Fixing Mistakes on Your Credit Report

🔍 The common errors to look for

Most credit report problems fall into a handful of categories. Knowing what they look like helps you find them fast and gather the right proof before you lodge a correction.

The usual suspects

• A default that was actually paid. The debt is settled, but the listing still shows it as owing. It should be marked as paid.
• A default that should never have been listed. A default can only be recorded once the overdue amount is $125 or more, it is more than 30 days late, and the lender has tried to recover it. A listing for less than $125 does not meet the rule.
• An account that is not yours. A loan, card or default that belongs to someone else has been attached to your file, often through a similar name or date of birth.
• Wrong repayment history. A payment you made on time is recorded as late in your month by month repayment history, which can quietly weigh on your score.
• Identity mix-ups. Two people with similar details get their records blended, so someone else's accounts or defaults appear under your name.
• A default not marked as paid or settled. You cleared it, but the file has not been updated, so it still reads as an unpaid default.

Paid does not mean gone, but it must say paid

One point trips people up. Paying a legitimate default does not wipe it off your file straight away. It stays for five years from the date it was listed. What paying does is change how it reads: a default marked "paid" looks far better to a lender than one marked unpaid, so if you have cleared a debt and the file still shows it owing, that is a correction worth chasing.

Why errors creep in

Credit reporters hold data on millions of New Zealanders, fed to them by lenders, telcos and utilities. Mistakes happen when a lender reports the wrong status, when two similar identities are matched incorrectly, when an account is not updated after you pay, or when a listing is simply left on past its retention period. None of this is your fault, and none of it is yours to just live with.

📮 The correction and dispute process

The Credit Reporting Privacy Code 2020 sits under the Privacy Act 2020 and governs how credit reporters collect, hold, use and disclose your credit information. It gives you the right to ask for a correction and sets out what the reporter must do when you make that request. Here is the process, step by step.

Step by step

1. Lodge a correction request with the credit reporter that holds the error. Contact Centrix, Equifax or Experian directly, in writing where you can, and clearly describe what is wrong and what it should say.
2. Attach your evidence. Include the proof you gathered, a receipt, a bank statement, a settlement letter or identity documents.
3. The reporter must investigate. It checks with the credit provider that supplied the information and, where appropriate, must take steps to correct it.
4. Your item is flagged as disputed. While the reporter is checking, it must mark the entry so anyone who sees your file knows the item is under dispute.
5. You get a decision. If the reporter needs longer than 20 working days to decide, it must let you know and tell you why.
6. If it is fixed, the record is corrected. The reporter can also pass the correction to the other reporters if the same error sits on their files.

If the reporter will not make the correction

Sometimes the reporter investigates and decides the entry is right. You still have options.

1. You must be told why. If the correction is not made, the reporter has to give you its reasons.
2. You can add a statement of correction. You can ask for a note recording that you requested a correction to be attached to your file. It is then included with future reports, so anyone reading your file sees your side.
3. You can escalate to the Privacy Commissioner. If you believe the reporter has it wrong, complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at privacy.org.nz, which oversees the Credit Reporting Privacy Code 2020 and can investigate.

Protecting against recurrence after fraud

If the error on your file came from fraud or identity theft, fixing the individual listing is only half the job. You also want to stop new false entries appearing.

• Ask for a free suppression on your file. If you have been, or fear you are about to be, a victim of fraud, you can ask a credit reporter to suppress (freeze) your file. While it is frozen, it cannot be accessed, which makes it far harder for anyone to open credit in your name.
• One request can cover all three. With your consent, one reporter can forward the suppression to the other two, so your file is frozen everywhere.
• It is free, and reversible. A suppression is a protection, not a paid product, and you can lift it when you next need to apply for credit yourself, then reinstate it.

🔢 Real-World Examples

Here is how fixing a credit report plays out for four New Zealanders in common situations.

Sources

Figures and processes in this guide were verified in July 2026 against: the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (privacy.org.nz) and the Credit Reporting Privacy Code 2020, for the correction and dispute process, the 20-working-day decision marker, the requirement to flag disputed items, statements of correction and complaints to the Commissioner; Consumer Protection (consumerprotection.govt.nz) and govt.nz on checking and correcting your credit report; and the three credit reporters, Centrix (centrix.co.nz), Equifax (mycreditfile.co.nz) and Experian (experian.co.nz/consumer), for free reports, retention periods and suppression. The $125 minimum default amount has applied since 1 October 2019; defaults are held for five years from listing and credit enquiries for around four years.

Related tools and guides

• How to check your credit report for free
• Identity theft protection
• Debt consolidation loans
• Credit score impact calculator
• How debt collection works