TotallyMoney’s credit reports are provided by TransUnion. If you spot incorrect information on your TransUnion credit report, you can raise a dispute via TotallyMoney and get the data changed.
Click on “raise a dispute” by the relevant section of your credit report
TransUnion will contact the lender which supplied the data you’re disputing
If your dispute is successful, the data will be corrected
What is raising a dispute?
TotallyMoney receives a snapshot of your credit report from TransUnion, the credit reference agency we partner with.
If you spot something on your credit report that looks incorrect, you can raise a dispute.
A dispute is an action you can take, within your legal rights, to notify TransUnion about info you believe to be incorrect on your credit report.
When you raise a dispute, this flags the information to TransUnion, and it will contact the data provider on your behalf to confirm whether the information is correct.
For some disputes, such as those about the electoral register or a CCJ, you’ll need extra evidence, which can be sent to TransUnion.
Data providers have 28 days to respond to TransUnion. If the information is incorrect, TransUnion will change the info on your credit report, and this will show when your report next updates.
Only TransUnion, with authorisation from relevant lenders and other organisations, can change your credit report. TotallyMoney cannot change inaccurate info.
Common errors on credit reports
TransUnion, and the other credit reference agencies, receives information from lenders, banks, utility providers, local authorities and courts.
Sometimes, this info can be incorrect. Common errors include:
Incorrect linked address: This can happen if your report is incorrectly linked to a similar address to your own, or if there are different ways of writing your address. For example, you might write “Flat 4 Block of Flats”, or “4 Block of Flats” or “4, Block of Flats”.
Wrong information: This might happen if a utility company (for example, energy), a lender, or public body reported that you had missed payments when, in fact, this wasn’t the case.
Fraudulent applications: If you spot a loan or credit card you don’t recognise on your credit report, you may have been a victim of fraud and you should contact the specific lender to check this.
Settled County Court Judgments (CCJ): If you receive a CCJ and settle it within 30 days it will be removed from your credit report without harming your score. If settled after the 30 day period, it will be marked as settled but will still remain on your report for six years. But, lenders can see that it’s not outstanding, which is better for a credit application.
Incorrect joint accounts (Associated links): This might be the case if you previously had a joint account with someone else, such as a husband or wife, but the account is now closed.This is called an associate link. It remains on your credit report until you apply to be disassociated, which you can do by raising a dispute against the link on your credit report.
You should check your credit report before making an application for credit, such as a credit card, loan or mortgage. If you see any incorrect information, you can raise a dispute by selecting the ‘Raise a dispute’ option against the appropriate section of your credit report.
Why should I raise a dispute?
It’s very important that the info on your credit report is accurate and reflects your credit history.
This is because lenders will look at your credit report when you make an application for credit, and use the information to make a decision about whether to lend to you.
Mistakes on your credit record could lead to you being turned down for credit, or only offered credit at higher interest rates.
Making sure your credit record is accurate could help to improve your eligibility for the most competitive products, and save you money with the best offers.
TotallyMoney partners with TransUnion to provide your credit score and credit report. The info on your credit report is stored by TransUnion so only TransUnion, not TotallyMoney, can investigate and resolve incorrect information.
How do I raise a dispute?
If you want to raise a dispute via TotallyMoney about information on your TransUnion credit report, here’s what you need to do:
Log in to your TotallyMoney account and go to your Credit Report
Go to the relevant tab and click “Raise a dispute” against the appropriate section
Under “Submit a dispute,” you’ll be asked which account the dispute is about. Pick the relevant account from the dropdown menu
You’ll see “I want to raise a dispute on this record” and a dropdown menu of reasons for your dispute. Pick the relevant reason for your dispute
With some reasons, TotallyMoney will give some information about why your credit report may look incorrect and ask if you still want to continue to raise the dispute. Tick the “yes” box if you do
Follow the instructions to raise the dispute
This will flag the issue with TransUnion and it will follow this up directly with the organisation the account is with
If you want to raise a dispute about your electoral roll information, here’s what you need to do:
Log in to your TotallyMoney account and go to Your Credit Report
Go to the Profile tab
Go to the Electoral Roll section and click “Raise a dispute”
You’ll see “I want to raise a dispute on this record” and a dropdown menu of reasons for your dispute. Pick the relevant reason for your dispute
With some reasons, TotallyMoney will give some information about why your credit report may look incorrect and ask if you still want to continue to raise the dispute. Tick the “yes” box if you do
Follow the instructions to raise the dispute
This will flag the issue with TransUnion who will then contact you to ask for more information
An alternative way to raise a dispute
Doing the steps above is the best way to raise a dispute on your credit report.
