This report is the basic detailed report that lists all your debts, collections, judgements and enquiries made about you. It is written in plain English (or French) and easy to follow. You can get this for free by mail, or online for a small fee. You MUST monitor this report at least twice a year.
What if there is an error on my credit report? If you see an
error on your report, report it to the credit bureau Consumers wishing to dispute items on their credit files can do so by contacting the  Credit Bureau directly
The credit bureaux are paid by businesses and banks Changing or correcting information on your report is extremely difficult. 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.
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 |
Start by obtaining your credit reports from each of the consumer credit reporting agencies in Canada. Do not phone, they will not discuss your credit report on the phone.
CHECK YOUR CREDIT REPORT REGULARLY Under the Consumer Reporting Act you are entitled to a copy of all the information a credit agency has on you. Find out what these credit bureaux are telling people about you and find out who has been asking. 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.
To obtain a hard copy of your personal credit file by mail: Mail or fax a written request with copies of two pieces of identification to Equifax available on line here for a small fee also write or fax to Trans Union and Northern Credit Bureaus. This mailed request service is free. 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.
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. | |
WHAT IS YOUR FICO SCORE?
FICO is a a numerical score calculated by assigning values to all the items in your basic credit report, credit history and financial life. It is used to prescreen all credit applicants and eliminate those who fall below a certain score. It is also used to determine what sorts and amounts of credit you qualify for. It is used as the primary lending tool by most lenders.
Here's a chart that explains your score:
Lenders (and employers or landlords) will first look at your FICO score to determine if it is worth processing your application.
- 720 - 850 - Excellent - The best financing terms and represents the
best score range
- 700 - 719 - Very Good - qualifies to receive favorable financing
- 675 - 699 - Average - will qualify for most loans
- 620 - 674 - Sub-prime - May qualify but will pay higher interest
- 560 - 619 - Risky - Will have trouble getting a loan
- 500 - 559 - Very Risky - You need to work on improving your rating
What's in your score?- According to Fair, Isaac, the breakdown of your FICO score is as follows:
- 35% of the score is determined by payment histories on your credit accounts, with recent history weighted a bit more heavily than the distant past;
- 30% is based upon the amount of debt you have outstanding with all creditors;
- 15% is produced on the basis of how long you've been a credit user (a longer history is better if you've always made timely payments);
- 10% is comprised of very recent history, based on your efforts to obtain loans or credit lines in the past few months;
- 10% is calculated from the mix of credit you hold, including installment loans (like car loans), leases, mortgages, credit cards, etc.
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Past Payment History
Past due items on file, severity of any delinquency, presence of any adverse public records, such as bankruptcy, judgments, lawsuits, liens, etc. This category alone suggests that you should make bankruptcy your last resort option only.
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Amount of Credit Owing on Accounts
How many accounts you have with balances, proportion of credit lines used to credit available proportion of installment loan amounts still owing.
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Length of Time Since Credit Established
Time since you opened your account(s) and how active those account(s) have been.
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Acquisition of New Credit
How often you have recently searched for or obtained new credit and your relative success at establishing positive credit history following past payment problems.
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Types of Credit Established
Number of and types of credit established. Now, it's really nice of the folks at FICO to tell us all this, but the average borrower still doesn't know what factors are weighted more heavily than others, how recent is 'recent' or even exactly how many credit cards is too many or too few.
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.
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.
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