I have disputed the item a couple times now, talked to several people at Equifax, talked to the "Financial Consumer Agency of Canada" (FCAC), and was refered to "Service Alberta" in which I found that I did indeed screw myself since I did not use a credit counsellor of any kind to pay off my debts. Unfortunately, a OPD is a program that has to be registered through a credit counsellor to qualify for the 3 years retention.

For anyone considering paying off your debts after they reach R9 status.....don't do it yourself like I did, go to a credit counsellor.

In Alberta, go to www.creditcounselling.com and don't screw yourself over as I have.

I've mentioned a number of times that the credit reporting policies of Equifax and TransUnion were not completely identical with each other OR

with the minimum requirements of the various consumer reporting acts of the provinces they operate in.

See page 8 of the FCIC brochure below for an explanation.

http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/eng/publications/CreditReportScore/PDF/CreditReportScore_e.pdf

Ray

Even though you were separated at the time, it depends on whether or not the debts included in your husband's bankruptcy were "joint debts."

If so, then that would have had the effect of shunting the debts onto you. You should contact his trustee to see if that was the case. As well, personal bankruptcies are a matter of public record, the details of which can be obtained easily at any Superintendant of Bankruptcy's Office.

Given the age of the debts, they are doubtlessly stats barred by now in Ontario. Yet, there may still be negative credit reporting ramifications, if you ever decide to pursue a career which requires a licence in the financial services industry, so you ought to get the matter resolved.

Ray

hey i just contacted the other day from contact resource services in mississauga. my ex went on a buying spree with leons and he is bankrupt now so they are coming after me. this was done in 2002! anybody know if i am going to have to pay? we were separated at time of purchases and divorced later. i was not aware of any thing until now. he also did it to me in 2004 from td visa but i disputed then and didn't have to pay after they even frooze my bank acct. any advise out there appreciated.

"Easy on the beer there. Settlements of delinquent accounts (orderly payment of debts) are SUPPOSED to go off after 3 years with Equifax."

I can't find anything within the "Fair Trading Act", Part 5 "Credit and Personal Reports" that states either 6 year or 3 year retention.

http://www.qp.gov.ab.ca/Documents/acts/F02.CFM

I did fill out a dispute and fax it to Equifax. They sent my credit report via mail with the items still on the report, along with another dispute letter to fill out. This time, I will include my ID I guess. Right now I am not expecting too much to happen.

Easy on the beer there. Settlements of delinquent accounts (orderly payment of debts) are supposed to go off after 3 years with Equifax.

Once again, for example, if you suddenly decide to pay off a credit card that's 5 years delinquent, the item isn't supposed to stay on there for another 6 years (or 11 years total).

You didn't screw yourself or reset the 6 year period as that period is supposed to refer to when the account ORIGINALLY went delinquent with the original creditor, not with some collection agency or subsequent debt buyer. However, often as not, reporting dates on credit reports get mixed up as they are simply punched in by collection agencies, debt buyers and whatnot.

As well, as previous bloggers will attest, Equifax, although everyone working there sounds very official and sure of what they are doing, such is not the case. (At least they're not diverting their calls to India like TransUnion.) There have some very incompetent people including many newbies but others who definitely are not.

Did you download their dispute form, and send in the information as to when the accounts originally went into default? It helps immensely when people save old account statements and old creditor default notices etc. You may also have to resend in your ID.

Ray

Hey guys,

I went and got my credit report and score from equifax the other day. I was expecting a couple items to fall off since I had paid the items off 3 years ago. These items DID NOT fall off. So I called equifax to find out why they did not fall off. Equifax stated only proposals that get paid off are deleted after 3 years.

SOOOO basically, I screwed myself a couple ways. I ate fricken mac and cheese, and itchiban soup for a few months to pay off my debts to creditors with the understanding that it would pay off sooner (3 years instead of 6 years). So not only am I out the money, I reset the 6 year time frame from the day I paid off the debt. F*&K!!!

Moral of the story, if you default on anything.....no point of even trying to pay, you will just screw yourself even more. Put the money into a nice vacation or a SH!T load of beer!

Items that are on your credit report for more than 6 years won't affect your credit score. If you want the old items removed, just ask them to do it.

I'm not sure why they keep the old items listed. They had the address I lived at in Toronto in 1987. Who cares about something that happened 20 years ago.!?!!

Yep, when I saw my transunion report I phoned in and asked "what gives?", they told me that they keep negative entries for ONLY 6 years (I think the law requires it disappear by year 7, Monty?) but positive entries they can keep as long as they want.

Not sure the legalities, but as they are only keeping the positive stuff there's no harm.

Really? The government of Canada website that provides information surrounding credit reports and credit scores indicates that TransUnion doesn't keep anything on your report longer than 7 years (judgements and bankruptcy) in Ontario. PEI is 10 years for a judgement.

http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/eng/publications/CreditReportScore/UCreditScore_e.asp (scroll down)