How to dispute an error on your AECB credit report

To dispute an error on your AECB credit report, buy your report, select “Correct my data”, complete the request form with your Emirates ID and supporting documents, and send one request for each bank or company. The bureau passes it to the provider that reported the data. Correction is free for a report bought in the last 30 days.

Key takeaways

• A data correction request is free for any report bought in the last 30 days.
• The bureau does not change the data itself: it passes your request to the bank or company that reported it.
• Send one request for each provider, with your Emirates ID and documents that support your case.
• If the provider rejects the correction, you can register a dispute with the bureau on 800-BUREAU (800-287328).
• Accurate negative records cannot be removed: they stay on the report for up to 5 years.

What counts as an error on your report

The bureau’s data correction service is for information that is wrong, missing or out of date. It is not a way to remove entries that are accurate. Typical examples a reader might find when they read their AECB credit report are:

• an account or card that is not yours, or one you closed that still shows as active;
• a payment shown as late when it was made on time;
• a balance that does not match your latest statement;
• a facility you hold that is missing from the report;
• an old salary or other personal detail, or a “Left Country” status that is wrong.

The bureau itself does not change the data. It collects records from banks, finance companies and other information providers, so a correction has to be made by the provider that reported the entry. The bureau’s role is to pass your request to that provider.

Before you start: buy and read the report

You need a current full report in front of you. The score alone does not show the individual accounts, payment history or enquiries, so it cannot tell you what to dispute. The steps for buying one are in how to check your AECB score and report.

Timing matters because the free correction is tied to the purchase date of the report:

Correcting your report

Free

Data correction is free for any credit report bought in the last 30 days; the bureau passes the request to the information provider, and the report should be updated within 10 working days.

Go through the report line by line and write down each entry you believe is wrong, with the provider’s name. Gather what proves it: a settlement or clearance letter, bank statements showing the payment date, a closure confirmation, or a salary certificate.

How to submit a data correction request

1. Open your report and select “Correct my data”.
2. Fill in the request form, attach a copy of your Emirates ID and add any documents that support your request.
3. If the errors come from different banks or companies, send a separate request for each one.
4. Watch for the bureau’s email: it writes to you when the data is updated.

Missing accounts can be raised too. The bureau’s FAQ says that for a missing facility, such as a credit card, you can start by giving the bank name and the type of facility.

Describe each error in one or two plain sentences: which entry, what it shows, what it should show, and which document proves it. A request that names the account and attaches the evidence is easier for a provider to check than a general complaint that the report is wrong.

What happens next, and how long it takes

Two clocks run once your request is with the provider. The bureau gives its own expectation for the report to be updated, and the Central Bank sets a deadline for the lender.

Lender's deadline to fix reported errors

7 business days

A licensed institution must correct errors in the data it reported to the credit bureau within 7 complete business days of becoming aware of them.

If nothing has changed after 10 working days, reply to the email you received when you made the request. The bureau says banks send it updated data daily and providers outside the banking sector monthly, so the timing of a visible change can differ by provider.

Going to the lender directly

You do not have to start with the bureau. Under the same Central Bank standards, when you ask a licensed institution to correct data it reported, it must acknowledge the request and check it, and if a correction is needed it must report it to the bureau within 7 business days of hearing from you.

Putting the request in writing to the lender, with the same evidence, gives you a dated record. If you are unhappy with how the bank handled it, how to complain about a bank and escalate to Sanadak explains the route.

If the provider rejects the correction

A rejection is not the end. The bureau lets you register a data correction dispute by calling 800-BUREAU (800-287328). It accepts a dispute only after the provider has rejected the correction, so keep the rejection email or letter and the evidence you sent.

Be realistic about what a dispute can achieve. The provider owns the record, and the bureau passes your request to it rather than changing the entry itself. If the entry is accurate, it will stay. Your documents are what separate a wrong record from a record you simply dislike.

Worked example

A salary on the report that is out of date

All amounts are illustrations. The bureau’s Income Utilisation Ratio (IUR) is measured against your last reported income, and its data correction service covers outdated information as well as errors.

1. Monthly obligations counted by the IUR: loan instalment AED 2,500, card limits counted at 5% AED 1,500, bills AED 500, a total of AED 4,500.
2. Last reported salary: AED 12,000. AED 4,500 ÷ AED 12,000 = 37.5%.
3. Current salary: AED 15,000, shown by a salary certificate. AED 4,500 ÷ AED 15,000 = 30.0%.

The stale salary makes the same obligations look like 37.5% of income instead of 30.0%.

The bureau does not say how a change in the IUR moves the score, so treat the example as showing the ratio only. See how to improve your AECB credit score for the habits that match the bureau’s score factors.

What a dispute will not do

A correct negative entry cannot be disputed away. The bureau says defaults, missed payments and bounced cheques stay on the report for up to 5 years, even after the amount is settled. Be wary of anyone who offers to delete accurate entries or promises a set rise in your score: corrections go through the provider that reported the data, and only for data that is wrong or missing.

A correction also does not guarantee a particular score. It fixes a record; what that does to the number is for the bureau’s model, and the range and meaning of the number are covered in what is a good AECB credit score. If you are new to the UAE and there is simply little on your report, a correction is not the issue: read no credit history in the UAE.

Business owners and company reports

A company’s report is separate from its owners’ personal reports and is applied for through a different process. See the AECB company credit report for what it shows and how to get it. This article covers the personal data correction service only.

For the full set of score and report guides, browse our credit score guides, and see about The Credit Zone for how we research and why we are independent.