If you’ve ever applied for a credit card, a car loan, or even rented an apartment in Canada, you’ve likely triggered a credit inquiry. Yet most Canadians have only a vague sense of what credit inquiries actually are — and even fewer understand the critical difference between a hard inquiry and a soft inquiry.
That difference matters enormously. One type can shave points off your credit score and stay on your report for years. The other is virtually invisible to lenders and has zero effect on your score. Confusing the two — or simply not knowing the distinction — can lead to costly mistakes: applying for credit at exactly the wrong time, wondering why your score dropped unexpectedly, or even being declined for financing you could have qualified for.
This guide explains everything Canadian consumers need to know about hard and soft credit inquiries, including who can pull your credit, how long inquiries stay on your file, how much damage a hard pull actually does, and the smart strategies credit-savvy Canadians use to minimize unnecessary hits to their scores.
A hard credit inquiry occurs when a lender formally reviews your credit report as part of a credit application and can temporarily lower your score by a few points. A soft inquiry — such as checking your own credit or a lender doing a pre-approval check — does not affect your score at all. Knowing the difference helps you protect your credit score while still shopping for the best financial products.
What Is a Credit Inquiry?
A credit inquiry (also called a credit check or credit pull) is a formal request to view your credit report held by one of Canada’s two major credit bureaus:
Equifax Canada or TransUnion Canada. Every time a lender, landlord, employer, or even you yourself requests access to your credit file, that access is recorded as an inquiry on your report.
Not all inquiries are created equal. Canadian credit bureaus distinguish between two types: hard inquiries (sometimes called hard pulls) and soft inquiries (sometimes called soft pulls). The distinction is based on the purpose and the potential impact on your creditworthiness assessment.
In Canada, both Equifax and TransUnion maintain separate credit files on you, and an inquiry at one bureau does not automatically appear on the other. This means a lender who pulls from both bureaus will create two separate inquiry records — one at each bureau.
Hard Credit Inquiries: The Full Breakdown
What Triggers a Hard Inquiry?
A hard inquiry occurs whenever you apply for new credit or certain other financial products and the lender or institution requests a full review of your credit report to make a lending decision. In Canada, hard inquiries are triggered by:
- Applying for a credit card (from banks, credit unions, retail stores, or online lenders)
- Applying for a personal loan or line of credit
- Applying for a mortgage or home equity line of credit (HELOC)
- Applying for a car loan or vehicle financing
- Applying for a student loan from a private lender (government OSAP/NSLSC loans have different rules)
- Applying for a business credit card or business loan
- Some rental applications, particularly from professional property management companies
- Certain cell phone plan applications (though not all carriers do a hard pull)
- Some utility connection applications in new cities
Not all Canadians realize that applying for a store credit card at the checkout — even a low-limit retail card — triggers a hard inquiry. If you’re in the process of applying for a mortgage, avoid any new credit applications for at least six months beforehand to protect your score.
How Much Does a Hard Inquiry Hurt Your Score?
This is the question everyone wants answered, and the honest answer is: it depends, but generally less than most people fear.
According to guidance from both Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada, a single hard inquiry typically reduces your credit score by 5 to 10 points for most consumers. For someone with a robust credit history, the impact is usually at the lower end of that range — or even negligible. For someone with a thin credit file (few accounts, short history), the impact can be more pronounced.
Critically, the impact of a hard inquiry diminishes over time. Most scoring models weight recent inquiries more heavily than older ones. An inquiry from 18 months ago has far less impact on your score than one from last month. And while hard inquiries technically remain on your Equifax or TransUnion report for up to 24 months (two years), their scoring impact is typically minimal after the first 12 months.
The Rate Shopping Exception
One of the most consumer-friendly features of Canadian credit scoring is the concept of rate shopping, also called inquiry clustering or deduplication. When you’re shopping for a mortgage, car loan, or student loan, credit bureaus recognize that you may apply with multiple lenders to compare rates — and they don’t want to penalize you for being a smart consumer.
