Do you know that most adult Canadians have a credit report? In fact, most of us have two – one with each of the two major credit reporting agencies in Canada. The information in your credit report can be very important to you in terms of determining whether or not you can get credit and what the cost of that credit would be. It could also be used to determine if you get a job or an apartment.
Contrary to what many people believe, a credit report does not offer a “rating” of your credit worthiness. In fact, a credit report contains no subjective or judgmental information about you at all. Your report simply contains information about you and your past financial obligations. ALL the information in your report must be based on facts. And the law requires that the facts be accurate and complete. Creditors, landlords and employers then interpret these facts to suit their needs. For example, a creditor would likely be interested to know how much total debt you have and how timely you have been in the past in making payments on your debts.
Have you reviewed your credit report lately to ensure your facts are accurate? If not, you may want to do it now. Both of the reporting agencies will mail you a copy of your credit report free of charge. Here are the links:
ADDITIONAL READING:
How to get a free copy of your credit report
Thinking about hiring a credit repair company?
Were you signed up for a credit card without being fully aware of it? Here are your rights
It’s worth noting that Transunion appears to require you to enter CC information as part of getting your “free” credit report. That is something I refuse to do, and Transunion should be sanctioned/warned against getting CC information for the free report.