I'm new, trying to rebuild credit.

[Handsome Rob]

Hi guys, awesome site. Trying to find info on Canadian credit and it's tough, seems all there is to find is state law and local statutes, etc.

 

Trying to browse the site to find some answers, but figured I'd put the story up, maybe find some answers. I've put questions in red.

 

My credit life started in 2002, with an RBC Visa cosigned by my mother, with me at age 18. All was well until 2004 when she died, leaving me a college dropout looking for an apartment.

 

Managed to get by until 2007 when a motor vehicle accident really changed my life....my DL was suspended for too many points on driving without due care and consideration (Young and stupid, full responsibility here), vehicle was a write off, which in turn cost me my job (Driving for a living, + suspended DL), which in turn cost me my apartment.

 

At this point the bills started to pile up. Accounts looked like:

 

-RBC Visa: $1500 balance sent to collections fall of 2007. Balance paid year end 2008. Remains on my credit report.

 

-Cell phone company: Bill got up to $1300 dollars before they canceled it and sent to collections fall of 2007. (A 'buddy' really screwed me on this. Supposed to be helping me out, making long distance calls to his G/F out of country) Balance paid year end 2008. Remains on my credit report.

 

-Car insurance: I was paying month to month on a 'payment plan'.....not financing! When I wrote the car off I sold the remains to a wrecker, including transfer of title, unbeknownst to me my license plates continued to insure a car that didn't belong to me, didn't physically exist anymore, even though they were sitting in my closet. That started reporting as bad debt in the fall of 2007, balance was paid winter of 2008. Remains on my credit report.

 

-Car loan from a local community credit union: Borrowed $18,000, balance of $9,000 was written off as bad debt winter of 2007. I paid the final balance in full winter of 2008. This is not displayed in my Transunion report. I've got my fingers crossed that this could be a good thing? What could I be missing? The loan was in a charge-off state when I paid them, is it possible they don't report or pulled it off the report when I paid them?

 

HBC Mastercard: Low balance, maybe $150, no delinquencies. Was still reporting until I called them last week to see if I could get a card, at which point they closed the account with no input from me. Apparently it was supposed to be closed years ago due to inactivity but was missed.

 

-Wells Fargo Revolving Credit: Limit $1500, high balance of $200, no delinquencies. Closed Fall 2008 due to inactivity. Reports all good.

 

So last debt was paid January of this year, no activity since then. I've got a TransUnion score of 617. I cannot get an equifax score because I don't have a proper credit card in which I am the primary card holder. Anybody know any loopholes around this?

 

In the last 2 years, I've got three hard inquiries. One from a CA, one from my current bank which is relatively new, and one from Capital One for the secured card I've just applied for. 10 Inquiries in the last 5 years.

 

TransUnion is reporting zero active accounts for the last 12 months, however when I look at the trends-->delinquencies page, on the graph I can see 4 dots for the year of 2009. This is clearly impossible unless I'm being scammed, I'm wondering if this information will carry any weight on my score when it does not match the profile itself?

 

I've got the Cap One secured I've just applied for, and also my GirlFriend has a proper Visa with an $8,000 balance of which she is carrying about 55%, and she has just named me as an authorized user. I am not certain if that is going to change my status or not? I would like to try and get a small car loan next spring, perhaps $4,000 borrowed, $2,000 down. Household income is in the $80,000 range, anything else I should be doing at this point?

 

 

Thanks much for reading, and any insight you may offer.

 

Cheers.

[Quasei2]

Welcome! And congrats on beginning your journey back to credit sanity. You've given plenty of details so hopefully we'll be able to give you some good direction. I so very well know your frustration of searching and finding not much other than state laws, etc. What made me stick around CB was that most of the information about credit repair is also applicable in Canada up to, but not including threatening suits, etc. TU does NOT like threats of the BBB though and those should be saved as a last ditch "bringing out the big guns" effort. If you take a look further down the forum there's a post I made of a bundle of Canadian links.

 

I'm also glad to hear your life is starting to settle a bit. You had a rough go for a while. That's not an unfamiliar source of credit woes and frustrations.

 

What province are you in? If I haven't put links on the link thread for your province specifically I'll go hunting to find the links to provincial legislation.

 

Ok... giving this a whirl. Hopefully Stu will pipe up as well since he's got some great thoughts on this too I'm sure.

 

--- Take a breeze through the Newbie Section on here if you haven't already. It's a great starting point and pretty helpful for triaging your TL's and deciding where to start the process.

 

--- are you looking at hard copies of your reports or just the online ones? If you're only looking at the online ones I'd recommend strongly that you pull the hard copies. Print what you see online. Make copies of your hard copy when you get it. Don't do anything re: disputing until you have hard copies.

