How to dispute a credit report error in Canada

Examples of a specific issue include an account that is not yours, a wrong payment status or an incorrect balance for the reported date. Write what the entry says and what you believe it should say. If you simply disagree with a score, first identify whether any underlying information is inaccurate.

Keep relevant statements, receipts, closure letters or completion documents together. Mark the account and date that each document supports. Use the bureau’s official secure submission method and provide identity evidence only as that verified process requires. Redact unrelated information when appropriate; never paste banking credentials into a dispute description.

Save the submission date, reference number and the correction requested. When a response arrives, check whether it addresses that request. If you need to escalate, a short chronology is easier to review than several separate messages with no account context. Confirm the next escalation route with the bureau or provider if the issue remains unresolved.

A valid missed payment, collection or insolvency record follows different rules from a reporting mistake. Paying for a service does not turn accurate history into an error. Work on the payment or reporting question that actually applies, and ask about the relevant retention rule when a record appears too old.