Matrixvisa Inc Immigration law practitioner

Any time that you apply for financing, be it a Mortgage, vehicle finance or perhaps a line of credit at a department store, your credit history will be checked and your score evaluated. Financial institutions that are in the business of lending money use these credit scores as their primary source of risk evaluation and since lending money is all about how risky someone appears, a high credit rating is of utmost importance. These “Lenders” consider credit history as the most accurate indicator of a “Borrower’s” willingness and ability to repay debt. Your credit score is linked to your S.I.N (Social Insurance Number) and as a general rule of thumb your credit score is based on the following factors:

Length of Credit History (Having No credit history is considered more risky than a few missed payments)
Number of Credit facilities currently active
Employment History
Ratio of Total Credit Facility to Current Balance Owed
Number, Frequency and Severity of Missed or Default Payments
Number of enquiries
Records of Civil Litigation

Here are some simple tips to establishing and maintaining a high credit score:

With no Credit History your best way of establishing one is to open a “Secured Credit Card”, make a few purchases and pay the balance off.
Never miss a payment; it will affect your credit score for at least 5 years. (If this is an error on behalf of the Institution then ensure that it is rectified and demand a letter explaining you were not to blame!!!)
Ensure you have only 3 facilities open and your balance on each is below 75% of the available limit.
If you have a closed a credit facility or paid off a loan, ensure the Institution remove it from your credit report.
Since your score is adversely affected by the number of enquiries you have on your report, when shopping around for finance, the use of a broker is highly recommended. Broker’s who are specialists in their respective fields are able to pull one credit report and utilise the information in applications to multiple “Lender’s”. Were you to approach every “Lender” individually this would result in multiple enquiries on your credit report and ultimately affect your ability to borrow.
Whenever you receive mail containing the words “Low Introductory Rate”, tear it up and throw it away! Don’t fall into the trap that has resulted in the consumer credit level reaching a staggering $1.6 Billion, accumulating interest as high as 28% p.a.

For more information contact Craig Watkins of the Mortgage Centre at pcwatkins@rogers.com
or call 905-785-1678 in Canada

Credit Report Agencies

As already explained, a credit history will be used to obtain a mortgage or when buying a car or when renting an apartment or house.

Currently there are three companies that provide this service:

Equifax
Box 190
Jean Talon Station
Montreal
Quebec
H1S 2Z2
416-227-8800
1-800-465-7166
http://www.equifax.ca

This company provide two reports a basic report for CAD14,50 but also have a deluxe report for CA21,50 which shows the consumer how to correct a score over time. The score is developed by Fair Isaac & CO (FICO) and the score range between 300 and 900, with the higher score showing a better rating than a lower score. The average Canadian score is about 770.

Trans Union of Canada Inc
Consumer Relations Centre
P.O. Box 338, LCD 1
Hamilton
Ontario
L8L 7W2
905 - 525-0262
1-866-525-0262
http://www.tuc.ca

A consumer can buy a report online at Trans Union for CAD14,99.

iQuiri
724 11th Ave S.W.
Suite #200
Calgary
Alberta
T2R 0E4
http://www.iquiri.com

They provide a credit report for just CAD19,95 and have a credit monitoring service for CAD 89,95 whereby a consumer's credit history is monitored throughout the year and monthly reports are generated. A few thousand people has already signed up for this report.

Consumers have the right
Immigrants should also remember as consumers they have the right to access this information.

Risk of checking to often
To check one a year is okay, but to check more is risky as some lenders might be concerned for the reason why a certain consumer is checking his/her credit history so many times a year..

Fix it
Sometimes the information held on consumers are incorrect and it is not uncommon for people to be flagged with accounts they do not even have. A consumer can correct these errors - but the onus rest on the consumer to check this out and have it corrected. Immigrants are advised to always keep record of all communication between them and the credit reporting agencies and do not expect the errors to be corrected unless it is in writing.