Why the accounts stay on your report#

Entering insolvency doesn't clear the accounts from your credit report. It changes their status.

When you enter insolvency, the accounts included in it are normally marked as defaulted. That usually happens automatically within a month, though it can take longer.

Your lenders report the actual status of your accounts to the credit reference agencies, so the defaults show even though you've been declared insolvent. That's normal and expected.

The defaults stay for six years from the date of default — a date that will often be close to when your insolvency started, but isn't necessarily the same.

This is the crucial point: the accounts and the insolvency are treated as separate entries for the whole of their reporting periods. They don't move together.

Why the default dates don't match#

Lenders often default your accounts within a month of their inclusion in your insolvency. But not always — in practice this frequently takes considerably longer.

It's entirely at the lender's discretion when an account goes into default, irrespective of your insolvency. What they do have is an obligation to make sure what they report is accurate and reflects the account's actual status.

So a mismatch between your insolvency start date and an account's default date isn't automatically an error. It may simply be when that lender processed it.

Getting a default date corrected#

If you believe a default date is wrong, you'll need to speak to the lender to ask them to change it.

This isn't something your insolvency practitioner can sort out. The lender reported the date, so the lender is the only one who can amend it.

If they accept the date should be brought into line with your insolvency start date, they should agree to update the agencies. Expect that to filter through to your report within four to six weeks.

It's worth pursuing where the gap is significant, because the default date sets the six-year clock. A default recorded three months late sits on your report three months longer.

If your insolvency should show as discharged#

If you've completed your insolvency but it's still showing as active, this is fixable.

Send a copy of your completion paperwork to each of the credit reference agencies — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion — and ask them to update your credit report. Expect the update within about 28 days.

Note that discharge doesn't remove the entry. The insolvency stays on your report for the full six years even once discharged. Full details, including the removal date, appear in the court information section of your report.

The accounts inside it behave separately again. If they're still showing as active and outstanding despite your discharge, contact every lender listed on your Statement of Affairs. Give them a copy of your discharge certificate and they should be able to update the information.

Many lenders will mark the default as settled or satisfied once you've completed your insolvency — but there's no requirement on them to do so. It's worth asking rather than assuming.

If an IVA still shows as current on the register#

There's a step before the credit reference agencies here.

If your Individual Voluntary Arrangement is showing as 'Current' on the Individual Insolvency Register (opens external site), the agencies can't update the details on your report. They're reporting what the register says.

Check the register first — it's the quickest way to see the status. If it isn't what you'd expect, send a copy of your completion paperwork to the Insolvency Service, or contact your Insolvency Practitioner.

Expect the register to be updated within 28 days, after which your report can follow. Records are usually removed from the register within three months of the insolvency ending.

There's more on the reporting timeline in how long an IVA stays on your report.

The key things to remember#

  • Insolvency doesn't remove the accounts inside it; it changes their status to defaulted.
  • The insolvency and its accounts are separate entries with separate six-year clocks.
  • Default dates are set by lenders and often lag the insolvency start date.
  • Only the lender can correct a default date — not your insolvency practitioner.
  • A discharged insolvency still stays six years; discharge isn't removal.
  • Fix the Individual Insolvency Register before expecting your credit report to change.