Error in credit history, Creditinfo 'blacklist': what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Get the report: the report is free 3 times a year, no later than 1 working day (NBG Rules on the Credit Bureau, Art. 8). Check who made the entry, its status and its dates.
2. Claim to the bureau with a certificate of repayment: the bureau's reply to a claim is due no later than 10 working days (NBG Rules on the Credit Bureau, Art. 9). The lender must reply to the bureau on a claim no later than 5 working days (NBG Rules on the Credit Bureau, Art. 6). A justified correction or deletion is made no later than 1 working day (NBG Rules on the Credit Bureau, Art. 9). Updated data are provided free of charge, on the next working day (NBG Rules on the Credit Bureau, Art. 5). In parallel, claim to the lender: the bank's or MFO's reply to a claim is due no later than 1 month (NBG Consumer Protection Rules, Art. 13). You have the right to demand correction of inaccurate data, with a reply due within 10 working days (Law of Georgia on Personal Data Protection, Art. 15).
3. Retention periods: 5 years after repayment, the entry is visible to lenders only in anonymised form (NBG Rules on the Credit Bureau, Art. 4). A debt recognised as time-barred receives the status 'time-barred claim' and remains visible for another 5 years (same article). A genuine delinquency is not deleted early.
4. Someone else's (fraudulent) loan: claim to the lender and file a complaint with the police. The lender must notify the client about transferring data to the bureau (NBG Rules on the Credit Bureau, Art. 6).
5. Escalation: the claim may be filed with the bureau and/or the National Bank of Georgia (NBG Rules on the Credit Bureau, Art. 8). For personal data, the complaint goes to the State Audit Office or to court (Law of Georgia on Personal Data Protection, Art. 22). The 'Personal Data Protection Inspector' named in the NBG rules has been abolished, so address data complaints only to the State Audit Office.
6. Where to apply: credit bureau (Creditinfo); bank or MFO; National Bank of Georgia; State Audit Office; court.
7. Evidence: bureau report, certificate of repayment, bank statements, credit refusal, copies of claims.
8. Pitfalls: disputing only with the bureau, when the error is usually entered by the lender; waiting for a genuine delinquency to be deleted; writing to the abolished Personal Data Protection Inspectorate; paying intermediaries to 'clean up' your history.

Be sure to check

• free report: 3 times a year, delivered within 1 working day
• claim to the bureau and to the lender; response deadlines (bureau: 10 working days; lender: 5 working days to the bureau; correction: 1 working day)
• retention periods: 5 years after repayment, in anonymised form; 'time-barred claim' status
• escalation to the National Bank of Georgia and the State Audit Office; fraudulent loan: police