Both Equifax and TransUnion have policies that group multiple inquiries of the same type within a short window and count them as a single inquiry for scoring purposes. The exact window varies slightly by bureau and by the type of credit product:
| Credit Type | Equifax Canada Grouping Window | TransUnion Canada Grouping Window |
|---|---|---|
| Mortgage applications | 14 days | 14 days |
| Auto loan applications | 14 days | 14 days |
| Student loan applications | 14 days | 14 days |
| Personal loan applications | Not typically grouped | Not typically grouped |
| Credit card applications | Not grouped | Not grouped |
When mortgage shopping, aim to do all your applications within a 14-day window to maximize the rate-shopping benefit. This allows you to compare rates from the Big Six banks, credit unions like Meridian or Servus, and alternative lenders — all for the cost of a single inquiry.
Who Can See Hard Inquiries?
Lenders who pull your full credit report will see a list of hard inquiries, including the name of the institution that made the inquiry and the date. This visibility matters because lenders use the inquiry section of your report as a signal about your financial behavior.
Multiple recent hard inquiries — especially for diverse types of credit — can be interpreted as a sign of financial distress or credit-seeking behavior, making lenders nervous even if your score hasn’t dropped dramatically. A mortgage broker reviewing your file might become concerned if they see you’ve applied for three credit cards, a car loan, and a personal loan in the past six months, even if each individual inquiry had minimal impact on your score.
I always advise clients to think of hard inquiries not just in terms of their point impact, but in terms of the story they tell. A cluster of recent inquiries signals urgency to lenders — and urgency often signals financial trouble. Before applying for significant credit like a mortgage, take a 90-day freeze on all new credit applications to present the cleanest possible file.
Soft Credit Inquiries: No Impact, Full Information
What Triggers a Soft Inquiry?
Soft inquiries occur when your credit report is accessed for purposes that don’t involve a direct credit application decision. The key characteristic of a soft inquiry is that it has absolutely no effect on your credit score. Common sources of soft inquiries in Canada include:
- You checking your own credit — through Equifax’s personal credit monitoring, TransUnion’s Credit View, or third-party services like Borrowell or Credit Karma Canada
- Pre-approved credit offers — when banks or credit card companies check your credit to send you pre-approval letters or offers
- Employer background checks — with your written consent, some Canadian employers check credit as part of hiring (most common in financial sector roles)
- Existing lender reviews — your current bank or credit card company periodically reviews your credit to monitor risk on existing accounts
- Insurance applications — some Canadian insurance companies (particularly in Ontario and Alberta) check credit as part of underwriting
- Utility pre-qualification — some utility providers do a soft check before connecting service
- Government requests — certain government agencies may access credit data for specific regulatory purposes
Checking your own credit score and credit report — whether through Equifax Canada, TransUnion Canada, Borrowell, or Credit Karma Canada — is always a soft inquiry. You should check your credit report regularly and never worry about harming your score by doing so. In fact, regular monitoring is strongly encouraged.
Can You See Soft Inquiries?
Yes and no. When you pull your own full credit report, you’ll typically see a list of all soft inquiries that have occurred on your file. However, lenders who pull your credit report see only the hard inquiries — not the soft ones. This means that a lender reviewing your application has no idea how many times you’ve checked your own score or how many pre-approval checks have been run against your file.
This is an important distinction. Some Canadians worry that checking their own credit frequently will be visible to lenders and appear suspicious. It won’t be. Lenders simply don’t see your soft inquiry history.
Hard vs. Soft Inquiries: Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Hard Inquiry | Soft Inquiry |
|---|---|---|
| Affects credit score | Yes (5-10 points typically) | No |
| Visible to lenders | Yes | No (only visible to you) |
| Requires your consent | Yes (implicit via application) | Sometimes (varies by purpose) |
| How long it stays on file | Up to 24 months | Varies (typically 12-24 months) |
| Common triggers | Credit applications, loan applications | Self-checks, pre-approvals, employer checks |
| Impact on mortgage approval | Can affect approval decisions | No impact on approval decisions |
| Rate shopping protection | Yes, within 14-day window | N/A |
How Credit Inquiries Factor Into Your Overall Credit Score
To understand the role of inquiries, you need to understand how Canadian credit scores are calculated. Both Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada use proprietary scoring models, but both weight the same core factors:
New credit inquiries — hard inquiries — typically account for approximately 10% of your credit score calculation. This makes them significant but not dominant. If your payment history is solid and your utilization is low, a few hard inquiries are unlikely to cause serious problems. But if you’re already struggling with those larger factors, adding multiple hard inquiries can compound the damage.
