How to Get Something Removed From Your Credit Report

When it comes to the health of your finances, one of the most important things to have is a clean credit report. After all, it’s often one of the first things that a bank, credit union, or alternative lender will examine when you apply for a new credit product, such as a personal loan, a line of credit, vehicle financing, or a mortgage.

Unfortunately, negative information on your report can lead to your application being denied, especially if you aren’t aware of it the information is wrong. To learn more about how credit report errors can affect your credit and how to get inaccurate information removed, keep reading.

Credit Reports Inaccuracies

Essentially, your credit report is a detailed file that both of Canada’s credit bureaus (Equifax and TransUnion) compile for you, after you start using credit products. Although each bureau holds a slightly different version of your report, both documents detail how you’ve used all your credit products over the past 10 or so years.

What Canadians Know About Their Credit Reports

If you apply for new credit, let’s say a loan, your potential lender might inspect your credit report because it can tell them how you’ve handled your previous or existing products. Sadly, many credit users don’t even know how to check their report or recognize the inaccuracies when they see them. In fact, a study by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) show:

• Of the millions of credit users in Canada, only around 17% of them (aged 18 or over) have checked their credit within the last 3 years.

• 50% – 65% of those credit users say they understood the terms of their report and what their credit scores meant.

• Around 45% – 50% remained neutral on the subject or didn’t understand what their report or scores meant.  

• About 18% of users who check their credit regularly have discovered some sort of inaccuracy on their report.

• Of those users, 80% actually managed to resolve the inaccuracy and say it took about 4 hours to correct the problem. 

• Overall, 10% of those credit users think they were rejected for various financial services due to an inaccuracy on their credit report.  

Check out the five most common errors found on a credit report in Canada. 

How Credit Reports and Credit Scores Are Affected By Inaccuracies

While it might not seem like a big deal at first, even a single error can cause a lot of problems for your credit report. If left uncorrected, it can even lead to a significant drop in your credit score (which normally ranges from 300 – 900). 

Once your credit score range is between 300 – 600 it’s considered to be poor. With poor credit, it can be difficult to get approved for large amounts of credit, favourable term conditions and low interest rates, since lenders might think it’s because you haven’t paid your debts in the past. Plus, it can take a lot of time and effort to get your score back to the good range (660-900).

All this to say, if you do find some kind of inaccuracy on your credit report, it’s extremely important to resolve the situation as fast as you can. Although there are relatively fast and easy ways of doing this, the longer the error goes uncorrected, the worse your credit and approval chances will be.

Checking Your Credit Report

Now that you’re aware of what can happen if there’s than an inaccuracy on your credit report, let’s talk about what kinds of common errors you may see on it:

• Inaccurate Personal Details – Simple mistakes such as the wrong name, birthdate, or mailing address can spell disaster because you could end up with someone else’s credit information (or vice versa).

• Wrong Account Information – It’s also possible that your lender didn’t report your payment or account activity correctly. For instance, if you paid your debt on time but it was accidentally labeled as late or defaulted.

• Falsified or Stolen Accounts – Identity theft and fraud are two of the worst things that can happen to your finances and credit report, not to mention complicated and time consuming to deal with afterward.

• Uncorrected Negative Information – Missed payments and other negative credit actions stay on your report for several years (unless due to an error or fraud). If so, a bureau may forget to remove the information after the allotted time period.

Ways to Get Something Removed From Your Credit Report

Before you get started, note that if your negative information wasn’t the result of an inaccuracy or crime, neither Equifax or TransUnion will remove it from your credit report prior to the designated date. Otherwise, there are 6 different ways to get an error or other negative incident removed from your credit report:

Wait For It To Go Away Naturally 

Normally, timely payments and other positive incidents will stay on your credit report indefinitely and will improve your credit score over time. On the other hand, negative information will remain in your credit history for several years, the length of which depends on the incident. Common examples of negative information include:

• Late/missed payments = 6 years
• Consumer proposals = 3 years
• Bankruptcies = 6 – 7 years (depends on the bureau/province) 

In these cases, the simplest way to deal with the negative information is to wait until Equifax and/or TransUnion clears it from your report. As mentioned, whether the incident was intentional or accidental, neither bureau will remove it immediately, because it was technically your responsibility to pay your debts on time.

