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 Get Your Equifax Credit Report Here
You are entitled to a free copy of all the information a credit agency has on you under the Consumer Reporting Act Find out what the credit bureaux are telling people about you and find out who has been asking.
To Get Your Personal Credit Reports at no cost:
Mail or fax a written request (addresses are below) with copies of two pieces of identification to Equifax and Trans Union. This service is free by law. In a couple of weeks, they will mail your report to you. You could also go to their office and ask to see your report.
WHAT DO THE RATINGS MEAN?
These ratings are used in conjunction with your FICO score to determine your credit worthiness
Standard Credit Bureau Ratings in Canada |
Number | Rating |
| R0 | Too new to rate; approved but not used |
| R1 | Pays within 30 days of billing, or pays as agreed |
| R2 | Pays in more than 30 days but less than 60 or one payment past due |
| R3 | Pays in more than 60 days but less than 90 or two payments past due |
| R4 | Pays in more than 90 days but less than 120 or three or more payments past due |
| R5 | Account is at least 120 days past due but is not yet rated R9 |
| R6 | No rating exists |
| R7 | Paid through a consolidation order, consumer proposal or credit counselling debt management program |
| R8 | Repossession |
| R9 | Bad debt or placed for collection or bankruptcy |
Most credit grantors use the FICO or Beacon score. It is not included in the free credit report you order by writing the credit bureaux. You can access it online right now. CanLaw recommends that you do so.
The credit bureaux are paid by the very businesses and banks which grant you credit or loans
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Get Your Equifax Credit Report Here
What if Your Report Contains Inaccurate Information?
Errors are very common. You can dispute erroneous items on your report. Correcting them will take a lot of time, work and effort.
Call the credit bureau and point out their errors.
The credit bureau must review your complaints, however they will insist on your supplying the material using their forms. These forms, which are also included in your personal credit report, explain how to file disputes and get corrections made. It is an uphill battle and you will have to fight them and be persistent.
You also have a right to place a 100 word statement on the credit bureau file to be given to anyone who obtains a future report.
Can you sue them for defamation or personal injury?
If the information about you is actually false and damaging, not just a true negative item, you might consider legal action against both the credit bureaux and the company reporting the false damaging information. However, practically speaking, defamation actions are not really practical.
Beware of credit repair scams.
You are the only one who can "fix" your bad credit. There is no shortcut to erasing bad credit records. Credit repair scams prey on the greed and ignorance of people with credit problems looking for a quick fix. Anyone who offers to repair your bad credit rating quickly for a fee is lying to you and will take your money and do nothing. Only you can fix your credit.
Credit Bureaux and Your Consumers' Rights- The Consumer Reporting Act Ontario applies only to consumer transactions.
- Reports may be given to a person seeking information only for the purpose of: extending credit or collecting a debt; a tenancy inquiry, employment or insurance verification under authority granted by a government statute otherwise, as a direct business requirement.
- Before a person may obtain a report, she or he must: have the consumer's consent in writing, or notify the consumer by mailing a notice postmarked at least three days before obtaining the report.
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