It is a good practice to order your credit report periodically and check for any inaccuracies. I tend to do it once every two years even if I have no intention of applying for a loan of any sort. There are three major credit bureaus in Canada, but I only bother with the first two:
- Equifax: Equifax offers online access to the credit report and credit score but I simply requested the free credit report by mail. You can request your free credit history report by filling out this form and mailing in two copies of personal identification.
- TransUnion: Like Equifax, you can pay to check your credit report and score online but I prefer to request the free copy by mail.
- Experian or Northern Credit Bureau: The NCB website (Who did they hire to design their web pages? A fourth grader?) states that you can order a credit report by filling out and mailing in a Declaration Form and Identity Form. The address can be found on this page.
I found my Equifax credit report interesting because the company listed as my current employer is one I worked for five years and two jobs back. I also found a number of department store credit cards that I haven’t used in years and should really close these dormant accounts.
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24 responses so far ↓
1 Charles // Jun 17, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Just a comment: I do this too, but I feel safer not putting my SIN on the form. They can find the same information with my driver’s licence number.
2 Rob // Jun 17, 2008 at 8:45 pm
>> the company listed as my current employer is one I worked for five years and two jobs back.
The credit bureaus only know about the employment you ‘tell them’ about (ie by applying for credit somewhere). The employment history on anyone’s credit report is going to incomplete. Any company that regularly relies on credit reports will know that.
>> a number of department store credit cards that I haven’t used in years and should really close these dormant accounts.
Perhaps, unless you actually do plan to apply for any credit soon. I’ve heard that closing accounts can negatively impact your credit rating (a separate service provided by the same bureaus, but for a fee).
3 Canadian Capitalist // Jun 17, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Charles: Good point about the SIN number. It is optional, so it is best not to write it down. And in the report they send back, some numbers are masked to protect personal information.
Rob: I don’t think I’ll bother correcting the employer information. I’ve read that it’s best not to close accounts as well but I don’t plan on applying for any credit anytime soon. I’d rather close the accounts and get rid of the cards.
4 Nicolas // Jun 17, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Notice the Equifax form is dated 2003.
5 Jon D. // Jun 17, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Can anyone confirm or deny that Canadians have anything like the U.S. FICA score? Or is this purely a Canadian urban (Financial) Legend?
6 Rob // Jun 18, 2008 at 1:47 am
Jon: Yes, there are credit scores in Canada. You can find out yours from TransUnion for a fee.
From their FAQ:
http://faq.transunion.ca/faq07/ScoreDetails.asp?
Q. Do credit lenders use the TransUnion Credit Score?
A. Currently, there are some lenders that do use the TransUnion score but most credit lenders use their own scoring tools to make a credit decision. While the overall purpose of credit scores is universal, there are numerous score products in the market today that measure different components of an individual’s credit worthiness. Each lender will use his or her own criteria to measure an individual’s credit worthiness. The only way to find out about how they measure this is to ask the individual credit lender.
7 MillionDollarJourney // Jun 18, 2008 at 5:28 am
Equifax credit reports can also be ordered over the phone (automated): 1-800-465-7166
8 Canadian Capitalist // Jun 18, 2008 at 7:29 am
Nicolas: I used the exact same form to order our reports recently. I’m not able to find the link to the latest form online. Or you can order it over the phone as FT suggests (haven’t tried it myself).
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10 telly // Jun 18, 2008 at 11:14 am
If you order the score by phone, is there a fee involved?
11 Leading Edge Boomer // Jun 18, 2008 at 11:59 am
My understanding is that if you have had no activity what-so -ever on a credit card for six years, it will disappear from the credit card report.
In fact, even if you do contact the credit card issuer to close the account, it may still appear on the credit agency report until the six years of no-use is completed.
Anyone else able to confirm or deny the truth of this, as I am not 100% certtain that I have this right?
12 Everything Is In/Flux · links for 2008-06-18 // Jun 18, 2008 at 1:36 pm
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13 Canadian Capitalist // Jun 18, 2008 at 5:39 pm
telly: I’m not sure. FT?
LEB: You’re right that even closed accounts appear on the credit report (it does in mine). I don’t know when they drop off from the credit file altogether.
14 Billy // Jun 18, 2008 at 7:37 pm
I just did the phone thing…and it is free and reasonably painless.
It does require your SIN number, your DOB, your house number, your postal code and a CC #. The CC # is only used to confirm that you are you. They specifically tell you that it is a free service and you will not be charged.
Since I assumed that they already have my SIN on file, I had no problem giving it over the phone…
15 Canadian Capitalist // Jun 18, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Thanks for the info Billy. It’s great to know that the credit report can be ordered over the phone.
16 Million Dollar Journey // Jun 19, 2008 at 8:25 am
As Billy explained, it’s completely free and painless. You’ll need your address on file along with your SIN number.
17 Canadian Capitalist // Jun 19, 2008 at 9:52 am
Thanks FT. I was curious whether TransUnion allows ordering the FREE credit report by phone. They do as well at 1-800-663-9980.
The require SIN number or Visa/MasterCard number and personal details and say it takes about five minutes to order by phone.
18 telly // Jun 19, 2008 at 11:20 am
Thanks for the info guys. That’s great to know.
Does anyone know if the credit ’scores’ are available free of charge by phone?
19 MikeH // Jun 19, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Telly, AFAIK, the credit score is one of the “for-fee” services of these companies. I can’t imagine they would give it away.
BTW: My wife had her identity stolen - two credit cards opened, maxed, and dumped. We didn’t find out until another credit card company dropped our limit. We got the credit report and sure enough - addresses and cards we knew nothing about.
Moral of the story - get you credit report routinely like CC does.
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21 Billy // Jun 24, 2008 at 2:00 pm
I just received the credit report from Equifax that I requested above on June 18th — so it took less than 1 week.
I am surprised that alot of my financial information is not included on the report — it does have my Visa, Car Loan, ING LOC and an old mortgage but it has no record of my Amex, MasterCard or my current mortgage.
The mortgage is interesting to me since I renewed it with the same bank.
There was nothing significanly incorrect on the credit report — other than having 3 different spellings of my employers name on file.
I guess that all lenders do not report to all of the credit reporting agencies. I am going to get one of the other free reports to see if it has more fun information.
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24 Thicken My Wallet » Blog Archive » Protecting yourself in an unsecure world // Jul 24, 2008 at 5:01 am
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