File a Dispute

Although waiting for the negative information to be removed is the most convenient option, remember that it can damage your credit score while it’s on your credit report. You may not want to wait for years, during which you could get denied for new credit. 

Unfortunately, if you were responsible for the incident, there’s not much you can do. However, if you find an error or sign of identity theft on your credit report, you can file a dispute with the bureau that holds it (always check both versions, if possible). This can be done easily by completing the proper forms and mailing or faxing them to the bureau.

While you may have to fill out different forms or details with Equifax and TransUnion, the basic dispute process is similar and typically goes something like this:

• Once the bureau receives your forms, they will review your claim, as well as your personal and financial information to confirm your identity.

• For the dispute to have grounding, be sure to provide any proof you have that shows that the incident was not your fault (financial statements, etc.)   

• Next, one of their agents will investigate your case, which could involve contacting the business or lender that you claim has reported the error.

• If the error was the bureau’s responsibility or your identity was stolen, the matter will be resolved internally (a fraud alert may be put on your report).

• If your dispute is acceptable, the bureau will inform you of the results, then update the appropriate documents. 

Keep in mind that even if you have sufficient proof of your dispute’s viability, the whole investigation and updating process can take a few days, so contact both credit bureaus right away if you think negative information is harming your credit. It may also help to include a consumer statement that explains your current situation. Consumer statements can be up to 200 words in Saskatchewan and 100 in the rest of Canada. 

Write a Goodwill Letter

If neither credit bureau accepts your dispute because the negative occurrence was your responsibility, you can try sending a “goodwill letter” to the lender or collection agency that holds your debt and has been reporting your payment activity. 

In it, you would explain your reason for being late on your payments and respectfully ask for them to delete any negative entries from your account. If you’ve been a good client until that point and assure them no more payments will be missed, they may agree, then report the new information to whichever bureau(s) they work with. 

Arrange a “Pay For Delete” Deal

It’s possible your lender or collection agency will not consider your goodwill letter acceptable, in which case you may have to pay your debt to get the negative entry deleted. While this may drain your finances, it can certainly be an effective strategy. 

If you can’t pay your lender or debt collector back in full, try offering them a partial lump sum payment, otherwise known as a debt settlement. Afterward, get the whole arrangement in writing. Never try a “pay for delete” deal over the phone.

Credit Building Agencies

In reality, no one except the credit bureaus, not even a professional advisor, can get something immediately removed from your credit report, unless it’s a lender or collection agency reporting new information. 

So, if a “professional” tells you they can have your negative information wiped clean for a price, it’s better to walk away, as they are likely trying to scam you. No legitimate operation will ever claim that they can magically make your credit blemishes disappear.

That said, there are some financial agencies that can help you rebuild your credit using easy-to-manage credit products, such as small loans or secured credit cards. If you continually make responsible payments, they should report the positive activity to the bureaus and your credit will improve gradually. 

Watch out, as certain credit building products may have high interest rates, short payment plans or require you to offer some form of security, such as a cosigner (guarantor loan) or collateral (secured loan), both of which are potential risks.

File a Complaint

If you think you’re not being treated fairly or you’re unhappy with how your dispute investigation went, try filing an official complaint with Equifax, TransUnion or your financial institution (as long as it’s federally regulated). In either case, the complaint may reach a higher level employee and be taken more seriously.

If this strategy doesn’t work, you can also complain to your provincial or territorial consumer affairs office, where you can at least get some advice on how best to proceed. Once again, it can take time for any documents to be processed and results to be seen, so make sure to file your complaint sooner rather than later. 

Bottom Line 

Errors and incorrect information can seriously impact the health of your credit, this is why monitoring your credit report and score at least once a year is so important. There are many ways you can check your credit in Canada, which makes keeping up with your financial health easy and more often than not, free.