For those who may be unfamiliar with the credit process, here’s a quick summary: You apply for a credit account to purchase goods or services.  Based on various factors, the Creditor agrees to open a credit account for you and begins reporting your information to the Credit Reporting Agencies.  In turn, the Credit Reporting Agencies update, store, and share your information with other potential Creditors or potential employers.  There are laws governing all of you in order to protect each of you.  To break it down further…

Give Me Credit!

Companies (or, “Creditors") lend you money to purchase goods or services by opening a “credit account” in your name, which you promise to pay back according to the Creditor’s rules. 

Creditors use several different factors to determine your credit worthiness (the likelihood that you’ll pay as agreed during the next 2 to 3 years), how much credit to lend you and at what finance rate to lend it. 

Though each Creditor will have it’s own guidelines on granting credit, the most common factors taken into consideration are:

• Your job history,
• Your banking information,
• Your mortgage information,
• Your Credit Report,
• Your Credit Score,
• Previous credit accounts with the Creditor, and
• Special reasons for past credit problems (sometimes).

The Grapevine

Creditors may supply information about you to any or all “Credit Bureaus” (or, “Credit Reporting Agencies”) on a monthly basis.  As your Credit Score and Credit Report are the two most important factors a Creditor may use in granting you credit, you should obtain them from EACH Credit Reporting Agency at least once a year to check for omissions, inaccuracies and for possible identity theft.

If you are married, both you and your spouse should each request copies from all of the Credit Reporting Agencies, as the information contained in the reports may be different for you and your spouse.

Share and Share-alike

The Credit Reporting Agencies generally maintain the following information about you:

• Identifying information: your name, your current and previous addresses, social security number, telephone number, date of birth, current and previous employers
• Credit history: debt payments made to Creditors
• Public records: judgments, bankruptcies, foreclosures, tax liens, etc
• Inquiries: a list of Creditors and other parties authorized by you and/or by law, which have received your credit report
• Other information: banking information and/or collections

Think of the Credit Reporting Agencies as huge libraries filled with data about you.  They do not verify the information.  They only receive, update, and share their records on you.  It is YOUR responsibility to verify the accuracy of the information, which they hold.  It is the Creditors, NOT the Credit Reporting Agencies, which use this information to determine your credit worthiness.

As a consumer, you do have rights, which protect this information.

Your Rights

In the US, your rights are protected by:

• the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and
• the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCRA).

There may also be additional rights granted to you at the state level.  When there are contradictions between the FCRA and State law, the law which offers the best consumer protection will take precedence.  To find out more information about your state’s Consumer Protection Offices, check here. These acts are meant to protect YOU, the consumer, and establish rules for Creditors and Credit Reporting Agencies. 

In Canada, at the federal level, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) outlines requirements for organizations who maintain personal information during the course of business.  In addition, individual provinces may have their own credit report legislation.  There is a list of provincial links available here.

Certain consumer rights are consistent between the US and Canada.  Among them:

• Access to your credit report is limited


• You have the right to know if information has been used against you


• You have the right to know what’s in your file


• You have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information


• Inaccurate information must be deleted or corrected