How Credit Surprises Can Affect You

Like anyone else, I love surprises. However, not all surprises are good. An example of that would be finding incorrect or outdated information on your credit report! Yup .. imagine you have found your dream home and you go to see your lender for final approval, just to get denied over a discrepancy on your credit report. This could take weeks or months to resolve, depending on the situation. In Alberta, if a financial institution agrees that there is an error on your credit report, the credit reporting agency has up to 90 days to correct your credit report (in most provinces it’s 30 days). 90 DAYS!

Many Canadians are not aware of what is on their credit report. Even if you are not interested in buying a home, there is a multitude of reasons to ensure that your credit report is accurate. Furthermore, if you have blemishes on your credit report, there are measures you can take to repair your credit.

 

The solution? Be proactive.

The first step is awareness! Did you know that you can get a copy of your credit report? It is a good idea to order your credit report once a year to ensure up to date and accurate information. There are 2 major credit reporting agencies. Below is their contact information so that you can order your own credit report:

Equifax Canada
Tel: 1-800-465-7166
Fax: 514-355-8502

TransUnion Canada
Tel: 1-866-525-0262 (except in Quebec)
Tel: 1-877-713-3393 (Quebec residents)

 

What affects your credit score? How do you fix your credit? These are some of the most common questions and there are some great resources to help you. These are the top resources I recommend to get answers about credit in Canada:

* Industry Canada, Office of Consumer Affairs:

http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/oca-bc.nsf/eng/h_ca02146.html

* Financial Consumer Agency of Canada:

http://www.fcacacfc.gc.ca/eng/resources/publications/budgetMoneyMgmt/CreditReportScore/CreditReportScoreTOC-eng.asp