Unknown Loan on Your CIBIL? Here’s Exactly What to Do?

Client's story

a 34-year-old salaried professional from New Delhi, came to us after his home loan application was rejected. The bank gave him one reason: low CIBIL score.

He had never missed an EMI in his life. He had two credit cards, both paid on time. His score should have been above 780. Instead it was 631.

When we pulled his full CIBIL report, we found it: a personal loan of ?4.2 lakh from an NBFC he had never heard of, marked overdue for 6 months. Opened in his name. Linked to his PAN. He had no idea it existed.

This was not a glitch. Someone had used his documents to take a loan. It took us 47 days to get it removed. His score recovered to 764. He got his home loan.

Here is what we did, step by step.

Step 1: Get Your Full CIBIL Report

Your score alone tells you nothing. You need the full report, which lists every loan and credit card linked to your PAN. Get it at cibil.com — you are entitled to one free report per year.

Once you have it, look for:

Step 2: Identify the Cause Before You Act

Unknown loans appear for three reasons. Knowing which one you are dealing with changes how fast you can resolve it:

Note the lender name and account number from the entry. You will need both.

Step 3: Raise a Dispute on CIBIL

Go to cibil.com and navigate to the Dispute Resolution section. Log in, select the entry, and choose the dispute type — ‘Account not mine’ applies here.

CIBIL passes your dispute to the lender. The lender then has 30 days to verify and respond. If they confirm the error or do not respond, CIBIL removes or corrects the entry.

Do not wait for this alone. Run Step 4 at the same time.

Step 4: Write to the Lender Directly

Contact the lender’s grievance redressal team in writing. State clearly that the account does not belong to you. Request written confirmation and ask them to update CIBIL immediately.

Keep every email, reference number, and response. If it is fraud, file a police complaint the same day and share the FIR number with both the lender and CIBIL. This is what moved Rahul’s case the fastest.

Step 5: Escalate to the RBI Ombudsman If Needed

If the lender does not act within 30 days, file a complaint at cms.rbi.org.in. The RBI Ombudsman handles exactly these cases. It is free and the lender is required to respond.

Re-raise your CIBIL dispute at this stage, attaching all correspondence as evidence.

Check Before a Bank Says No

Rahul found out about the loan because his application was rejected. Most people only check at that point. By then, the error has already done its damage and the clock is running against you.

Check your CIBIL report once a year. It takes ten minutes and costs nothing. One unknown entry, left unchecked, can cost you a loan you actually need.

If you find something you do not recognise, do not ignore it. Start with Step 1 today.

Have you checked your CIBIL report recently? If you find an entry you don’t recognise, drop a comment or message us directly. We’ve helped clients resolve disputes like Rahul’s and we’re happy to guide you through it.