How to Dispute Errors on Your Credit Report in Canada

What counts as a credit-report error?

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) says to look for wrong personal details, errors on credit cards or loans, payments marked late when they were on time, accounts you did not open, and negative information that remains longer than allowed. The issue might appear on only one of your two reports.

An unfamiliar lender name is not always fraud. Check the account details first. If you still do not recognize the account, treat possible identity theft as a separate, urgent issue and use the fraud steps below. A missed payment or collection that is reported accurately is not removable through a dispute simply because it is unwelcome.

Step 1: Check both Equifax and TransUnion

You can access your credit reports online for free through both bureaus. FCAC says that checking your own report or score does not affect your credit rating. Its credit-report instructions also explain how to request a mailed copy if you prefer that route.

Work from the current report rather than an older screenshot or your memory. For every item that looks wrong, write down:

• Which bureau shows the item and the name of the company reporting it.
• The account or reference number shown, if there is one.
• The exact field or date you believe is wrong.
• What you believe the correct information should be.

Check the other bureau’s report too. If both show the same mistake, you may need to submit a dispute to each one. If only one shows it, start with that bureau. The lender or other information provider can also be contacted directly.

Step 2: Gather proof and explain the correction

FCAC suggests collecting receipts, statements, and other documents that show the mistake. Which documents help depends on the item. An account statement may support a payment-history correction; an official identity document may support a personal-information correction. Use the bureau’s current instructions to see what it asks you to provide.

Keep the explanation specific. Name the item, the field you are disputing, the correction requested, and the document supporting it. For example, if a payment is shown as late, identify the month and the account statement that shows when it was processed. This is an illustration of how to describe an error, not a promise that a bureau will accept a particular document or change the entry.

Send copies through the bureau’s official route and keep your own complete set. Do not send more personal information than that route requires. A clear, item-by-item record makes it easier to compare the bureau’s eventual response with what you actually asked it to investigate.

Step 3: File with the bureau showing the error

Credit bureaus must correct errors for free. The bureau examines your dispute with the lender or organization that supplied the information. If the investigation confirms a mistake, the bureau corrects it. If the supplier says the information is accurate, the item may remain. Use the current instructions on the bureau’s site rather than an address or phone number copied into an older guide.

Equifax: online or by mail

Equifax’s dispute page offers free online and mailed routes. Its online process accepts up to three file attachments; the page explains how to combine multiple pages into a single PDF when needed. Follow the current form’s document instructions for the kind of correction you are requesting.

Equifax currently estimates about 15 to 20 days to process an online dispute and 20 to 25 days for a mailed one. These are Equifax estimates, not a deadline that applies to every credit-report dispute. It says it will notify you if it needs more information and send a confirmation of the result.

TransUnion: online, by phone, or by mail

TransUnion’s dispute page lists three free routes. For an online dispute, it asks for your name, date of birth, current address, previous address if you have lived at the current address for less than two years, the item you dispute, and your reason. Providing a Social Insurance Number is optional.

If you choose mail, use TransUnion’s current investigation form and supporting-document instructions. TransUnion says its investigation can remove inaccurate information, but accurate negative information remains for as long as the governing rules allow. It does not offer a better investigation outcome because you paid a credit-repair company.

Step 4: Contact the lender or information provider

FCAC says contacting the organization that reported the information may help speed up a correction. Ask it to check its own records and, if it finds an error, send corrected information to the bureau. This is useful alongside a bureau dispute; it does not replace filing with the bureau whose report shows the mistake.

Keep a short log of who you contacted, when, the reference number if one was given, and what they said would happen next. If you send documents to both the bureau and the lender, identify the same disputed item in each exchange so you can match the replies later.

Step 5: Read the result and use the right escalation route

When the bureau replies, compare its explanation and any revised report with the precise item you disputed. If the entry remains and you still believe it is wrong, FCAC suggests asking for a higher-level review. You can also contact the information provider and use its complaint process.

Credit bureaus are not federally regulated. If your complaint is about a bureau’s handling of your case, start with that bureau; your provincial or territorial consumer affairs office may be the next place to ask. FCAC explains these routes on its credit-report errors page.

If the information provider is a federally regulated bank and your concern becomes a bank complaint, use the bank’s separate complaint-handling process. FCAC says a bank must provide a detailed written response within 56 calendar days from when you first made that complaint. You may contact the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments when the bank has closed the file with that response, or when more than 56 days have passed. That 56-day rule is for a bank complaint, not a general deadline for credit-bureau disputes. See FCAC’s bank-complaint steps for the conditions.

If the investigation still does not resolve the issue, FCAC says you may add a consumer statement to your report for free. It explains your position to a future reader but does not change the underlying entry. The permitted length can differ by province. Equifax currently allows a statement of up to 800 characters after an unresolved dispute.

If the account may involve identity theft

An account you did not open needs more than an ordinary correction request if you suspect fraud. FCAC advises contacting the affected lender, asking both Equifax and TransUnion about fraud alerts, and reporting suspected fraud through Canada’s National Fraud Reporting System. A fraud alert asks lenders to confirm your identity before approving credit; a bureau may require identification and may charge a fee for the alert.

Security freezes or credit locks are another measure in some provinces or territories, but availability is not uniform across Canada. Ask each bureau whether you qualify and how its process works. A fraud alert or freeze is a separate protective step; it does not itself settle the accuracy of the disputed entry.

Do you need a credit-repair company?

You can submit a dispute yourself for free. TransUnion says paying a credit-repair company does not give you extra services, different treatment, or a different investigation outcome. Be cautious of any promise to remove accurate negative information or guarantee a higher score. A valid correction may change a report, but this guide cannot promise a particular score or lending result.