35% of Credit Reports Contain Errors!

Understanding Credit Reporting & Your Legal Rights

By Bonnie Krisher (K&G Debt & Credit Professionals)

Your Credit Report

If you’ve ever applied for a credit card, a personal loan, or insurance, there is a file about you. This file contains information on where you work and live, how you pay your bills, and whether you’ve been sued, arrested, or have filed for bankruptcy.

The companies that gather and sell this information are called Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRA). Most people don’t know that these agencies (also known as Credit Bureaus) are private, for profit companies. The information that CRA’s sell about you to creditors, employers, landlords, insurers and other businesses is called a consumer report (or credit report).

Improving Your Credit Report

The Credit Reporting Act has been put in place in order to protect your privacy and the accuracy of information used. Consumer Reporting Agency’s have responsibilities under the law that protect your rights.

The law states that both the Consumer Reporting Agency and the organization that provided the information to the agency have a responsibility for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. To protect all your rights under the law, contact both the Credit Bureau (i.e Equifax, TransUnion, or NCB Inc) and the information provider (i.e. TD Visa) if you have a dispute.

• Tell the CRA (Credit Bureau) in writing what information you believe is inaccurate. Include documents that support your position (not the originals). Provide your complete name and address. Be specific as to your request whether the error is to be deleted or corrected. Deal with one issue at a time. You may want to accompany a copy of your report with the items in question circled. Send your letter by certified mail (retain your receipt). Keep copies of your dispute letter and enclosures.
• Consumer Reporting Agencies must investigate the item in question usually within 30 days, unless they consider your dispute frivolous. They must also forward all relevant information you provide to the information provider (i.e. Creditor). If the information provider finds the disputed information to be inaccurate, it must notify all nationwide CRA’s so that they can correct this information in your file.
• If the disputed information cannot or is not verified by the information provider (Creditor) within the 30 days, then it must be deleted from your file or fixed.

It is important to be aware of what information is contained in your credit report as it can impact your eligibility for credit in the future or increase current interest rates that you may have. One of the best ways to repair your credit is if you have a large amount of debt, have an Arbitrator negotiate your debt down to a settlement amount that you agree with. This will lower your debt to income ratio. For further information on improving your credit report or if you need help lowering your debt up to 80% through Debt Arbitration contact Bonnie Krisher at 604-273-8854 or visit www.kgdebt.ca.