The Cumulative Effect of Multiple Inquiries
While a single hard inquiry has modest impact, multiple inquiries can stack up and create more significant score damage. Consider this scenario:
| Scenario | Inquiries in 6 Months | Estimated Score Impact | Risk Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mortgage shopping (rate shopping window) | 4 inquiries | 5-10 points (counted as 1) | Low |
| One credit card application | 1 inquiry | 5-10 points | Low |
| Three credit card applications | 3 inquiries | 15-30 points | Moderate |
| Multiple diverse applications (cards, loan, car) | 5+ inquiries | 30-50+ points | High |
| Desperate credit seeking (10+ applications) | 10+ inquiries | 50-80+ points | Very High |
“Applying for new credit accounts for a small portion of your credit score. However, lenders may view many credit applications in a short time as a sign of financial trouble.”
Your Rights Regarding Credit Inquiries in Canada
Canadian consumers have significant legal protections related to who can access their credit information and under what circumstances. These rights are governed primarily by provincial privacy legislation and the federal Privacy Act and Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) — now being superseded by the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CPPA).
Consent Requirements
Under Canadian law, most entities must have your consent before pulling your credit report. However, the form of consent varies:
- Express consent: You explicitly agree (e.g., signing a loan application that mentions a credit check)
- Implied consent: You apply for credit, which implies you consent to a credit check
- No consent required: Certain government agencies and law enforcement can access credit data without consent under specific circumstances
If a company pulls a hard inquiry on your credit without your consent or a legitimate purpose, you have the right to dispute it with the credit bureau and potentially file a complaint with your provincial privacy commissioner. Unauthorized hard inquiries do happen and can be removed from your file through a formal dispute process.
How to Dispute an Unauthorized Inquiry
If you notice a hard inquiry on your credit report that you don’t recognize or didn’t authorize, you can dispute it. Here’s the process for each Canadian bureau:
-
Pull Your Full Credit Reports
Request your full credit reports from both Equifax Canada (equifax.ca) and TransUnion Canada (transunion.ca). Review the inquiry section carefully, noting dates and inquirer names.
-
Identify the Disputed Inquiry
Note the exact name of the company listed, the date of the inquiry, and any reference numbers shown on your report.
-
Contact the Company First
Reach out to the company listed on the inquiry and ask them to explain why they pulled your credit and under what authorization. Sometimes this resolves quickly — it may be a company you applied with under a different name, or a subsidiary of a company you authorized.
-
File a Dispute with the Credit Bureau
If the inquiry is genuinely unauthorized, file a formal dispute with Equifax Canada or TransUnion Canada (or both). You’ll need to provide a written statement explaining why the inquiry is unauthorized, along with any supporting documentation.
-
Escalate if Necessary
If the bureau doesn’t resolve your dispute satisfactorily, you can escalate to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or your provincial privacy commissioner. In egregious cases, you may have legal recourse under PIPEDA or provincial privacy laws.
Smart Strategies to Minimize Hard Inquiry Damage
The best approach to credit inquiries isn’t to avoid applying for credit entirely — it’s to be strategic about when and how you apply. Here are the tactics that credit-savvy Canadians use:
1. Use Pre-Qualification Tools Before Applying
Many Canadian lenders and credit card issuers now offer soft-pull pre-qualification — a process that lets you check your likelihood of approval before submitting a formal application. This uses a soft inquiry, so there’s no score impact. If the pre-qualification result looks promising, you can then apply with greater confidence. Major Canadian issuers offering pre-qualification include:
- Capital One Canada (pre-approval tool on their website)
- American Express Canada (card recommendation tool)
- Several credit unions with online pre-approval portals
- Borrowell’s loan matching service (soft pull to match you with lenders)
- Loans Canada’s loan comparison platform
2. Be Strategic About Timing
Avoid applying for any new credit in the 6-12 months before you plan to apply for a mortgage or major loan. Mortgage underwriters scrutinize the inquiry section of your credit report, and multiple recent inquiries — even if each had modest score impact — can raise red flags that lead to higher rates or outright declines.
3. Batch Your Mortgage and Auto Loan Shopping
Take full advantage of the rate-shopping window. If you’re comparing mortgages, do all your applications within 14 days. Same with car loans. This is one of the most valuable — and most overlooked — features of the Canadian credit scoring system.
4. Only Apply When You’re Ready
Don’t apply for credit speculatively. If you’re not sure you’ll be approved, invest time in improving your qualifications before applying. Use free tools like Borrowell or Credit Karma Canada to understand your approval odds before triggering a hard inquiry. Some Canadians apply for credit cards knowing they’ll be declined, which wastes a hard inquiry and adds a denial to their history.
