NANCY ASKED: When the bank says we have to do a credit check, is there any way I can find out what this says prior to the bank?
ANSWER: When the bank says that they are going to do a “credit check” what they are referring to is your credit bureau report. There are two main credit reporting agencies (credit bureaus) in Canada: Equifax and Transunion. If you go online you will see that there are lots of websites that claim to offer “free credit reports”, however they all charge money. Even if you go directly to the credit reporting agencies websites they want to charge you a fee for your credit report. Equifax charges $24.95 for a basic credit report and Transunion charges a monthly membership fee of $14.95 for unlimited access to your credit score.
The only one way to get a truly free credit report is through the mail, but the credit reporting agencies don’t publicize this fact. On my website I have links that will help you obtain a truly free copy of your credit report. All you have to do is follow the instructions and complete the application forms. I would recommend obtaining credit reports from both credit reporting agencies since they don’t always contain the same information.
After you get your credit report in the mail you should review it to make sure that everything is correct. If you find any errors on your credit report you should take steps to have them corrected. Since it is not uncommon for there to be errors on your credit report I recommend that you check your credit reports on a regular basis. I check my credit bureau report annually just make sure everything is correct.