However, you can also email TransUnion directly by using their Consumer Enquiry Form. Don’t forget to enter the email you used to sign up to TotallyMoney.
How long does resolving a dispute take?
TransUnion has 28 days to investigate the data with the data provider and provide an outcome.
This is a duty by TransUnion as set out in section 159 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
What happens after I’ve raised a dispute?
You’ll get an email confirming your dispute has been raised, and then you may get another email if evidence is required. All dispute communications are dealt with by TransUnion.
You won’t need to provide evidence regarding a dispute raised about:
financial account information
searches
associate links
address links
previous names
court orders or judgments you don’t recognise
But you may need to provide evidence to support a dispute raised about:
electoral register
court orders in your name
judgments in your name
You’ll get an email from TransUnion when your dispute has been resolved.
What are the possible outcomes of a dispute?
Here are some examples of dispute outcomes:
Successful: the data provider agrees to change the incorrect information
Unsuccessful: the data provider or lender says that the data is accurate, and no changes are made
Suppressed: no response was received from the data provider within 28 days. If necessary, the data will be removed or hidden from view
Rejected: this means your dispute was immediately unsuccessful. This usually happens with information that TransUnion can automatically dismiss. For example, closed accounts remain on your credit report for six years. This is normal, so TransUnion will dismiss it
What happens after a successful dispute?
If the data provider or lender agrees to change incorrect information, TransUnion will remove or amend the information on your credit report.
Your TotallyMoney credit report is refreshed once a month. Once this happens your credit report will be updated with the correct information.
Why might my dispute be unsuccessful?
There are several reasons why your dispute might be unsuccessful:
the information the lender has matches that on the credit report
a financial link to another person is still valid
a closed account will show on your credit report for six years
you failed to give required evidence in time
How will I know my dispute has been resolved?
TransUnion will contact you directly with an outcome, by email, within 28 days.
What should I do if my dispute is unsuccessful?
If the response from TransUnion is that your dispute is unsuccessful, but you still believe the information on your credit report is incorrect, you’ll need to contact the lender or company concerned.
The lender should be able to provide you with further details on why this information is being reported to credit reference agencies. If the lender agrees that the information is incorrect, you can then request that it update TransUnion with the correct information.
Alternatively, you can contact TransUnion directly for more information about the unsuccessful dispute and they may be able to provide you with some additional information. To do this, you can contact TransUnion directly by using their Consumer Enquiry Form. Don’t forget to enter the email you used to sign up to TotallyMoney.
What else do I need to know about raising a dispute on my credit record?
Will raising a dispute affect my credit score?
Raising a dispute itself doesn’t affect your credit score — but the outcome might.
In general, removing incorrect info from your credit report is a good thing, but some people may see a slight decrease in their score when this happens.
This is because the removal of info affects factors such as the average age of your accounts, your available credit limit, and changes to your payment history information.
This is usually a temporary and small drop, and affected people should see their score recover within a few months.
Overall, raising a dispute is a good thing to do as it will mean your credit report shows a true reflection of your financial situation and history, meaning lenders will be able to make informed decisions about whether to lend to you.
What can't I dispute?
There are some things you can’t dispute on your TransUnion credit report, but you may be able to contact your lender about them. These include:
balance information
credit utilisation
your credit score
personal details on credit accounts
cash advances
overdraft usage
What should I do if I don’t recognise an item on my credit report?
First, check to see if the lender name is an “umbrella” organisation for a company you actually have an account with.
For example:
Madison CF UK is 118 118 Money
New Day is Amazon
Bank of Ireland is the AA or the Post Office
Shop Direct is Very or Littlewoods
MBNA is Abbey, Bradford & Bingley, or Virgin
N Brown Group is JD Williams, Jacamo, or Fashion World
If you’ve been comparing insurance policies on a comparison site, the search may show the group or company name and not the specific insurance brand.
If you still don’t recognise an account on your credit report, and it uses your name or address, you should contact the relevant lender to flag the account as fraudulent.
What does it mean if my dispute is “suppressed”?
If the result of your dispute is that it’s suppressed, it means the information is hidden.
An account may be suppressed if the lender doesn’t respond to a dispute within the 28 days.
You won’t see the suppressed information on your credit report and it won’t be included when calculating your score. This is because it is still under dispute.
In this case, you should contact your lender directly to ask them to respond to the dispute and unsuppress their account.
