Your credit score is a major factor for lenders when determining your interest rate, and how much money you qualify for.
It’s a good idea to check your credit report regularly to ensure there the information on the report is correct and that there are no abnormalities which may indicate identity theft or fraud. There are several services out there that offer to monitor your report, and I would suggest to stick with the biggest two credit reporting agencies in Canada which are Equifax and Trans-union.
Obtaining Your Credit Profile For Free
Despite what a plethora of ads out there say, you can and the reporting agencies are legally obligated to allow you to obtain your credit report once yearly for free. The two major reporting agencies make this process a bit difficult, but below I will show you how to get your report for Free from both companies.
You can make your request via telephone or regular mail.
If you would like to call in to request your report you can use the numbers below;
Equifax: 1-800-465-7166
TransUnion: 1-800-663-9980
If you prefer to go the mail route, you will need to print off a special form and provide them with 2 forms of identification. Further instructions are on each form you should read them carefully to ensure there are no delays in the processing if your request. providing all goes well, you should receive your report in the mail within 10 business days.
Click Here to download the form for Equifax.
Click Here to download the form for TransUnion.
Obtaining Your Credit Profile For A Small Fee
In addition, there is really nothing wrong with paying for a credit report as well. When you do this, you will be able to see your report and score instantly right online. You will get the most up to date information this way, and as far as I know you can check the file regularly, although I would read the fine print to make sure. In addition for a small monthly fee you can also have them monitor your report and they will send you a notice should anything suspicious arise. If you have a few extra bucks to spare each month this may not be a bad idea, as having a poor credit score because of someone else’s fraudulent actions or inaccurate information is incredibly frustrating, as it is a very time consuming and stressful process to remedy these type of situations.
If you would like to go the quicker paid route to view your score, and possibly use their other services, simply visit the official website of each reporting agency.
Click Here to Visit Transunion
Also note that you will likely get a different score from each agency, as they each have their own algorithms to calculate their respective scores. This is one more reason why its not a bad idea to check out your profile from both agencies because you may think you have a great score, but that is only with TransUnion and for some reason Equifax shows a poor score. The lender may have used Equifax to determine your credit worthiness and you are scratching your head wondering why you were declined.
Bottom line, take a few minutes a regularly take a look at your credit profile. It could save you countless hours and headaches in the future.