 

--- Remember do not dispute any item on any TL that you aren't willing to risk having removed entirely. Especially consider this for whichever is your oldest TL. Dispute the ones that are super negative though. Good bit of likelihood that since they're not financial institutions and the accounts are paid off, the CRA's won't get a response and the items will be deleted. They won't make any more money by updating, etc so they will probably disregard dispute/verification attempts by the CRA's.

 

--- I'd start with a dispute on multiple tradelines - the TU and EQ acct update forms from their websites are fine for this start. It will likely be between 30-45 days before you have a response. To save your sanity I strongly recommend you obtain tracking for these disputes. It's not entirely necessary for registered mail like it is in the US. Your tracking info - make sure to print it as soon as you see it arrive - will be fine to prove you sent it and it reached its destination. If you really want to spend the $6 or so on sending it registered mail then go for it, but imho that money is much better spent on paying on debt, secured card deposits, etc. Also, I've found that communication with Equifax by fax is well received - as long as you have a fax that will create a receipt and log print out of your fax transmission. I only dealt with them by fax because my issue with their report was fairly minor. With TU it was always by phone for information and even when I disputed by phone I always sent a written dispute the same day as that conversation.

 

--- 1-2 punches work, but in Canada I'd recommend a softer approach than our friends to the south. Dispute through the CRA, but also send a sugary sweet letter to the OC requesting the error be corrected. WFF was willing to go the extra mile with me to help fix my TU report even when TU was giving THEM push back and I credit it to the sugary sweet emails I sent to the manager. If you have a personal contact - ie a banking officer, etc - with whom you dealt I would recommend that as your first point of contact with the financial institutions. Take that individual's lead for escalating further. Following the food chain and making your paper trail showing that following of proper procedure, while maintaining sugary sweetness, will definitely help you later!

 

--- Was your RBC acct sent to external collections or was it internal collections? Their internal collections department is VERY friendly and quite receptive to goodwill requests to remove lates, show as PIF rather than collection acct, etc. I've written 2x GW letters for friends recently for RBC and both worked. One acct was MUCH more recently paid than your's. Also, I've got a name/fax number in their internal collections department if you decide to go this route.

 

--- I'd write a GW letter to the insurance company. If you know the name of the claims adjuster you were dealing with for the wreck I'd recommend strongly that that person be your first point of contact. Take their lead where to escalate from there - you'll likely end up speaking with their consumer advocacy office.

 

--- I suspect your loan is similar to the lack of reporting of my seriously awful issue with my credit card from Scotiabank which until this spring was reporting as open, no lates, and paid as agreed and never showed up on my Equifax. It's an anomaly. We pray to the spaghetti monster that it doesn't show up.

 

--- I wouldn't touch the HSBC acct.

 

--- I wouldn't touch the WFF account.

 

--- As for the Equifax score, have you tried a vanilla mastercard (ie the gift card). How about a BMO prepaid Mastercard?

 

--- I wouldn't be alarmed by the chart thingy on TU. It's a bit bizarre and really only take to heart the information you see in hard copy form on your report. Anything else is pretty much erroneous.

 

--- The Cap1 card is a great start. Adding you as an authorized user in Canada unfortunately doesn't have the same benefits in Canada that it does in the USA. In Canada reporting that way is actually illegal. The only way for it to affect your credit report is for the account to be held as joint. I'd recommend you bump the Cap1 secured limit up to at least $500 so that it's not 100% obvious you have their secured card. For some reason that was one of the things that made MBNA twitchy about my recent app with them.

 

--- The car loan idea sounds great. Any chance you could flip flop those numbers and pay $4000 down and borrow $2000? You might have a better chance at a slightly better rate plus a slightly higher chance of being approved if you did.

 

--- If you have an acct and long term relationship with one of the Big 5 banks you might also consider looking into a secured line of credit. Perhaps something in the $5K range for a limit with a deposit of perhaps $6000. In fact, you could also try visiting your bank and setting up a secured credit card directly wtih them if you're not able/ready to take the plunge with such a large security hold. Most of the big 5 will take a deposit of between 100-125% of your acct limit and give you a secured acct. This usually has conditions attached like no outstanding collections with them, no bankruptcies on your CBR, no unpaid collections.

 

--- Other than that let your Cap1 card age a year and hopefully your hard work and diligence will pay off! It won't be long before those older accounts mean less and less to lenders. Waiting that year is definitely an exercise in patience, but ignoring that itchy trigger finger will pay off big later on when you are actually ready to apply for something. Besides, you're going to be busy fighting with TU to make sure your CBR is 100% correct. LOL

 

HTH and please don't hesitate to ask more questions, add more comments. Keep coming back. Stu & I were starting to get lonely here so it's good to see folks trickling down to this forum finally.

 

Q

[Stu.Padaso]

I really cannot add anything to what's been said, Handsome Rob. I think Quasei answered everything and I'm sure will answer any additional questions you may have.

 

I personally have zero experience in credit repair. All my problems were solved with TIME. So I really cannot help you with disputes and such with the credit bureaus.

