Credit Bureau Information

The two major credit reporting agencies in Canada: are Equifax Canada Inc, and TransUnion of Canada.

Credit reporting agencies store and maintain credit information about Canadians for use by members of the agency. Members include banks, finance companies, auto leasing companies, credit card companies and retailers.

Credit grantors send the credit agencies updated monthly reports about their customers' credit and payment activities. Information contained in your credit report can include public records from courthouses and collection agencies. 

List of the major sections found in your credit report:

Personal Identification -
Includes key identification information, such as your name, address, date of birth and Social Insurance Number (SIN)

Consumer Statement -
Allows you, the consumer, to add a brief comment about any information in your report.  It wasn't my fault statements not recommended.

Credit Information -
Provides details of your credit accounts and transactions and shows if payments are being made on time

Banking Information -
Includes information on your bank account and NSF cheque history

Public Record Information -
Contains information about secured loans, bankruptcies and/or judgments

Third-Party Collections -
Contains information about any involvement with a collection agency trying to collect on a debt

Inquiries -
Includes all organizations or individuals that have requested a copy of your credit report in the past three years

Mortgage information -
Details about your existing mortgage is not generally in your credit bureau. Mortgage information is not reported by a bank but will be reported by a credit union. Mortgage information is not used to calculate your credit score since it is not reported by all lenders.  So why would you want to have your mortgage information in your credit bureau?

An individual or company must have your permission to obtain your credit report.  Each request is noted on your report as an inquiry and kept for 3 years. You can therefore see a record of who has requested your credit report and when.

Your Credit Score
While a credit report can be considered your detailed financial history, a score is an objective summary of that information. It represents your creditworthiness as a number. Numerical weights are placed on different aspects of your credit report and a mathematical formula is used to arrive at a final score..

Creditors use scores, among other things, to determine whether or not to grant you credit and, if so, how much credit and at what rate. As most credit decisions are made quickly, it is a credit score that will be most often used to decline your application. 

What is used to calculate your score
Payment history -

Indicates whether you have made your credit card payments, loan payments and other payments on time

Amounts owed -
Compares how much you owe to your credit limits with various lenders

Length of time in file -
Indicates how long you have had credit accounts

New credit -
Shows how often you are looking for new credit and how you handle accounts you have recently opened

Type of credit -
Considers the type of loans you have - car loans, lines of credit, credit card balances