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In this guide
By Onah Attorneys Inc • Updated July 2026 • Legal information, not a substitute for advice on your specific matter.
Your credit record decides your bond rate, your car finance, sometimes your job application — yet most South Africans have never read theirs. The rules favour consumers more than the bureaus advertise: free annual reports, strict listing requirements, mandatory removal of paid-up judgments, and prescribed debt that may not appear at all. Here is the full cleanup process.
Step 1: Get your reports — all of them, free
Every registered bureau owes you one FREE report per year — pull TransUnion, Experian, XDS and Compuscan, because they differ. Check: personal details, accounts and their payment histories, adverse listings (defaults), judgments, debt review flags, and enquiries. Errors are common: accounts that aren’t yours, settled debts showing open, listings without the required notice.
Know the retention rules
Adverse enforcement listings: 1–2 years maximum. Judgments: 5 years — but PAID-UP judgments must be removed entirely on proof of payment (since the 2014 Removal of Adverse Information regulations), not merely marked satisfied. Debt review flags: until clearance certificate. Enquiries: 1–2 years. Anything older than its category limit comes off on demand — bureaus miss their own clocks constantly.
Prescribed debt: the big one
Debt with no summons served, no payment and no written acknowledgment for 3 years has PRESCRIBED — extinguished. It may not be listed, sold or collected, and the NCA amendment makes even demanding payment of prescribed debt unlawful. Debt buyers resurrect old cellphone and retail accounts daily hoping you don’t know; one attorney letter citing prescription ends most of it. Careful: acknowledging or paying anything can revive the clock — take advice before engaging.
The dispute machinery
Lodge disputes with the bureau (they must investigate within 20 business days, and remove information the furnisher cannot verify); escalate unresolved disputes to the Credit Ombud (free) or the NCR. Paper everything. For listings placed without the mandatory 20-business-day pre-listing notice to you, demand removal on that defect alone.
Judgments and defaults: the legal removes
Paid judgments: proof of payment to the bureau → mandatory removal. Unpaid but defective judgments (never served, wrong address, prescribed underlying debt): rescission application at the issuing court, then bureau removal with the rescission order. Settlements: negotiate ‘paid in full’ wording and prompt-removal terms INTO the settlement — then hold them to it.
Rebuilding after the cleanup
Scores rebuild on fresh data: a small well-managed facility paid on time, utilisation kept low, no application sprees (each enquiry dents), and stability signals. Six to twelve clean months move scores materially; there is no lawful ‘instant fix’ — anyone selling one is selling fraud that ends worse than the listing did.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get my credit report for free?
Directly from each bureau — one free report per bureau per year (TransUnion, Experian, XDS, Compuscan). Pull all of them; they hold different data.
How long does a default stay on my record?
Adverse enforcement listings 1–2 years; judgments up to 5 — but paid-up judgments must be removed entirely on proof of payment, immediately, not at year five.
A collector is chasing a 7-year-old clothing account — must I pay?
Almost certainly prescribed (3 years, absent summons/acknowledgment) — unlawful to collect or list. Don’t acknowledge anything; send a prescription letter or have us send one.
Can companies legally ‘fix’ my credit score?
No shortcut exists — lawful repair is disputes, prescription, rescissions and time. Paying someone for ‘deletion hacks’ buys you nothing the process above doesn’t do lawfully.
Speak to an Attorney Today
Get straight answers about clear your credit record from a firm that fights to win. First consultation — no obligation, full confidentiality.
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