 

One thing I will say is please use that Secured Capital One card wisely. If they treat you like they did me, they probably gave you a small credit limit. That's okay though. Just pay on it often if you need to use it a lot. I'd spend $3000+ in a month on a $500 limit, making payments 2, 3, 4, sometimes 5 times a week. Seriously. After all the crap I went thru and this being my first real credit card in quite a few years I became obsessed with it. Borderline OCD. I'd log into the online account every morning and every evening. And when I seen a charge hit the account, I'd log into TD and make the payment to CapOne to bring it back to zero.

 

It was funny looking at the paper statements (before I went paperless). Sometimes they'd be 5 pages long, showing little charges and little payments almost every day of the month. And CapOne didn't mind one bit. They never ever said anything about it.

 

7 or 8 months later they returned my security deposit and gave me a Gold card and raised my limit to a very respectable $2500 limit. So you have that to look forward to Rob. Be patient Rob, it'll come to you too.

 

People here like to crap on CapOne, but it's completely unwarranted. So don't let those people get you down. CapOne have helped many many people reestablish their credit, including myself, and CapOne is allowing you to do that right now. I suspect the people who constantly crap on CapOne are the same people who never came close to hitting rock bottom and are also the same people who whine and are insulted that their new Super Duper Golden Platinum Stainless Steel Million Dollar Rewards VISA from Mr. Monopoly Bank only gave them a $50,000 credit limit.

[Quasei2]

One quick note about disputing... If there are multiple things wrong with a tradeline I urge you to only dispute one error at a time. This will give you multiple shots at getting it deleted where if you send one with multiple there's a chance the OC will respond. It becomes less and less likely that the OC will respond after several disputes.

[Handsome Rob]

What province are you in? If I haven't put links on the link thread for your province specifically I'll go hunting to find the links to provincial legislation.

West Coast, British Columbia

 

--- Take a breeze through the Newbie Section on here if you haven't already. It's a great starting point and pretty helpful for triaging your TL's and deciding where to start the process.

Working on it, lots of info, especially with all of the acronyms.

 

--- are you looking at hard copies of your reports or just the online ones? If you're only looking at the online ones I'd recommend strongly that you pull the hard copies. Print what you see online. Make copies of your hard copy when you get it. Don't do anything re: disputing until you have hard copies.

Only viewing it online.

 

--- I'd start with a dispute on multiple tradelines - the TU and EQ acct update forms from their websites are fine for this start. It will likely be between 30-45 days before you have a response. To save your sanity I strongly recommend you obtain tracking for these disputes. It's not entirely necessary for registered mail like it is in the US. Your tracking info - make sure to print it as soon as you see it arrive - will be fine to prove you sent it and it reached its destination. If you really want to spend the $6 or so on sending it registered mail then go for it, but imho that money is much better spent on paying on debt, secured card deposits, etc. Also, I've found that communication with Equifax by fax is well received - as long as you have a fax that will create a receipt and log print out of your fax transmission. I only dealt with them by fax because my issue with their report was fairly minor. With TU it was always by phone for information and even when I disputed by phone I always sent a written dispute the same day as that conversation.

Sorry, I'm still reading up on things, what do you mean by multiple tradelines?

 

--- 1-2 punches work, but in Canada I'd recommend a softer approach than our friends to the south. Dispute through the CRA, but also send a sugary sweet letter to the OC requesting the error be corrected. WFF was willing to go the extra mile with me to help fix my TU report even when TU was giving THEM push back and I credit it to the sugary sweet emails I sent to the manager. If you have a personal contact - ie a banking officer, etc - with whom you dealt I would recommend that as your first point of contact with the financial institutions. Take that individual's lead for escalating further. Following the food chain and making your paper trail showing that following of proper procedure, while maintaining sugary sweetness, will definitely help you later!

Yeah, no real connections left. At that point, at many times I didn't even have a phone #, struggling to find a place to live. I wasn't the most communicative with the CA's or Institutions, there was an element of young, confused, ignorant fear there as well. All of my banking was done through RBC originally, I left them in 2008, spring-winter, and was without a bank account until this time last year when I signed on with Scotia.

[Handsome Rob]

--- Was your RBC acct sent to external collections or was it internal collections? Their internal collections department is VERY friendly and quite receptive to goodwill requests to remove lates, show as PIF rather than collection acct, etc. I've written 2x GW letters for friends recently for RBC and both worked. One acct was MUCH more recently paid than your's. Also, I've got a name/fax number in their internal collections department if you decide to go this route.

External collections it was if I'm not mistaken. Would they use a different name for internal?

 

--- I'd write a GW letter to the insurance company. If you know the name of the claims adjuster you were dealing with for the wreck I'd recommend strongly that that person be your first point of contact. Take their lead where to escalate from there - you'll likely end up speaking with their consumer advocacy office.

