There is recourse if you’re at an impasse with a credit granter over an unpaid debt. You can ask the credit bureau to intercede on your behalf. By:Ellen RosemanPersonal Finance Columnist, Published on Tue Feb 12 2013
Scott Smith, 24, is an MBA student. He’s proud of paying his bills on time and having an excellent credit record. So, he was surpri…sed to find his credit score had plunged when he checked in with the two Canadian credit bureaus. There was a new “derogatory” item from a collection agency acting on behalf of Cogeco, a telecom supplier.
Seems there was an unpaid debt arising from the cable TV box he had rented as an undergraduate and tried to return in 2010. He didn’t know the package hadn’t arrived by mail.
“I’ve now paid the balance in full, but the damage to my otherwise sparkling credit record appears to be done. This blight cannot be removed from my credit history for six years. Cogeco seems unwilling to delete it,” he said.
“I’ve now paid the balance in full, but the damage to my otherwise sparkling credit record appears to be done. This blight cannot be removed from my credit history for six years. Cogeco seems unwilling to delete it,” he said.
There is recourse if you’re at an impasse with a credit granter over a debt. You can ask Canada’s two credit bureaus, Equifax and TransUnion, to intercede on your behalf.
When I forwarded Smith’s email to the credit bureaus, TransUnion deleted the Cogeco account within two days and Equifax within two weeks.
When I forwarded Smith’s email to the credit bureaus, TransUnion deleted the Cogeco account within two days and Equifax within two weeks.
He was smart to check his credit record before applying for a loan. With a low score, he could have been turned down by a major bank and forced to go to a lender with a higher interest rate.
Here are the Contact Numbers for both Equifax Credit Bureau & Trans Union Credit Bureau:
Equifax: 1-(800)-465-7166
Trans Union: 1-(800)-663-9980