Yes, there really is a Free Credit Report
Posted on Friday, April 8th, 2011 at 12:00 amI am of the belief that everyone should understand their own credit profile. Did you know that Canadian citizens are entitled to ONE FREE CREDIT REPORT every year?
I have been getting my free credit reports from Equifax (link here). If you go to their website, Equifax will try to sell you access to your credit profile online, for a fee. However, you can also get the report for FREE. You just need to fill out a form (link here) and mail it in, along with the requested documentation. Then, within a couple of weeks… Presto!!! You get you own credit profile in the mail.
A few months ago, I read an article from Rob Carrick of the Globe and Mail (link here) that also provided a phone number for Equifax (1-800-465-7166). This is a much quicker way of getting the free credit report (no postage required). Within 10 minutes, I was able to order the report. How easy was that!!! I still needed to wait a couple of weeks to actually get a copy of the report. But it was a good deal for what I paid for.
Based on Rob Carrick’s article, I also tried to call the phone number for TransUnion. However, I was never successful in ordering the credit report. After a couple of tries and I gave up. You might have better luck than me.