The insurance company is ICBC, their (Complete lack of) customer service is world renown, they're all going to hell for crimes against humanity. There was no claims adjuster for the accident, as I did not file a claim. I signed a change of title to the auto-wrecker, and that was that. I can see that I could probably have a good sell though, given circumstance that who would ever think it possible to have an insurance policy insuring something that doesn't exist. The car was crushed for scrap metal.

 

--- I suspect your loan is similar to the lack of reporting of my seriously awful issue with my credit card from Scotiabank which until this spring was reporting as open, no lates, and paid as agreed and never showed up on my Equifax. It's an anomaly. We pray to the spaghetti monster that it doesn't show up.

Indeed. I am fearful to see what equifax will show, but it was a recent start up credit union, one of the community types, perhaps they showed some goodwill?

 

--- As for the Equifax score, have you tried a vanilla mastercard (ie the gift card). How about a BMO prepaid Mastercard?

I've been getting robbed by using a money-mart mastercard, waiting to hear from Cap 1. They won't take any pre-paid, as well I tried with the Mrs.'s card in which I am the authorized user, my own unique card number and they wouldn't take that either. The phrase they used, was you need to be the primary cardholder and the card must not be prepaid. Hoping to hell the Cap 1 will work.

 

--- I wouldn't be alarmed by the chart thingy on TU. It's a bit bizarre and really only take to heart the information you see in hard copy form on your report. Anything else is pretty much erroneous.

Yeah that's about what I figured.

 

--- The Cap1 card is a great start. Adding you as an authorized user in Canada unfortunately doesn't have the same benefits in Canada that it does in the USA. In Canada reporting that way is actually illegal. The only way for it to affect your credit report is for the account to be held as joint. I'd recommend you bump the Cap1 secured limit up to at least $500 so that it's not 100% obvious you have their secured card. For some reason that was one of the things that made MBNA twitchy about my recent app with them.

I'm really hoping with a 617, that I'll end up getting something like $300 deposit, $500 limit. Cross that bridge when I get there, that application is only 3 days old. Still haven't heard from them.

 

--- The car loan idea sounds great. Any chance you could flip flop those numbers and pay $4000 down and borrow $2000? You might have a better chance at a slightly better rate plus a slightly higher chance of being approved if you did.

Open to anything and everything. Income is high, shouldn't be an issue. The only reason for the loan is that we are going to try and holiday in Hawaii next year, else it would be cold hard cash. But hey, beggars can't be choosers and I'll take what I get.

 

--- If you have an acct and long term relationship with one of the Big 5 banks you might also consider looking into a secured line of credit. Perhaps something in the $5K range for a limit with a deposit of perhaps $6000. In fact, you could also try visiting your bank and setting up a secured credit card directly wtih them if you're not able/ready to take the plunge with such a large security hold. Most of the big 5 will take a deposit of between 100-125% of your acct limit and give you a secured acct. This usually has conditions attached like no outstanding collections with them, no bankruptcies on your CBR, no unpaid collections.

Fair enough. Should I be worried about a secured card generating a credit inquiry.

 

HTH and please don't hesitate to ask more questions, add more comments. Keep coming back. Stu & I were starting to get lonely here so it's good to see folks trickling down to this forum finally.

 

Q

Cheers. Thanks for all the time and help. I've got a pile of reading to do.

[Quasei2]

I'll reply to the rest a little later, but I wanted to make a note to you about the secured card. App'ing for a secured card via one of the Big 5 - I assume you'd go to Scotiabank since you mentioned you have accts there - will generate a hard inq. Also, with Scotia branches will only do secured cards usually with a $1000 limit and a $1200 deposit to your choice of a bank acct or a GIC. I've seen a $500 and I've seen a $20K, but they're rare. 99% of what I've seen are $1000.

 

If you're going to make an appt for a secured card with Scotia I would recommend pulling your CBR's and then calling the day they arrive to make the appt within a day or 2. Then you can take those hard copies in and they'll tell you if there's any hope before you have the hard pull. It's still a credit application, just with the rules relaxed a lot.

[Stu.Padaso]

I'm really hoping with a 617, that I'll end up getting something like $300 deposit, $500 limit. Cross that bridge when I get there, that application is only 3 days old. Still haven't heard from them.

Just a simple FYI....

 

If I remember correctly, CapOne didn't give me an approval online. Did they tell you that you were approved?

 

When I applied in the summer of 07 (I think, maybe it was 06???) I had no idea if I was approved or not. All it said was that they'd be in touch.

 

Seems to me about a week or so later I got a letter from them telling me I was approved ($75 deposit, $500 limit) and instructions on mailing in the deposit cheque and so on. I honestly cannot recall if it had to be certified funds or not (I don't think so, but I could be wrong).

 

And about 10-14 days later the card came in the mail. Longest wait of my life!

