Being on a credit default list closes the door to credit. We explain when you can be listed and how to get off.
What credit default files are
Credit bureaus and default registers (in the US: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act; in the UK: the same three agencies under the ICO) collect default information so lenders can assess the risk of granting credit. Being listed isn't illegal, but it blocks you from financing, mortgages, cards or point-of-sale credit.
When you can be listed (and when you can't)
Listing requires a certain, due and payable debt, and compliance with the requirements of the applicable law (for example, Article 20 of Spain's LOPDGDD, which also requires a prior payment warning and notification of the listing; in Portugal, Law 58/2019 and the Bank of Portugal's rules). If any requirement is missing, the listing is improper.
Your rights to get off the list
- If the debt is settled: removal must be immediate. The file can't keep your data for a paid debt.
- If the debt is incorrect or not yours: right to rectification.
- If the legal requirements weren't met: right to erasure.
- Time limit: listing is limited in time; in practice, the usual period is a few years from the debt's due date.
Steps to get off the list
- Request a report from the credit bureau to confirm what data is held.
- Claim against the file owner in writing, providing evidence (payment proof, error).
- If they don't remove it within a reasonable time, file a complaint with your national data protection authority.
- Consider also claiming against the company that listed you if it breached the requirements.