An error on your credit report can cost more than it looks. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) notes that errors may make it harder to get credit cards or loans, lead to higher interest rates, or be a sign of identity theft or fraud. It also sets out your right to fix them: “You have the right to dispute any information on your credit report that you believe is wrong. Credit bureaus must correct errors for free.” (FCAC, checking your credit report for errors and fraud)
An unexplained fall in your score is often how an error first shows up (why a credit score drops covers the other causes). This guide, part of our credit score guides, walks through the process from finding the error to escalating a dispute that doesn’t go your way.
Step 1: Get your reports from both bureaus
Equifax and TransUnion keep separate files, so an error can sit on one report and not the other, or on both if the lender reports to both. Each bureau sends your report at no charge, online, by mail or by phone, and requesting your own copy is a soft inquiry with no effect on your score. The online and mail routes for each bureau are listed in how to check your credit score for free.
Read every section of both: personal information, each account (open and closed), the inquiries, and any public records or collections. How to read your credit report explains the layout and the payment codes.
Step 2: Identify the exact error
The FCAC’s checklist of what to look for:
- mistakes in your personal information, like a wrong address or date of birth
- errors in credit cards and loans
- incorrect payment history, such as a payment marked late that you made on time
- accounts you didn’t open, which might be a sign of identity theft
- negative information still showing after the maximum time it’s allowed to stay on your report
| Error type | What it looks like on the report |
|---|---|
| Account not yours | A lender name or account number you don’t recognize |
| Paid debt showing unpaid | A balance or “in collections” status after you paid in full |
| Wrong payment history | A late payment in a month you paid on time, which counts against you like a real missed payment |
| Wrong credit limit | A limit lower than your real one, which makes your credit utilization look higher |
| Duplicate account | The same debt listed twice |
| Outdated negative information | An item older than its retention period |
| Wrong personal information | An address, name spelling or date of birth that isn’t yours |
For the outdated-information check, late or unpaid credit cards and loans can stay for up to 6 years, and other items have their own periods; Equifax vs. TransUnion compares the retention periods at the two bureaus.
An account you don’t recognize can mean someone applied for credit in your name. In that case the FCAC also lists contacting the lender, asking both bureaus for a fraud alert, and reporting the fraud to the National Fraud Reporting System.
Step 3: Gather your documents
The FCAC’s advice is to “collect any receipts, statements and other documents that prove there’s a mistake.” Equifax’s dispute page gives examples of what it may ask for: two pieces of valid government-issued ID, a recent proof of address, a letter from the lender confirming the status and details of the account, release letters from lenders or collection agencies, and proof that an account was opened through identity theft (Equifax, dispute your credit report).
| Error type | Supporting documents |
|---|---|
| Paid debt showing unpaid | Bank record of the payment; the lender’s paid-in-full or settlement letter |
| Account not yours or opened by fraud | Your statement that it isn’t yours; a police report if fraud is suspected |
| Wrong payment history | Statements or bank records showing the payment date |
| Wrong credit limit | A statement or letter from the lender showing the actual limit |
| Duplicate account | Both entries marked to show they are the same debt |
| Outdated negative information | The date of the original late payment or default |
Step 4: File the dispute with each bureau
Each bureau has its own dispute form, and the FCAC’s instruction is to use those forms to report the error. A dispute filed with one bureau doesn’t change the other bureau’s file.
Equifax takes disputes online or by mail, free of charge. Online, it emails you a form to submit with your documents; it accepts at most three attached files, so several pages of documents can go in a single PDF. By mail, you print the form and send it with copies of your documents. Including the Equifax reference number from your report helps it find the item.
TransUnion has its own dispute form and instructions on its website; the FCAC’s page on errors links to both bureaus’ dispute instructions.
Sending copies rather than originals, and keeping a record of what you sent and when, gives you a paper trail if you need to escalate later.
Sample dispute letter
A letter or written explanation is most useful when it names the exact item and the exact correction.
[Your full name]
[Your address]
[City, province, postal code]
[Date]
[Equifax Canada / TransUnion Canada]
Consumer Relations
Re: Dispute of inaccurate information on my credit report
I am writing to dispute inaccurate information on my credit report.
My name is [full name] and my date of birth is [date of birth].
[Reference number from your report, if available]
DISPUTED ITEM
Lender: [lender name]
Account number: [last 4 digits]
What is wrong: [for example, "This account was paid in full on
[date]. The report still shows a balance of $[amount] in collections."]
Correction requested: [for example, "Update the status to paid with a
$0 balance and remove the collection notation."]
Enclosed: [list each document]
Please send me the results of your investigation and a copy of my
updated credit report.
[Signature]
[Printed name]
[Phone number and email]
A vague dispute (“this is wrong”) gives the bureau little to check. A specific one ties a named account to a named error and to the document that proves it.
Step 5: What happens during the investigation
The FCAC describes the process: the bureaus “will examine your claim with the lender or organization that reported the information. If they agree that there’s an error, the credit bureaus will correct the information.” Equifax says it processes disputes “in about 15-20 days for online submissions and 20-25 days for mailed submissions,” and sends a confirmation letter with the results, by email for an online dispute or by mail for a mailed one.
If the lender says its information is correct, the bureau keeps it on your report. In some provinces, the FCAC notes, credit bureaus must send a copy of your revised report to organizations that recently requested it.
Step 6: Contact the lender directly
Alongside the bureau dispute, you can go to the lender, card issuer or collection agency that reported the information. The FCAC says this “may be able to speed up the process”: you ask the lender to check its files and send the updated information to the credit bureaus. Equifax notes that a business handling a dispute directly will investigate, send you the results, and notify Equifax of any changes. A written confirmation from the lender that it has corrected its reporting is useful evidence if the bureau file doesn’t change.
Step 7: If your dispute is rejected
Escalate within the bureau or lender
The FCAC’s first step is to ask to speak with someone at a higher level. If the lender is a federally regulated financial institution, it must have a complaint procedure that includes access to an external complaints body; the FCAC explains how to file a complaint with your bank.
Add a consumer statement
You can add a short statement to your credit report explaining your side. The FCAC says it’s free, and that “The credit bureaus set the number of words allowed in your statement. This may vary depending on your province.” Equifax’s limit is 800 characters, sent to it in writing with your identification. Lenders reviewing your report may consider the statement; it doesn’t remove the item.
A factual statement is the most useful kind, for example: “Account ending [1234] with [lender] was paid in full on [date]. I have proof of payment and dispute the balance shown.”
Complain about the bureau
“The Federal government doesn’t regulate credit bureaus,” the FCAC notes. A complaint about how Equifax or TransUnion handled a dispute starts with the bureau itself and then goes to your provincial or territorial consumer affairs office.
Accurate information can’t be disputed away
A dispute fixes information that is wrong. If a late payment really happened, the bureau keeps it when the lender confirms it, and it comes off only when its retention period ends. Late or unpaid credit cards and loans stay for up to 6 years; how long bankruptcy stays on your credit covers insolvency records. How much a successful correction lifts your score depends on the item removed and on the rest of your file; what hurts your credit score explains which items weigh most.
Paying someone to repair your credit
Every step above is free, and the bureaus’ dispute systems are built for consumers to use directly. A company that charges to “repair” credit uses the same dispute process. Since accurate information stays until its retention period ends, a promise to remove accurate negative items, or to guarantee a particular score, is one that no one can keep, and a suggestion to apply for credit under a different identity number is identity fraud.
Related pages
Sources
The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them on September 25, 2026. How we check facts.
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada: How long information stays on your credit report