 

I know how much anxiety this can cause, so maybe this will calm any feelings you're having right now and give you an idea of what to expect and the time frame involved.

[Handsome Rob]

Based on reading to this point, I think what I'm looking at to start is:

 

1) Receive Cap one card so I can pull my Equifax, and get hard copies of both.

2) Write a letter to both CRA's based on; Dear Sir or Madam, I am not certain that the following accounts (Insurance & Visa) belong to me, could you please verify and provide proof that this is correct. Thank you for you time, sincerely, handsome rob.

3) Goodwill letters to the insurance company and RBC/Collections (On the credit report it's reported as Royal Bank of Canada Visa) so I'm not certain.

 

Sit and wait.....

[Quasei2]

I'd caution you not to do the strategy of these don't belong to me because that's just going to bring up the whole fraud watch nonsense. That'll mean for the next 6 yrs you'll have a fraud block on your CBR's making your life a PITA as far as credit is concerned. As an example HSBC won't approve a limit above $1500 to anyone with a fraud watch on their CBR.

 

It's late though and I need sleep... I promise tomorrow (Saturday) I will respond to the rest of it and give you a suggestion around this that won't trigger a fraud watch.

 

Q

[Handsome Rob]

I'd caution you not to do the strategy of these don't belong to me because that's just going to bring up the whole fraud watch nonsense. That'll mean for the next 6 yrs you'll have a fraud block on your CBR's making your life a PITA as far as credit is concerned. As an example HSBC won't approve a limit above $1500 to anyone with a fraud watch on their CBR.

 

It's late though and I need sleep... I promise tomorrow (Saturday) I will respond to the rest of it and give you a suggestion around this that won't trigger a fraud watch.

 

Q

 

Interesting, I selected that way because it seemed like a common theme amongst letters, as well as the most 'honest.' Seems I have more reading to do.

[Handsome Rob]

Upon further reading, I'm feeling more and more foolish. Wish there was an edit button.

[Handsome Rob]

Here's a question:

 

If the account in question has not reported for one year, should I send a letter to the creditor? (The case with the insurance company/phone company, not CA) Or just use the dispute by itself. My fear here, is, is there a possibility of re-awakening a sleeping giant? Is it any more likely to help?

[Quasei2]

Please never feel silly about a question. And never feel silly about an oopsy with this stuff. I made a crazy mistake in the beginning which meant a few closed positive accounts were removed from my report!

 

What are you meaning by not reported? Are you saying they haven't been updated? I think you mentioned those accts were actually paid up? So imho there's no sleeping giant to wake.

 

I would start against those accts with a big dispute to the CRA to see if you can pop them off there. You can't do that until you have the CRA's mail the paper copies to you. Once you do figure out a laundry list of incorrect things with each one then pick one error for each acct and dispute all 3 txns as displaying incorrect information all on one form. Wait for that to come back.

 

I'd hold on the letters to see what you can get out of your first dispute. You might find them happily removed so you wouldn't want a goodwill letter to put them back on your report via an OC push & update.

 

That's where this whole process is an exercise in patience. It took me 5 disputes (and 5 months!) to have something removed that by TU's rules should have been removed a year prior! And that's why I say dispute only one error at a time. In my case it wasn't a matter of the OC updating or verifying AT ALL!!! The OC was pushing updated information and TU just wasn't following their rules.

 

Also just tossing a note in there about Cap1... My experience for a timeline was similar to Stu's. I was approved online immediately, but it was almost 2 weeks before I got the paperwork. I sent in the money order the same day. And it was another almost 4 weeks before I received the card. It was 6 weeks from pushing the button online to the day I had the card in my hand. Generally their starting limit with the secured card is $300. If you wish though you can add additional funds to bump it up. I highly recommend you bump it to $500 so it's less obviously a secured card on your CBR.

 

Multiple tradelines.... more than one acct. A tradeline is an acct that shows up on your CBR.

 

Seems to me RBC does use another name for their internal collections - I know Scotia does - I just can't remember what it is. Is the item reporting listed as the name of the collection agency or as an RBC acct? Is it simply commented as a collection acct? Something like that might not necessarily show online, but it will show on a paper copy they'd mail to you.

 

When you sold the car did you contact ICBC to let them know the car was no longer in your name and you needed to cancel the insurance? If so this can give you a lengthy list of items that are incorrect about the item on your CBR.

 

GL on the trip to Hawaii! Westjet often has some amazing deals. And a whirlwind amazing trip to Hawaii can strangely be done on the cheap. Don't forget to buy the insurance particularly trip cancellation and interruption. hehe! My old roommate went 3 times in 6 months, once in each of winter, spring, and summer - and every single time he had some sort of travel interruption like a storm or whatnot. LOL So yeah... I strongly recommend it!

[Handsome Rob]

What are you meaning by not reported? Are you saying they haven't been updated? I think you mentioned those accts were actually paid up? So imho there's no sleeping giant to wake.

