Overview

A consumer report (often called a credit report) is a record of your credit history and certain personal information. It can include:

  • identity details (for example, name, age and address)
  • current and past credit accounts
  • balances and limits
  • payment history
  • inquiries by organizations that accessed your file for purposes

Ontario’s Consumer Reporting Act (CRA) sets the rules on:

  • what can be included in a consumer report
  • who can access your report
  • your rights to obtain and dispute it

It also provides you with tools to help protect yourself from the potential harm caused by fraud and identity theft.

The law also prohibits certain information from being included in a consumer report. These include:

  • information on race, creed, colour, sex, ancestry, ethnic origin or political affiliation
  • a bankruptcy discharged more than 7 years ago, unless you have been bankrupt more than once
  • the payment or non-payment of taxes or fines after 7 years
  • information related to convictions for crimes after 7 years unless, after conviction, you were granted an absolute discharge or a full pardon

Consumer reporting agencies in Ontario

Under the Consumer Reporting Act, consumer reporting agencies (agencies) must register with the government to operate in Ontario.

In Ontario, Equifax and TransUnion are the 2 largest consumer reporting agencies.

Equifax and TransUnion must provide certain services in Ontario, for example:

  • the right to place a security freeze on your file
  • the right to request your consumer score

Your right to access your reports and scores for free

A consumer score (often called a credit score) is a number calculated from information in your file that helps creditors predict how likely you are to pay your bills on time. Typical factors include:

  • payment history
  • used versus available credit (utilization)
  • length of credit history
  • credit mix
  • recent inquiries

You have the right to request your:

  • report from any agency online once per month free of charge
  • report and score online once per month free of charge, or by phone or mail twice per year free-of-charge, from Equifax or TransUnion

If you request reports and scores more frequently than prescribed in the CRA, agencies may charge a fee of up to $5 per request.

Consumer reporting agencies create and maintain consumer reports. Agencies collect information from various sources, like banks, credit card companies, mortgage companies and other organizations (for example, utilities, telecommunications, collection agencies). The consumer report can be used to evaluate you for credit, employment, insurance or tenancy.

Each agency provides a consumer disclosure that lists all information in your file. It differs from the abbreviated “business version” that creditors may see.

Getting your credit score and consumer report

Consumer reports and consumer scores differ between consumer reporting agencies. It is important that you check your report and score at least once every 6 months from Equifax and TransUnion to ensure there are no inaccuracies, incompleteness or possible fraudulent activities.

Ontario law gives you the right to know what is being reported about you, to whom and how to correct inaccurate information.

Regularly checking your consumer report and score can help you detect suspicious activity early.

Additional information: consumer scores

If you request your score, the agency must use a method similar to the one the agency would use if a creditor requested your score (so you will see a score that’s representative of real‑world use).

Your right to a clear, plain-language copy of your file

When you request a copy of your file from an agency, the copy must be in writing, easily readable, and the information must be in understandable language. The agency must also have trained personnel available to explain the contents to you.

Who is permitted to see your consumer report?

Under the Consumer Reporting Act, an agency may furnish a report only when it has reason to believe the request is for a permitted purpose, such as extending credit, tenancy, employment, insurance underwriting, a direct business need related to you, updating a prior report for one of those reasons, or certain statutory eligibilities (for example, a court order).  

In practice, you typically authorize the organization you have business with (for example, a bank, landlord, insurer, or employer) to obtain your report and the agency relies on that authorization when determining if it may lawfully disclose your information and/or consumer score.

If you are denied credit or charged more

If you’re denied credit or a business increases a charge or fee and you ask within 60 days, the business must tell you:

  • the nature and source of the information used
  • the name and mailing address of the consumer reporting agency that supplied it

How you can protect yourself

The following tools are designed to help protect you from the harms associated with identity theft and fraud, and to give you more control over your personal and credit information:

  • Security freezes
  • Alerts
  • Explanatory statements

Additionally, you can reduce the risk of identity theft by not sharing personal or credit information through insecure methods such as email.

Please see for more information about what to do if you are a victim of identity theft.

Note: only Equifax and TransUnion are required to provide security freezes.

Security freeze

Security freezes (sometimes called a credit lock or credit freeze) are available to you free of charge. They restrict disclosure of your credit and personal information, and consumer scores, for certain purposes and help prevent the harm caused by new account fraud.

Note: placing a security freeze on your file with 1 agency does not automatically freeze it with the other agency.

If you want to place a freeze on your files held by Equifax and TransUnion, you must contact them separately.

You have the right to place a security freeze on your consumer file, even if you haven’t experienced identity theft or fraud and wish to use it as a preventative measure.

If you request a freeze electronically, the agency must place it within 2 business days:

  • by phone, within 5 business days
  • by mail, within 15 business days

The same timelines apply to temporarily lifting (available after July 1, 2027) a freeze.

