Raise dispute on credit bureau's website, alert lender

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed a unique and secure borrower identifier to reduce duplication and misreporting in credit bureau records.

- HIMALI PATEL

Until this is implemented, borrowers must handle these issues themselves.

Common errors in credit reports Discrepancies in Indian credit bureau data include incorrect names and addresses. "There could be phantom loans that borrowers never took, mismatched account numbers, and outdated loan status, such as closed loans still being reported as open," says Abhishek Kumar, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) registered investment advisor and founder, SahajMoney.​com.

Borrowers with similar names sometimes get mixed up, resulting in one person's defaults showing up in another's report.

Duplication is another frequent issue-the same loan may be reported multiple times in a person's credit report. Sometimes, the same PAN or Aadhaar gets linked to more than one loan due to clerical errors. If a loan is sold to a collection agency, both entities may report it, causing it to appear as two separate liabilities.