A good rule of thumb: wait at least 6 months between applications for new credit cards. This gives previous inquiries time to age, gives new accounts time to establish positive history, and signals responsible credit management to future lenders.
5. Monitor Your Credit Regularly
Set up free credit monitoring through Borrowell (Equifax score) or Credit Karma Canada (TransUnion score) and check your report monthly. This way you’ll quickly notice any unauthorized hard inquiries and can dispute them before they cause lasting damage.
Credit Inquiries and Bad Credit: Special Considerations
For Canadians with bad credit or thin credit files, credit inquiries carry extra weight. When your score is already low — say, below 600 on the Equifax or TransUnion scale — even modest inquiry damage feels more impactful, and lenders already scrutinizing a challenged file will pay close attention to recent inquiry activity.
The Rebuild Dilemma
Here’s the paradox many Canadians with poor credit face: to rebuild credit, you need credit accounts, but opening new credit accounts triggers hard inquiries that can further damage an already fragile score. This creates a catch-22 that can feel discouraging.
The solution is to be extremely selective and strategic:
- Secured credit cards are the best first step — most require a soft pull or a minimal hard pull, and they’re designed for people building or rebuilding credit. Secured cards from Capital One, Home Trust, or credit unions are popular options in Canada.
- Credit builder loans (available through some credit unions and fintech lenders) help build a payment history track record with minimal inquiry risk.
- Becoming an authorized user on a family member’s credit card adds positive account history without any inquiry — because you’re not the primary applicant.
- Limit new applications to one every 6-12 months while rebuilding, prioritizing products with the highest approval likelihood given your current profile.
When working with clients rebuilding credit after bankruptcy or a consumer proposal, I always advise a very methodical approach to new credit applications. We typically start with a single secured card, use it for 6-12 months to establish payment history, then evaluate whether to add a second product. The goal is maximum positive history from minimum inquiries — quality over quantity every time.
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Understanding Inquiry Sections on Your Credit Report
When you pull your full credit report from Equifax Canada or TransUnion Canada, the inquiries section is typically listed near the bottom of the report. Here’s what you’ll typically see for each inquiry:
- Date of inquiry: When the credit pull occurred
- Inquirer name: The company or institution that pulled your credit
- Inquirer type: The category of business (bank, auto dealership, landlord, etc.)
- Type of inquiry: Hard or soft (you see both on your own report)
Note that the labels and format vary between Equifax and TransUnion. Equifax Canada uses the term “requests” for the inquiry section, while TransUnion Canada may label them differently. If you’re unsure whether an item is a hard or soft inquiry, look for whether it’s listed in a section visible to “you only” versus “you and your creditors” — that’s often how the bureaus distinguish them on consumer-facing reports.
Common Myths About Credit Inquiries in Canada
Does checking my own credit hurt my score?
No. Checking your own credit — through Equifax Canada, TransUnion Canada, Borrowell, Credit Karma Canada, or any other service — is always classified as a soft inquiry and has absolutely no effect on your credit score. You should check your credit report regularly and never hesitate to do so out of fear of score damage.
Does getting a quote for car insurance affect my credit score in Canada?
It depends on the province and the insurer. In Ontario, Alberta, and some other provinces, insurers may check credit as part of underwriting — but these are typically soft inquiries and don’t affect your score. Some insurers do hard pulls in certain circumstances. Ask your insurer specifically whether they perform a hard or soft credit check before providing consent.
Does applying for a job affect my credit score?
No. Employment credit checks in Canada are soft inquiries and do not affect your credit score. However, you must provide written consent before an employer can access your credit report. Most employers do not check credit at all — it’s primarily used for positions in financial services, banking, or roles with significant financial responsibility.
Will a hard inquiry from five years ago still hurt my score?
In Canada, hard inquiries remain on your credit report for up to 24 months (2 years), not five years. After 24 months, the inquiry drops off your report entirely. Any inquiry older than 12 months has minimal scoring impact even before it falls off.
Can a lender deny my application solely because of too many inquiries?
Technically yes, though it’s rare as the sole reason. Many lenders have internal policies about the maximum number of recent inquiries they’ll accept. Some mortgage lenders, for example, may decline applicants with more than 4-6 hard inquiries in the past 6 months, regardless of score, as this signals risky credit-seeking behaviour.
