I have put in a request with Equifax and TransUnion. Funny enough both reports were not exactly the same but Equifax 'reported' that my letters to them were actually in their system. And also the issues that I had with them were now resolved.

I did find a link to get corrections with Equifax started:

http://www.consumer.equifax.ca/dispute-ca/dispute_process/en_ca

I'm not sure if this link will stay active in future but if you look for keywords like 'correction' and 'equifax' it will come up again online.

I had not expected this outcome and that is why I started this blog. I was rather dissappointing to get the runaround through the official government bodies and I feel companies like Equifax and TransUnion can get away with their practises easily.

How it all started

I request my credit reports from Equifax and TransUnion every year. And they have been fine. Until in 2012 the Equifax report showed 1 unknown company that had supposedly inquired after my credit. It was a Camper Sales Company on Rothesay Avenue in Saint John. I had never been there.

I wrote the camper sales company a letter. That came back with a message that I should contact the other company in a village about 35 km outside of Saint John. That didn't make any sense to me but I still did it. That letter came back with the same message. The company I wrote my letter to wasn't them.

I called the camper sales company again. The girl on the phone denied that they were the camper business (but she didn't tell me they used to be).

I visited the car / camper dealership in Saint John. I wasn't sure where to find the correct number and I pulled into the GMC cardealership that was next door. The GMC people explained  "that cardealership used to be a camperbusiness". So a bit disgruntled already I stepped into the office of the now car dealership. The girl that I had spoken to before now was there in her office and she directed me to her boss, where I made a big fuzz about how they had checked my credit history. But they didn't know anything. The guy was a typical cardealer, trying to divert the discussion.
I left emptyhanded. And I left it. Not only was there a mistake on my credit report, the people that were NOT behind it (the camperdealership gone cardealer) gave me the run around.

The year after there they were again: only on my Equifax financial report. And not only them: also 2 financial institutes had been inquiring for my credit. Companies I didn't know. I called both of them and they admitted: I wasn't in their system.

At this point I contacted Equifax by letter and asked them to rectify the mistakes. I assumed that as a consumer I could do that. I got a standard letter back stating that they were just 'messengers' and forwarded information that was available to them. I wrote a letter back requesting an answer to the questions in my first letter (how to rectify this issue). But an answer never came.

So not knowing what to do I contacted the FCAC and I received a lengthy email back form Myléne Collette, a consumer representative. She confirmed that "credit reporting agencies have no influence on the information that they place on your credit file. They function like an information-storage service"

Collette informed me what I could do about getting information corrected.

At the time I received this email I was in school and I felt frustrated enough to decide I was going to deal with this later. In the meantime I found an article in the WSJ about Equifax in the United States (opens in a new window) The United States has a complaint registry that is very effective but Canada lacks such a tool.

So  at this point I have submitted new credit report requests to Equifax and TransUnion. Although I have never had any issues with TransUnion (although they try to trick you in buying credit reports from them when they should be FREE), I needed their report to have a comparison.

I have emailed AnnaMaria Andriotis from the Wall Street Journal to see if she knows whether Equifax is going to make any changes in Canada as well. I doubt they will but since AnnaMaria wrote the article she might have more information.

Next, I will try this page from Equifax to see if I can rectify mistakes on my credit report.

Because I think that the Canadian politics should act on this I will also write to my MLA and see what he has to say.

I used to live in Europe where consumers and normal people are more protected than in North America. I am writing this blog to help people that are in the same situation and want to act, rather than sit on their behind and say 'it is what it is'.

I have to be clear though: I have no hope that I will get anywhere. But let's just enjoy the ride while we are at it!