How to correct a mistake on your AECB credit report: the free request, who answers it, and what can't be removed

To correct a mistake on your AECB credit report, raise a free data-correction request with the bureau within 30 days of buying the report: tap "Correct my data" at the end of the report in its app, or use the form at etihadbureau.ae/correction. The bank or provider that reported the data has to respond within 10 working days. The bureau passes your request to them, emails you when the data is updated, and the fix shows in the next report you buy, not the one you already have. Here's the route step by step, what counts as a mistake, and what the bureau says can't be removed.

How to raise a correction request

1. Have the report in front of you. The bureau sells your credit report for AED 84 including VAT in its app, and its FAQ says it arrives within 8 hours of purchase. The checking guide walks through buying it. The 30-day window for a correction runs from the day you bought the report.
2. Write down each mistake exactly. For every line that's wrong, note the bank or provider's name, the type of facility (a credit card, a personal loan, a buy-now-pay-later plan, a phone line) and what's wrong with it. The bureau's FAQ says the bank name and the type of facility are what start the process for a facility that's missing.
3. Get your documents ready. The bureau's answer on BNPL corrections asks you to have any supporting documents ready when you submit. The useful ones show what actually happened: a statement with the payment on it, a receipt, or the letter a lender gave you when you closed or paid off an account. The liability and clearance letter guide covers that last one.
4. Submit the request. Use "Correct my data" at the end of the report page, or the form at etihadbureau.ae/correction. The Learning Center says it costs nothing and that you can track the request after you've sent it.
5. Wait for the provider to answer. The bureau contacts the bank, telecom company or other provider that reported the data. Its FAQ says Central Bank of UAE regulations require the provider to respond within 10 working days. For a BNPL contract, it says requests are typically reviewed within 7 to 10 working days, and only one request can be open for the same contract at a time.
6. Follow up if nothing happens. The bureau sends you an email as soon as the data is updated. If 10 working days have passed and you've heard nothing, its FAQ suggests replying to the email you received when you raised the request.
7. Buy a new report to see the fix. The Learning Center says a correction doesn't change a report you've already bought. The corrected data appears in the next one.

What counts as a mistake

A mistake is data that doesn't match what happened. The bureau's FAQ says the information in your report comes from banks, finance companies, telecom companies and other data providers, so each line on the report was sent by someone, and that provider is who fixes it.

On the payment grid, the bureau's FAQ says each facility shows a colour-coded 24-month history. A month paid on or before the due date is green, a month paid up to 90 days late is yellow, and a month paid more than 90 days late is red. If a month you paid on time is yellow or red, that's a wrong status.

The Left Country flag

The bureau's FAQ says an information provider reports "Left Country" when it has reason to believe you've left the UAE, and that the status can be flagged whether or not you have an overdue amount. So the flag isn't proof that you owe anything, and it can appear on an account that's fully up to date.

If you're still living here, or the flag is wrong for another reason, the bureau says it can help you raise it with the provider that reported it, through the same form at etihadbureau.ae/correction.

What the bureau won't remove

A correction request fixes data that's wrong. It doesn't remove data that's accurate. The bureau's FAQ says defaults, missed payments and bounced cheques appear on your report for up to 5 years, even after you settle the amount, because the report reflects how payment obligations were met as well as what's owed today.

Settling a debt changes what the account shows from then on. It doesn't erase the months that were missed. That's why a company that offers to "clean" your file for a fee is offering something the bureau says doesn't happen. If an old late payment is accurate, the useful work is adding on-time months after it.

Joint accounts and guarantees

Two things on a report can look like mistakes when they aren't. The bureau's FAQ says a joint credit facility appears on the individual report of both people who hold it, so a joint loan or card you share shows on your report even if the other person makes the payments. It also says a guarantor's information appears against each credit facility, as Central Bank regulations require.

If you hold a joint facility or a guarantee, check that the details on it are right. If they are, it isn't a mistake. If they aren't, the correction request is the route, as with any other line.

You don't need to send the bureau updates

The bureau's FAQ says you don't need to submit any information to keep your report up to date. It collects data directly from banks and other providers under the Federal Credit Information Law No. 6 of 2010 and its amendment, Federal Decree Law No. 8 of 2020. Banks send updated data every day, and non-bank providers send it every month.

So when you pay off a loan, you don't send the bureau your clearance letter. The bank reports the change itself. If the change hasn't shown up in a report you bought later, that's when you raise a correction request, with the letter as your supporting document.

When the problem is the bank, not the data

The bureau's job is the data. Its FAQ says it plays no role in reviewing or approving applications for loans, cards or other products, so it can't help with a refusal or with how a bank has treated you.

If your complaint is about the bank itself, such as how it handled your account or a collector's behaviour, that goes through the bank's own complaints process and then the Central Bank's Sanadak unit, which the complaint guide sets out with a template for each step. That's a separate route, not a step in the correction request.

Frequently asked questions

My report is more than 30 days old. Can I still raise a correction?

The Learning Center gives the 30 days from the purchase of a report. If yours is older, buy a new one, check the mistake is still there, and raise the request against the new report.

Will correcting a mistake change my score?

The bureau doesn't say how much any single correction moves a score. Its FAQ says a score comes from the combination of information across your whole credit profile, and that a change shouldn't automatically be put down to one facility or event. What a correction does is make the report say what actually happened.

How do I correct a BNPL plan on my report?

The bureau's FAQ says a BNPL contract can show on your report with the number of contracts, the outstanding balance, the status and the remaining instalments. If any of those is wrong, raise the request through the Etihad Credit Bureau app; only one request can be open per contract at a time. The BNPL-on-your-report guide covers what a lender reads in those lines.

Who do I call if I paid for a report and didn't get it?

The bureau's contact centre is 800-BUREAU (800-287328). Its FAQ gives that number for a report or score you paid for and didn't receive, for payment problems, and for login problems that a password reset doesn't fix.

Sources, and when we last read them

Every figure in this guide comes from one of the sources below. The date is when we last read the guide against them. Procedures change without notice, so if a step matters to a decision, open the bureau's page before you rely on it.

Where Hisab fits

Hisab is a free app with an AI coach that helps people in the UAE get out of debt and stay on top of their money. When you upload your AECB report, it reads the report and lists the accounts on it, which makes a line that isn't yours easier to find.

Get the app — free →