Does a business credit application affect my personal credit score?
It can. Many small business loans and business credit cards in Canada require a personal guarantee, which means the lender will do a hard pull on your personal credit. For incorporated businesses with established business credit, some lenders may pull only the business credit profile — but for startups and sole proprietors, expect a personal hard inquiry.
The Bottom Line: Managing Inquiries as Part of Your Credit Strategy
Credit inquiries are a normal part of financial life in Canada. Every time you take advantage of credit — whether it’s a mortgage that lets you own your home, a car loan that gets you to work, or a credit card that earns you cash back — you’ll trigger a hard inquiry. That’s perfectly fine.
The goal isn’t to have zero hard inquiries — it’s to have purposeful inquiries that serve your financial goals, timed strategically to minimize unnecessary score impact. The Canadian consumer who applies for credit thoughtfully, spaces applications appropriately, and monitors their credit report regularly will rarely have cause to worry about inquiry damage.
What matters far more than inquiries is your payment history (make every payment on time) and your credit utilization (keep balances well below your limits). These two factors alone account for roughly 65% of your credit score. Keep those in good shape, and the occasional hard inquiry is little more than a minor, temporary footnote.
The single best thing you can do for your credit is also the simplest: pay every bill on time, every month. No credit strategy around inquiries can compensate for a pattern of late payments or collections.
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Deep Dive Into Credit Score Factors and Weights
While most Canadians understand that credit scores range from 300 to 900, the nuances of how each factor influences your score remain poorly understood. The five major factors carry unequal weight, and understanding the precise mechanics helps you prioritize actions for the greatest positive impact.
Payment history accounts for approximately 35 percent of your credit score and is the single most influential factor. This includes not just whether you pay on time, but how late a payment is, how recently it occurred, and how many accounts show late payments. A single 30-day late payment can reduce a score in the 780 range by 90 to 110 points.
The recency of negative information matters enormously. A 90-day late payment from six years ago has minimal impact on your current score, while a 30-day late payment from last month could be devastating. Both bureaus retain negative payment information for six years from the date of last activity in most provinces, after which it automatically falls off your report.
Credit utilization, representing about 30 percent of your score, measures your outstanding balances against available credit limits. While the commonly cited 30 percent threshold is a reasonable guideline, data shows consumers with the highest scores maintain utilization below 10 percent, with the optimal range being 1 to 3 percent.
Credit history length contributes roughly 15 percent, including the age of your oldest account, newest account, and the average age of all accounts. This is why closing your oldest credit card can hurt your score. Credit mix represents 10 percent — Canadians with both revolving and installment credit tend to score higher. New credit inquiries account for the remaining 10 percent, with each hard inquiry typically reducing your score by 5 to 10 points.
Advanced Strategies for Improving Your Credit Score
Beyond paying bills on time and keeping balances low, several advanced strategies can accelerate your credit score improvement. These techniques leverage nuances in how Canadian credit scoring models work to maximize positive impact.
The rapid rescoring technique involves strategically timing credit card payments relative to your statement date. Since most creditors report your balance on your statement date, paying down your balance before that date ensures lower utilization is reported. For maximum impact, make a large payment two to three days before your statement closes.
If you need to improve your score quickly for an upcoming application, focus on reducing credit card utilization first. A consumer who pays down cards from 70 percent utilization to under 10 percent can see a score increase of 50 to 100 points within a single reporting cycle of 30 to 45 days. No other single action produces such rapid results.
The authorized user strategy is particularly powerful for Canadians building or rebuilding credit. Being added as an authorized user to a family member’s long-standing, low-utilization credit card can add that account’s positive history to your credit file. Both Equifax and TransUnion include authorized user accounts in their scoring models.
Goodwill adjustment letters represent an underutilized tool for removing isolated late payments. If you have a single late payment on an otherwise perfect account, writing a polite letter to the creditor explaining the circumstances and requesting removal succeeds more often than most expect. This approach works best with creditors you have a long positive history with.
Balance transfer strategies can serve double duty for both debt reduction and score improvement. Transferring high-interest balances to a promotional card can reduce interest costs while lowering per-card utilization across multiple accounts.
Credit Score Myths Debunked for Canadian Consumers
Misinformation about credit scores is rampant, and believing common myths can lead to decisions that actually harm your financial health. Separating fact from fiction is essential for effectively managing your credit profile in Canada.
