Who Regulates Credit Reporting Agencies in Canada and the 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.
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