Disclosure restriction while frozen: If your file is frozen, the agency is prohibited from disclosing your information for certain purposes, such as for the purposes of

  • entering into a new credit agreement
  • increasing credit under an existing agreement
  • entering into a mortgage for real property (for example, houses or other buildings)
  • entering into a motor vehicle lease unless you temporarily lift (available after July 1, 2027) or remove the freeze

Alerts

You can place an alert on your consumer file. This alert warns a person to verify the identity of anyone who claims to be you.

All consumer reporting agencies must put an alert in your file as soon as practicable upon your request.

Consumer reporting agencies may charge a maximum fee of $5 to include this alert in your file. They must give this alert to anyone who receives information from your file.

How long does it take: agencies are required to place the alert as soon as practicable upon request.

When a person or business receives this alert, they must take reasonable steps to verify that they are actually dealing with you before proceeding with certain types of transactions, like:

  • extending credit or loaning money
  • entering into a rental contract for housing or an employment contract
  • underwriting insurance

An example of a reasonable step that a person might take to verify that they are actually dealing with you is contacting you at the telephone number that you provided to the consumer reporting agency.

Note: an alert placed on your file will expire 6 years after it is added by an agency, unless you request that it be removed earlier.

Explanatory statements

You have a right to add a brief, 200-word explanatory statement, free of charge, to your file to give context about specific information (for example, the cause of an isolated delinquency or collection report). The agency must include the explanatory statement in your file within a reasonable time period after your request and provide your explanatory statement in any report that contains the related information. You may amend or remove the statement.

How long does it take: agencies are required to place the statement within a reasonable time period upon request.

Note: an explanatory statement placed your file will expire 6 years after it is added by an agency, unless you request that it be removed earlier.

Right to dispute incorrect information in consumer report

If information held by a consumer reporting agency is incorrect, inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to dispute the information with the agency and, where appropriate, have corrections shared with recent recipients of your report. The CRA requires agencies to adopt reasonable procedures to ensure accuracy and fairness.

How to dispute

  1. Ask the agency to investigate the information.
  2. Provide documents that support your claim.
  3. If the information can’t be verified or is found to be inaccurate, it must be corrected or deleted and, upon request, the agency will send a notice of correction to recent recipients.

How to obtain support or file a complaint

Start with the agency

If you have trouble reading your disclosure, or getting a timely freeze or correction, contact the relevant consumer agency first (for example, Equifax, TransUnion).

Contact the Registrar

If you can’t resolve an issue after contacting the agency, you can complain to the Registrar of Consumer Reporting Agencies under the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement. The Registrar can inspect agencies and issue compliance orders. You also have a statutory right to sue for damages for contraventions of the Act.

We may ask the consumer reporting agency to provide more details about your complaint, and may order corrections on your file. We must have your written permission before your personal file can be accessed. If you require accommodations, please contact us.

Avoid credit repair scams

Be wary of companies promising to “fix” bad credit.

Some credit repairers claim that they can get negative information (for example, a bankruptcy) removed from your consumer report if you pay them a fee.

Credit repair companies (credit repairers) are subject to the Consumer Protection Act, 2002 (CPA).

It is prohibited for credit repairers to:

  • claim they are approved, licensed or registered by the federal or provincial governments
  • accept payment or charge a fee until their services lead to a real improvement in, among others, your consumer report, credit information, credit record, credit history or consumer score
  • say that they can improve, among others, your credit report or record before looking at your consumer report
  • make false or misleading claims

Credit repairers are required to provide you with a written contract, which you must sign before it takes effect.

The contract must also include statements outlining your rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 2002 and the Consumer Reporting Act.

Protections available to you:

  • You can take a company to court if they collect money from you before they perform the work
  • You have a 10-day cooling-off period to cancel a contract for credit repair services (this 10-day period starts when you get a copy of your contract)
  • You have a right to cancel a contract within 1 year of entering into it if the credit repairer refuses to provide you with a written contract
  • You can take a company to court if you exercise your right to cancel a contract and they don’t refund you for any money that you have paid them

Maintain good credit

The only way to improve a poor consumer score is to pay your debts and allow time to pass to show that your payment habits have improved.

Having a good credit record may make it easier for you to get a loan, a credit card or rent an apartment.

Here are some tips for maintaining good credit:

  • always pay your bills on time (if you have a reason for being late with your payment, let the company know)
  • don’t spend over your credit card limit
  • don’t apply for credit too often
  • understand the total cost of everything before you buy and add up any monthly charges
  • don't skip a payment even if a bill is in dispute
  • make at least the minimum payment if you can’t pay the full amount that you owe
  • having a mix of credit products may improve your consumer score (for example, a credit card, a car loan or a line of credit)