far more than a score alone, as our guide on how to check your credit score for free in South Africa explains.
- Contact the primary credit bureau that holds the record, usually by email, telephone or its website. Experian lets you submit a dispute through its online portal, while TransUnion provides a dispute form on request.
- Complete the bureau’s dispute submission and attach the supporting documents it asks for.
- Get your dispute reference number. The bureau issues this once it has received a complete notification with the required documents, and you should record it immediately.
- Keep copies of everything: every upload, email, form, the date of each call, the name of any staff member you speak to, and the reference number.
Once the bureau receives a complete challenge, it must mask the disputed entry, generally within five business days, so it is not reported to lenders while the matter is investigated. The bureau then asks the data provider, such as the bank or retailer that supplied the information, for credible evidence. If credible evidence supports the entry, it stays and is unmasked. If the provider cannot produce credible evidence, the information must be corrected or removed. Masking is a temporary dispute indicator during the investigation, not proof that the entry has been deleted.
Documents You May Be Asked to Supply
Requirements differ by bureau and by the type of dispute, so treat the following as common examples rather than a fixed list, and check the current instructions on the relevant bureau’s site. A bureau may request:
- a copy of your identity document, sometimes certified;
- proof of address, often no older than three months;
- evidence supporting your specific claim, such as a paid-up letter, an account statement, proof of settlement, an affidavit or fraud report in an identity-theft case, or a court order.
The investigation is free. Experian and TransUnion both note that disputing directly with the bureau costs nothing, and warn against paying a credit-clearing company for a process you can do yourself. If a company promises to wipe a genuine, accurate listing for a fee, treat that as a warning sign.
How Long It Takes, and the Timing Caveat
The bureau must complete the dispute-resolution process within 20 business days, and in 2026 that timeframe still comes from the National Credit Regulator’s current guideline on disputed consumer credit information. The important caveat is when the clock starts. The 20 business days run from the date the bureau receives a complete notification, meaning your challenge together with all the required identity and supporting documents. An incomplete first email does not start the clock, which is another reason to submit everything at once and confirm your reference number. If the same error appears on reports from more than one bureau, lodge a separate dispute with each, because correcting one bureau’s file does not automatically update another.
How to Escalate to the NCR if You Are Not Satisfied
If the bureau’s outcome does not satisfy you, or the 20 business days pass without a proper resolution, you can escalate to the National Credit Regulator. The regulator’s guideline says you may apply to the NCR within 20 business days after receiving the bureau’s supporting evidence, using the prescribed Form 29. Download the current form directly from the NCR, and include a detailed description of the dispute, the steps and dates you have already followed, your supporting documents and the bureau reference number. The NCR route is on its complaints page, which lists the current contact channels and links to Form 29. The NCR expects you to have gone through the bureau first and allowed the 20 business days before you approach it. A separate free option for some credit matters is the National Financial Ombud, which now houses the former Credit Ombud, though for a bureau-data accuracy challenge the NCR remains the principal regulator route.
One last point to keep expectations realistic. A credit bureau records information; it does not decide whether a lender approves your application, and correcting an error is not a guarantee that your score will rise or that credit will be granted. Fixing a genuine mistake removes something that should never have counted against you, whatever a lender decides next.