bank asking for Canadian credit check

mkdon

hi

applying for mortgage and bank asking for the above

how much does this cost and how long do it take anyone know?

Equifax and transunion seem to be the 2 associated which need to be checked

can anyone advise?

simongurnick

you might be able to get it free here: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action

dennyk

annualcreditreport.com is for US credit reports, not Canadian.

OP, you can check the Canada government's site at:

https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/credit-reports-score/order-credit-report.html

for some details on the process. Unfortunately it will probably be a pain in the ass if you no longer have an address in Canada, as the reports can only be sent by mail and I've no idea if Equifax or TransUnion will send them to an overseas address. You'll have to ring each of them to find out, most likely.

Joe Schmo

I had one done recently for a mortgage application. You need your tax ID and address details. Can be purchased for 20-30 CA$ online and it will be emailed to you. While there is more than 1 reporting agency, the bank was happy with one from me. I went with Equifax if I remember correctly.

MSVforever

mkdon wrote: »

hi

applying for mortgage and bank asking for the above

how much does this cost and how long do it take anyone know?

Equifax and transunion seem to be the 2 associated which need to be checked

can anyone advise?

Which bank is it?

When we were applying for a mortgage in January the only bank asking for a foreign credit check was AIB (we have all of our accounts with them ).

At this time I thought that all banks require this information so I spent nearly €100 for the Schufa credit score and the official translation from German to English. It took 6 weeks to get these documents

I asked mortgage advisors in KBC, PTSB, UB and BOI if they needed this information but it was not required.
We went with BOI in the end.

Goose76

Just to echo above - PTSB didn't request any info on my time in Canada.

When did you live there and how long for? It may not be relevant at all.

c6ysaphjvqw41k

Goose76 wrote: »

Just to echo above - PTSB didn't request any info on my time in Canada.

When did you live there and how long for? It may not be relevant at all.

How long were you there for and how long ago? Did you mention that you lived there or did it just not come up.

MrMojoRisin'

I got the "Equifax Credit Report" for 15.50 CADs a month ago, and AIB seemed happy with it. Even though the report is almost completely empty - it really just shows I paid my phone bill.

If you can I reckon you should probably get the "Equifax Credit Score", Myself I could not because I did not have a credit card, or any loans while I lived in Canada.

dennyk

Just a credit report should be good enough, I'd think. Their underwriters probably wouldn't have a process for taking into account a foreign credit score number, as their meaning varies from country to country, but with a credit report they can see exactly what your raw history looks like (number and balances of active accounts, payment histories, negative flags, etc., which is what they really care about) without having to interpret a number from some proprietary scoring system.

mkdon

dennyk wrote: »

Just a credit report should be good enough, I'd think. Their underwriters probably wouldn't have a process for taking into account a foreign credit score number, as their meaning varies from country to country, but with a credit report they can see exactly what your raw history looks like (number and balances of active accounts, payment histories, negative flags, etc., which is what they really care about) without having to interpret a number from some proprietary scoring system.

ok I received it however my credit score is poor in the lowest category and low ...i have 0 borrowings and accounts there outstanding ..I have a couple of strange collection items which are also bringing down my score

I am going to dispute it but any idea if this even matters to the bank itself ?

are they looking at the actual score ....

Joe Schmo

mkdon wrote:

are they looking at the actual score ....

In my case I think the bank were checking if there was missed payments on credit facilities, or if there was active lines of credit/ credit cards that were not declared on my mortgage application. A credit report would explain if you had an open credit facility and the number of missed payments and amount of credit on that facility.

dennyk

Items which have been charged off or sent to collections in your credit report are likely to be weighed against you, yes, since (if legitimate) they indicate a history of not paying as agreed, which makes you a higher risk. It would be best to get those taken care of if possible, assuming they are in fact fraudulent or incorrect. How much it will affect your chances of getting a mortgage (or the terms you may qualify for if you can), I couldn't tell you; you'd have to wait for the bank to come back to you on that and see what they say. It will likely depend a lot on their age and the amounts involved; if they're recent and/or large, that's usually a bigger issue than if they were small and/or quite old; however, the fact that you have no "good" history of handling loans and paying them on time to offset those black marks and demonstrate that you've since improved your financial responsibility isn't ideal either.

If you can't get something with your current bank, as other posters have said, you may want to try your luck with a different lender; some may not ask to see your foreign credit reports, especially if you've been here long enough that you can show a solid history of regular savings and steady long-term employment and such.

You should also look closer at your Canadian credit report; if you truly don't recognise those items in collection at all (as opposed to them being from some legitimate account or service you signed up for at some point that you thought you'd cancelled or something), it's possible you've been a victim of identity theft, and if that's the case, you'll want to take steps to protect yourself from further fraudulent activity. Here's some advice from the RCMP on dealing with suspected identity theft.

NSAman

Good Luck with American Credit Reports...

DEspite not owing anyone money, despite EVERY bill being paid on time and in full, despite every credit card being paid on time and in full (mostly before time) despite my mortgages being on time never late (god bless setting up monthly payments online) my credit report DROPPED last month again.

I have contacted all of the credit reporter companies to ask why....

Answer: we dont have enough information on you.. i.e. give us all your details.... in a word FO!

c6ysaphjvqw41k

NSAman wrote: »

Good Luck with American Credit Reports...

DEspite not owing anyone money, despite EVERY bill being paid on time and in full, despite every credit card being paid on time and in full (mostly before time) despite my mortgages being on time never late (god bless setting up monthly payments online) my credit report DROPPED last month again.

I have contacted all of the credit reporter companies to ask why....

Answer: we dont have enough information on you.. i.e. give us all your details.... in a word FO!

My husbands US credit rating, the number, is dropping also. He hasn't lived in the US for 3 years but it keeps dropping. He said it drops if your not accessing any credit as you have nothing to show. I'm not sure how true that is?

dennyk

Gracie Sticky Smokehouse wrote: »

My husbands US credit rating, the number, is dropping also. He hasn't lived in the US for 3 years but it keeps dropping. He said it drops if your not accessing any credit as you have nothing to show. I'm not sure how true that is?

The exact formulae used to calculate your FICO score (or the credit bureaus' own equivalents) are trade secrets, but in general, yes, if you don't have any active loans or revolving credit lines, your score will tend to drop over time, as you aren't actively demonstrating your creditworthiness. If you allow your accounts to be closed (most credit card providers will close your account if you don't use your card for a long period of time), that will negatively affect your score as well.

Personally I keep mine going by hanging onto my US credit cards (and my US bank account from which I pay them off) and making small purchases from US vendors every now and again (mostly online/digital services and such). I'm sure my score has probably dropped a bit since I no longer have a mortgage there, but continuing use (and paying off) of my cards will keep it at a reasonable level at least. Unfortunately if your husband's accounts have all been closed already, opening a new one would likely be difficult at this point; most credit card issuers won't allow nonresidents to have an account. Even for my existing accounts I have to use a relative's mailing address in the US, as they won't allow a foreign address.