REVIEWING & PROTECTING YOUR CREDIT BUREAU

REVIEWING & PROTECTING YOUR CREDIT BUREAU
 
If you are wondering about your credit bureau or want to protect against identity
theft, here are the links to the three major credit bureaus in Canada.  
 
All three will charge a small fee to obtain your own credit report online but with a
little digging on the website you will discover that your are entitled to obtain a
free report annually.
 
To request your report by the automated phone system note that up to 50% of
calls may be denied access to the report because of non-matching information. 
E.g. a recent move and postal codes don’t match.  You can contact the consumer
relations number to talk to a representative.  
 
There are two types of reports you can request, firstly the FREE COPY is for your
credit report and the second would be your credit report including your credit score
 – also known as a beacon score.  A beacon score is a number from 300-850 based
on calculations of a persons past history managing their credit and the likelihood of
repaying the loan back.  Aim for a score of 750 or higher.  
 
Something else to keep in mind if you request your credit score there could be a
slight drop in your credit/beacon score up to 5 points.  As a mortgage specialist,
I have witnessed this with a clients' file.  But the good news is beacon scores are
unaffected when requesting the free credit report. The credit report will include
your name (aliases including a maiden name) and address, previous address, date
of birth, SIN#, employer, previous employer, credit history, inquiries, etc. 
 
If you are worried about a lost or stolen wallet, the companies also allow an alert
to be added to your file for any new activity, at no cost; phone all three immediately
if you suspect identity theft.  
Read more on fraud: Fraud - How to Identify it, Report it and Stop it!
 
Mark these links as a Favourite in case you ever need them.
 
Equifax: 
Consumer Relations: 1-877-323-2598
Touch Tone Request: 1-800-465-7166
www.equifax.ca  
 
Trans Union: 
Consumer Relations: 1-866-525-0262
Touch Tone Request: 1-800-663-9980
www.transunion.ca 
 
Experian:
Personal Credit Reports: 1 888 826 1718
www.experian.ca