Understanding Credit: What's Included On Your Report

Your credit report contains personal, financial and credit history information. In general, it takes 30 to 90 days for information to be updated on your credit report. Personal information on your credit report

may contain:

• your name

• date of birth

• current and previous addresses

• current and previous telephone numbers

• social insurance number

• driver’s licence number

• passport number

• current and previous employers

• financial information

Your credit report may contain the following financial information:

• non-sufficient funds payments, or bad cheques

• chequing and savings accounts closed “for cause” due to money owing or fraud committed

• credit you use including credit cards, retail or store cards, lines of credit and loans

• bankruptcy or a court decision against you that relates to credit

• debts sent to collection agencies

• inquiries from lenders and others who have requested your credit report in the past three years

• registered items, such as a lien on a car that allows the lender to seize it if you don't make payments

• remarks including consumer statements, fraud alerts and identity verification alerts

Your credit report contains factual information about your credit cards and loans, such as:

• when you opened your account

• how much you owe

• if you make your payments on time

• if you miss payments

• if your debt has been transferred to a collection agency

• if you go over your credit limit

• personal information that is available in public records, such as a bankruptcy

• chequing and savings accounts that have been closed “for cause,” due to money owing or fraud committed by the account holder, can also be included.

Other accounts included on a credit report

• Mobile phone and Internet accounts may be reported on a credit report, even though they aren't credit accounts.

• Your mortgage information and your history of mortgage payments may also appear in your credit report. The credit bureaus will decide if they will count this information when determining your credit score.

• A home equity line of credit that is added to your mortgage will be treated as part of your mortgage for your credit report. If your home equity line of credit is a separate account from your mortgage, it will be reported separately.

Next week we will look at why your credit history matters, along with tips to improve your credit.