Yeah, that's true. I guess it's just the lumbering hill I'm staring out, I feel small.

 

I would start against those accts with a big dispute to the CRA to see if you can pop them off there. You can't do that until you have the CRA's mail the paper copies to you. Once you do figure out a laundry list of incorrect things with each one then pick one error for each acct and dispute all 3 txns as displaying incorrect information all on one form. Wait for that to come back.

 

I'd hold on the letters to see what you can get out of your first dispute. You might find them happily removed so you wouldn't want a goodwill letter to put them back on your report via an OC push & update.

How though, am I to find a laundry list of errors if they are reporting correctly? I was of the impression that it was; Tell the truth; Please verify that the information displayed is accurate and observing the laws, else remove it or something similar that I'm certain I will proof-read 162 times and compare against the forums prior to sending. Are you saying it should be something like: This R3 should have been in August, but it is reported in July?

 

What is the real benefit to waiting for a paper copy from the CRA? Just proof, should they change their website?

 

That's where this whole process is an exercise in patience. It took me 5 disputes (and 5 months!) to have something removed that by TU's rules should have been removed a year prior! And that's why I say dispute only one error at a time. In my case it wasn't a matter of the OC updating or verifying AT ALL!!! The OC was pushing updated information and TU just wasn't following their rules.

So you're saying, with each CRA, one TradeLine dispute at a time? When that gets resolved, or looks like it will not be, same CRA, next Tradeline? Or do you mean, one error per tradeline, keep it simple?

 

Seems to me RBC does use another name for their internal collections - I know Scotia does - I just can't remember what it is. Is the item reporting listed as the name of the collection agency or as an RBC acct? Is it simply commented as a collection acct? Something like that might not necessarily show online, but it will show on a paper copy they'd mail to you.

That was my error. I just pulled my CRA again, it is displayed as Royal Bank Visa. I thought collections, because I dealt with them over the phone. Either they aren't reporting, or it was handed back? Really need to see that Equifax...come on Cap1.

 

When you sold the car did you contact ICBC to let them know the car was no longer in your name and you needed to cancel the insurance? If so this can give you a lengthy list of items that are incorrect about the item on your CBR.

ICBC is responsible for every aspect of Motor Vehicles in BC, including registration and ticket enforcement. So in effect, when I transferred title, they were notified that I no longer owned the car. However I never called them directly to cancel the policy. Didn't think I had to, as the car was shredded. You think I should go to the CRA with that?

 

GL on the trip to Hawaii! Westjet often has some amazing deals. And a whirlwind amazing trip to Hawaii can strangely be done on the cheap. Don't forget to buy the insurance particularly trip cancellation and interruption. hehe! My old roommate went 3 times in 6 months, once in each of winter, spring, and summer - and every single time he had some sort of travel interruption like a storm or whatnot. LOL So yeah... I strongly recommend it!

Cheers, my employer has extensive travel insurance coverage, but I'd probably be going stand-by. I work in aerospace, and WS is a customer so we get benefits. Not that great though, probably looking at $2.5K for the week...rent-a-car, accommodations, entertainment, food...

[Quasei2]

The hard copies will have a LOT more information than you're seeing online plus there is very little regulation regarding what info is displayed and how up to date it is for online reports. Your hard copies will be your best tool. As well if you were to call them to discuss an item they'll be looking at something that more closely approximates what the hard copy looks like. Also, if you have some sort of re-insertion of something on your CBR then you now have a paper trail of hard copies that you can prove, "hey you salamanders remove this!" and they kinda have to do it. Paper trail is king. Get yourself a big brown envelope or folder and save EVERY bit of documentation and if you have old documents about these tradelines dig 'em out. Even though I wouldn't dispute based on information you're seeing online, I definitely would print out a copy of it so you'll have it - it's not worth crap in court if things ever go that far, but it'll help you sort things in your head.

 

When you dispute an item rather than asking them to validate it, you'll be telling them: "Item X is wrong. Please correct." or "I was not X days late in June of 2004. Please update and correct this information." Short and sweet. Don't tell them what it should be, just tell 'em it's wrong and then hope that the OC doesn't respond to them or whatnot because if the OC doesn't respond then they will delete it. You're not looking for documented proof from the CRA, you're looking for them to report information correctly. If it's an OC reporting as the owner of a tradeline then you'll want to play sugary sweet nice with them to goodwill update it unless you have full documentation to support your argument AND are willing to take it to small claims court AND have proof of some sort of financial damages because of their error. If it's a collection agency that shows ownership on the hard copy then there's a bigger bucket of tools and fun for you to take them on and win.

 

For disputes, start out with their form that allows you to dispute several at a time. For each individual tradeline do not dispute more than one error within it at a time. Once you've done that first step of multiple at a time and have your results then start going at them one at a time because you'll have an idea which ones are going to be more difficult and you'll know what sort of errors are updated. And also very important to this tactic, it gives you a constant stream of updated hardcopies. I have 6 hardcopies of my TU report within 5 months showing the progression of updates and corrections as well as deletions.

