Tag Archives: US

Who Regulates Credit Reporting Agencies In Canada And The Us

In Canada Consumer Reporting Agencies are regulated provincially. In Ontario Consumer Reporting Agencies must comply with the Consumer Reporting Act. The Consumer Reporting Agencies are regulated by and the Consumer Reporting Act is administered by the Ministry of Consumer Services.

The Consumer Reporting Act clearly sets out the laws as it is related to how and for how long the Consumer Reporting Agency can report information about a Consumers credit report. You can view the Consumer Reporting Act at the Ministries website.

In Canada there are two primary Credit Reporting Agencies, Equifax and Trans Union. In the US there are three; Equifax, Trans Union and Experian.

In the US the Federal Government is forming a consumer protection agency that amongst other things will regulate Credit Reporting Agencies.

If you have a dispute over something that is being reported to your credit report here is what you should do:
“-Request a copy of your credit report from ALL of the Credit Reporting Agencies (in many cases they will provide it to you free if there is a dispute).
“-Write to the credit reporting agency indicating what is reporting improperly and provide any evidence you have to support your claim.
“-If the issue is a name, address or date is reporting misspelled, the Credit Reporting Agency can often resolve the issue at this point.

If the issue relates to information that is being reported by a creditor, correcting it could be difficult. Usually the Credit Reporting Agency will write to the creditor, making them aware of your concern and ask them to reply. If the creditor stands by their position the Credit Reporting Agency could become difficult to deal with. If you are unable to make any headway with the Credit Reporting Agency, you don’t have to give up yet.

Research online to find out what regulation exists in your state or province and consider pursuing a complaint. In Ontario for example the Ministry of Consumer Services is quite effective at intervening in matters where a consumer has a valid dispute. In many cases you can even file your complaint online.

For more information about building good credit and a strong financial profile please visit www.trueassess.com.

The Importance of Credit Scores

If you want to buy a car or a house you need to have credit. The better your credit score the more favorable terms you will get on home and car loans as well as other forms of credit. It can affect your insurance rates and can even have a bearing on your employment. A credit score is a number derived from a person’s credit report that represents their apparent creditworthiness. Credit report data comes from three primary credit bureaus: TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. These reports are evaluated to determine how likely it is that a person will pay their debts.

The first credit scoring system was created in 1958 by the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO). It was used for investments. In 1970, American Bank and Trust created a credit scoring system for bank credit cards.

The FICO credit scoring system is the most popular and widely used. It is considered the standard of US consumer risk. FICO scoring is based on the following criteria:

Payment History (35%) Credit Utilization (30%) Length of Credit History (15%) Types of Credit Used (10%) Recent Searches for Credit and/or Amount of Credit Recently Obtained (10%)

If the loan or credit applicant’s FICO score is low, the bank may deny credit, charge higher interest rates, and request more detailed financial information or require collateral.

Each of the three top credit bureaus use the FICO credit scoring system. However, credit scores can vary from one credit bureau to another because each company has its own databases and procedures for gathering reports from different creditors.

It is prohibited by law to base credit scores on race, religion, national origin, sex and marital status.

US residents are also legally allowed to view their credit scores once a year at no cost. You can see your credit score for free by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com.

Credit scores are used to decide who qualifies for a loan, and at what interest rates and credit limits. The higher the score, the more likely you will be able to purchase a product or service with credit.

ABOUT CHRIS SCULLY

Chris Scully is a consumer advocate for ethical debt settlement and credit repair practices, a personal finances blogger at MyMoneyMess.com, and author of the book “The Debt Survival Kit.” You can contact Chris at .