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!