 

I wouldn't bother waiting for the Cap1 card to arrive. I strongly recommend you just fill out the paper forms on both the TU & EQ sites and send off for your hard copies. You'll have them long before the Cap1 information or card ever arrives. Plus if you wait for the cap1 card to arrive before seeing EQ online you'll still need to wait another week for your hard copy before disputing it. Just order your hard copies now. They are very different from what is online.

 

As for ICBC, I think when you have your hard copy if it reflects an amount that would have been correct IF you had kept the car I think you should dispute that amount. If the date of closing is wrong, dispute that date, etc.

 

Sweet deal on the trip. You mentioned renting a car. Just a tip for you since you were looking at perhaps a secured with a big 5 - there are a couple of the Scotia visas that offer a 20% discount with Avis. And don't forget to check visaperks.ca for travel and accommodation discounts if you are doing any booking whatsoever on a Visa.

[Handsome Rob]

The hard copies will have a LOT more information than you're seeing online plus there is very little regulation regarding what info is displayed and how up to date it is for online reports. Your hard copies will be your best tool. As well if you were to call them to discuss an item they'll be looking at something that more closely approximates what the hard copy looks like. Also, if you have some sort of re-insertion of something on your CBR then you now have a paper trail of hard copies that you can prove, "hey you salamanders remove this!" and they kinda have to do it. Paper trail is king. Get yourself a big brown envelope or folder and save EVERY bit of documentation and if you have old documents about these tradelines dig 'em out. Even though I wouldn't dispute based on information you're seeing online, I definitely would print out a copy of it so you'll have it - it's not worth crap in court if things ever go that far, but it'll help you sort things in your head.

I've just looked this up, and mailed the requests. Cheers.

 

When you dispute an item rather than asking them to validate it, you'll be telling them: "Item X is wrong. Please correct." or "I was not X days late in June of 2004. Please update and correct this information." Short and sweet. Don't tell them what it should be, just tell 'em it's wrong and then hope that the OC doesn't respond to them or whatnot because if the OC doesn't respond then they will delete it. You're not looking for documented proof from the CRA, you're looking for them to report information correctly. If it's an OC reporting as the owner of a tradeline then you'll want to play sugary sweet nice with them to goodwill update it unless you have full documentation to support your argument AND are willing to take it to small claims court AND have proof of some sort of financial damages because of their error. If it's a collection agency that shows ownership on the hard copy then there's a bigger bucket of tools and fun for you to take them on and win.

 

For disputes, start out with their form that allows you to dispute several at a time. For each individual tradeline do not dispute more than one error within it at a time. Once you've done that first step of multiple at a time and have your results then start going at them one at a time because you'll have an idea which ones are going to be more difficult and you'll know what sort of errors are updated. And also very important to this tactic, it gives you a constant stream of updated hardcopies. I have 6 hardcopies of my TU report within 5 months showing the progression of updates and corrections as well as deletions.

Thanks. If by all intents and purposes, it is accurate, or looks to be, should my memory be foggy on something? I wouldn't call it being dishonest, I don't have hard copys of any of these debts, so it's just a best guess on my part.

 

As for ICBC, I think when you have your hard copy if it reflects an amount that would have been correct IF you had kept the car I think you should dispute that amount. If the date of closing is wrong, dispute that date, etc.

So, I'm sending the CRA something like, the amount owing should be the amount of the last monthly premium?

 

Sweet deal on the trip. You mentioned renting a car. Just a tip for you since you were looking at perhaps a secured with a big 5 - there are a couple of the Scotia visas that offer a 20% discount with Avis. And don't forget to check visaperks.ca for travel and accommodation discounts if you are doing any booking whatsoever on a Visa.

Thanks!! I never thought of that, Visa deals and such.

[Quasei2]

When disputing it's important to be entirely honest. Otherwise you run the risk of having future claims for disputes denied as frivolous. Since you have no documents it probably wouldn't hurt to contact the OC and ask them for a written release letter stating the amount & date of your final payment and that it satisfied the debt in full. If it's true they'll generally have no problem doing it. You might find the amount slightly different than what's showing on your CBR. As for the insurance company you could ask them for a copy of your original insurance agreement. That'll have the amounts you were to pay monthly, etc on it.

 

When you dispute something with the CRA don't tell them what it should be, just tell them that it's wrong and that it needs to be fixed. Example: Acct # xxxxx with ICBC is reporting a balance owing of $30. This is incorrect. Please update.

Don't give them or the OC further info to make it easier for them to update/verify especially if you're looking to have the item deleted. You're not required to - the burden of proof is technically on them. ie to prove that what they're reporting is correct.

