The
government of Quebec passed the Credit Assessment Agents Act in February of
2021 which required TransUnion and Equifax to allow all citizens of Quebec to
check their credit score for free. However, Equifax has taken the initiative to
allow all Canadian citizens to check their credit score for free which
means that customers no longer need to pay a fee of $30.00CAD or go through a
credit agency.
Equifax
is also allowing Canadians in all provinces access to their information on their
credit score online! Unfortunately, TransUnion has not yet set up this step but
continue to provide this service free for Quebec customers alone.
This law has been implemented to allow customers to be better protected against identity theft and fraud which can lower their credit scores and cause them to be hampered when applying for loans or other financial services. This new service will be the first time Equifax has allowed this service for Canadians and they are now in the forefront as other banks have enabled this service in the past, usually alongside paying for other services.
The entire process that is now set up is simple for Canadians to use and access by going to the Equifax website and following the step-by-step instructions that will grant you access to your score after just 10 minutes of inputting the relevant information.
It's
is even more secure by having the need to input your Social Insurance Number as
optional. The legislation came about after Credit Canada stated that if citizens
are able to check their scores, they can monitor their credit and try to
improve it.
With
this information, customers are given the opportunity to lower their risk and
fix credit issues. Customers should note that scores usually run between 300
and 900 and a lower score means there is a higher risk for the lending
institution as you may be an unstable borrower.
Mistakes in your credit score also allows you to contact the
institution that made the error and make the necessary corrections. Customers can
also check their scores as frequently as they want as this has no impact on the
score itself and this can help you improve you financial situation. It is
widely recognized that persons should check their scores at least once per year
to ensure that their reports are up-to-date and reflect recent activity on all
of their accounts. More information can be found on websites for Equifax,
TransUnion and the Government of Quebec.