One of the most persistent myths is that checking your own credit score will lower it. This is completely false. Checking your own score is classified as a soft inquiry and has zero impact. You can check it daily through services like Borrowell and Credit Karma without any negative consequences. The FCAC actively encourages Canadians to check their reports regularly.
The idea that carrying a small balance on your credit card builds credit faster than paying in full is perhaps the most expensive myth in personal finance. Your credit score benefits equally from paying your full statement balance as from carrying a balance. The difference is that carrying a balance costs you interest charges — potentially hundreds of dollars per year — while paying in full costs you nothing. Always pay your full statement balance by the due date.
Another common misconception is that closing unused credit cards improves your score. In reality, closing a card reduces your total available credit, increasing your utilization ratio, and may reduce your average account age. Unless the card carries an expensive annual fee, keeping it open with occasional small purchases is almost always better for your score.
The belief that all debts affect your credit equally is also incorrect. Medical debt in collections is treated differently from credit card debt in collections by some scoring models. Similarly, student loan payments may be weighted differently from credit card payments depending on the scoring algorithm being used.
Many Canadians also believe that once a negative item appears on their credit report, nothing can be done until it expires. In fact, you can dispute inaccurate information, negotiate pay-for-delete agreements with collection agencies, and request goodwill adjustments from creditors. Proactive management of your credit report is far more effective than passive waiting.
Understanding the Canadian Regulatory Framework
Canada’s financial regulatory environment provides some of the strongest consumer protections in the world. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) serves as the primary federal watchdog, overseeing banks, federally regulated credit unions, and insurance companies to ensure they comply with consumer protection measures established under federal legislation.
Each province and territory also maintains its own consumer protection office that handles complaints and enforces provincial lending laws. For instance, Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act sets specific rules about disclosure requirements for credit agreements, while British Columbia’s Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act provides additional safeguards against unfair lending practices.
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) regulates federally chartered banks and insurance companies. The FCAC ensures these institutions follow consumer protection rules. Provincial regulators handle credit unions, payday lenders, and collection agencies within their jurisdictions. Understanding which regulator oversees your financial institution helps you file complaints effectively and exercise your consumer rights.
The Bank Act, which governs all federally chartered banks in Canada, requires financial institutions to provide clear disclosure of all fees, interest rates, and terms before you enter into any credit agreement. This includes a mandatory cooling-off period for certain financial products, giving you time to reconsider your decision without penalty.
Recent amendments to Canada’s financial legislation have strengthened protections around electronic banking, mobile payments, and online lending platforms. These changes reflect the evolving financial landscape and ensure that digital-first financial services must meet the same consumer protection standards as traditional banking channels. The implementation of open banking regulations further ensures that consumer data portability rights are protected as the financial ecosystem becomes more interconnected.
How Canadian Credit Bureaus Work Behind the Scenes
Canada operates with two major credit bureaus — Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada — each maintaining independent databases of consumer credit information. Unlike the United States, which has three major bureaus, Canada’s two-bureau system means that discrepancies between your reports can have an even more significant impact on your borrowing ability.
Both bureaus collect information from creditors, public records, and collection agencies across all provinces and territories. However, not every creditor reports to both bureaus, which means your Equifax report might show different accounts than your TransUnion report. This is particularly common with smaller credit unions, provincial utilities, and some fintech lenders that may only report to one bureau.
A lesser-known fact is that Canadian credit bureaus calculate scores differently. Equifax uses the Equifax Risk Score ranging from 300 to 900, while TransUnion uses the CreditVision Risk Score. While both follow similar principles, the weighting of factors differs slightly. A mortgage broker pulling both reports might see scores that vary by 20 to 50 points, which is completely normal and does not indicate an error.
Your credit file is created the first time a creditor reports account information to a bureau in your name. From that point forward, creditors typically update your account information monthly, usually reporting your balance, payment status, and credit limit as of your statement date. This monthly reporting cycle is why changes to your credit behaviour may take 30 to 60 days to appear on your credit report.
Canadian privacy law, specifically the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), governs how credit bureaus collect, use, and share your information. Under PIPEDA, you have the right to access your credit report for free by mail, dispute inaccurate information, and add a consumer statement to your file explaining any negative items. Credit bureaus must investigate disputes within 30 days and correct any confirmed errors.
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