[Handsome Rob]

Right-o.

 

Requests are in the mail to both CRA's for hard copy's.

Cap1 says my response is in the mail, deposit is only $75, she said on phone. Not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing?

Letters out to all 3 major OC's for verification of accounts.

 

Thinking about a $1k secured with Scotia, think it's a good idea?

Also thinking about a tax-free savings account hooked up to an aggressive RSP, my employer has good contribution matching programs. Think it will help with credit?

 

Anything else I should be doing? Waiting sucks.

 

Thanks much for taking the time to help fellows.

[Handsome Rob]

PS, how long till mod-preview ends?

[Quasei2]

Sounds like you're off to a good start and a whole lot of waiting begins!

 

As for the card w/ Scotia, it's been my experience that as long as you keep your bank acct in good standing, don't have any new collections creep up, etc then at the end of a year with the secured you should be fine to go with an unsecured card. I definitely think it's a good way to go.

 

A TFSA is a smart thing to do all around. Don't forget rebuilding your credit is also about making sure you're never in the position again to have it falter. A TFSA keeps more money in your pocket and is a great savings vehicle for you. You CAN use a GIC tucked into your TFSA as your deposit for your secured card.

 

Other than that... wait wait wait! Repairing and rebuilding is a LOT about waiting.

 

As for the mod previews, I'm really not sure how long until that ends. Seems to me mine ended around the 15-20ish post mark.

[Stu.Padaso]

As for the mod previews, I'm really not sure how long until that ends. Seems to me mine ended around the 15-20ish post mark.

Yes, you're right. I don't know the exact count, but it was in that range.

 

Rob>Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

 

I know Quasei works for Scotia, so I hope I don't step on her toes here, but I'm just throwing this out there as an FYI.

 

CIBC seems to be quite forgiving on their Visa card approval process. My brother had totally trashed credit and a few years ago he and his long time girlfriend were very close to living in a dumpster behind the A&P. I have no idea what their credit score is, nor their credit history, but I know it must have been (and likely still is) not-so-great. They had no tv as the cable was turned off and they had to get the county involved to keep their electricity and water on.

 

About this time last year he somehow managed to get himself a CIBC Visa Classic card. No frills, just a basic unsecured Visa.

 

What gets me is he's always been a Royal Bank loyalist, for some reason. He always banked there and he said he always will. He must have gotten an offer in the mail from CIBC and in desperation decided to apply. And apparently was approved. No idea on the credit limit thought.

 

(it is just me, or is CIBC the only big bank who mail out credit apps? I NEVER get any credit apps in the mail EXCEPT from CIBC. I guess it's no surprise that they're the largest Visa issuer in Canada.)

Edited December 8, 2009 by Stu.Padaso

[Handsome Rob]

I know Quasei works for Scotia, so I hope I don't step on her toes here, but I'm just throwing this out there as an FYI.

Hey, I'm really enjoying my Scotia experience post RBC. They've been great, especially given the circumstances, when I opened the account I didn't have ID with an address on it or a utility bill, or anything.

 

CIBC seems to be quite forgiving on their Visa card approval process. My brother had totally trashed credit and a few years ago he and his long time girlfriend were very close to living in a dumpster behind the A&P. I have no idea what their credit score is, nor their credit history, but I know it must have been (and likely still is) not-so-great. They had no tv as the cable was turned off and they had to get the county involved to keep their electricity and water on.

 

About this time last year he somehow managed to get himself a CIBC Visa Classic card. No frills, just a basic unsecured Visa.

That's interesting, and temptation is there. Would that be a dumb move right now though, Cap1 inquiry, CIBC inquiry, if that doesn't work, Scotia inquiry for the secured?

 

 

 

OC for the cell phone bill took 15 minutes over the phone to find my account, unable to do so by email. I'd have to think that's good news for a CRA dispute.

[Quasei2]

Great idea, Stu! Actually CIBC is considered "credit candy" in that they kind of throw credit approvals around in ridiculous ways. That said, if Rob is going to also go the route of Scotia, he'd be better off talking to them first and see what they'll offer. Most branches are pretty twitchy about inquiries lately. CIBC not so much from what I've heard. But definitely yeah CIBC is a great one to keep in mind - particularly if you're looking for Aeroplan points for your trip to Hawaii! My folks buy EVERYTHING on their CIBC Aeroplan card and they take a trip every year with flights & hotels included. And by everything I mean they'd probably chard an individual jujube on the card. LOL So you might not get that much within the few months before your trip, but you might be able to have it cover a good chunk, right?

 

Lots of options!

 

Q

[Stu.Padaso]

Well, I'm glad we got confirmation that CIBC is an 'easy score'. We'll have to keep that in mind for future members who might come here looking for a Visa with a below average credit rating.

 

I'm the same way as your parents Quasei. Only with Airmiles. But I don't travel a whole lot, so I save up for the merchandise.