If you are experiencing financial difficulty, you’re not alone. You can protect your credit by taking action; even if you have been hit by unexpected events like losing a job or a natural disaster that make paying your bills tough. TransUnion is here to help you understand what you can do to help manage your credit information through this stressful time.
It may be a good idea to check your credit report via Consumer Disclosure to make sure all your accounts are reporting accurately.
The first thing you should do is contact your lenders to explain your situation. You can find contact information for your lenders on your most recent bill.
TransUnion offers quick and easy online access to view and download your free monthly Consumer Disclosure.
It may be a good idea to check your credit report via Consumer Disclosure to make sure all your accounts are reporting accurately. This way, if you contact your lenders to discuss your financial situation and/or account, they will be able to access accurate data.
We know this situation isn’t easy. If you cannot make a payment on time, contact your lender and explain your circumstances. You can ask whether they offer their customers hardship or payment arrangement plans.
These questions might help you in your conversation with your creditors:
Having an account in payment arrangements/hardship program usually means your lender has agreed that you can temporarily stop making payments on that account for a certain amount of time.
You will need to contact your specific lenders to find out. You will most likely find their contact information on your latest statement.
We have collaborated and consulted with the financial industry and coordinated with Equifax to provide the lending community with a consistent approach to reporting in the event that a lender cannot meet industry standard reporting guidelines. We communicated further guidance to lenders in early April with a view of providing options for any lenders not able to meet industry standard reporting guidelines. You should contact your specific lender for more information.
Late or missed payments may be reported by your lenders to the credit reporting agencies, and the timing of reporting varies by lender. We recommend contacting your lender directly to ask about when late or missed payments are reported to credit reporting agencies.
As each person has a unique situation, we cannot provide specific recommendations on payment prioritization or how this might affect your credit score. We recommend you contact your lenders to ask whether they might have a payment arrangement or hardship program if you have concerns about being able to pay your bills.
TransUnion offers quick and easy online access to view and download your free monthly Consumer Disclosure.
There could be many reasons your credit score dropped. While many factors influence the impact on a single score, the overall impact of a deferral is neutral on consumer credit-worthiness when reported accurately and in accordance with the industry guidelines.
To check if your account has been deferred, please review a copy of your Consumer Disclosure online at ocs.transunion.ca. If the account in question has been deferred, it should have a “D” in the “Terms” field. If an account you deferred does not show as such, please contact your financial institution.
For more frequently asked questions, including score-related questions and answers, please click here.
Canadian consumers can view their credit information and reported deferred payment arrangements via CreditView, accessible through several of our financial institution partners and myTrueIdentity.
To learn more or access CreditView through one of our partners, visit their online banking or mobile app. For more information on myTrueIdentity, visit www.mytrueIdentity.ca.
As a first step, we recommend contacting your creditors directly to correct any inaccuracies reported on your credit file. If you’re unable to resolve the issue with your creditors, you can also quickly and easily view your credit file and dispute items you believe to be inaccurate through TransUnion’s online portal.