The reporting policies can vary significantly between Equifax and TransUnion. And these practices will be reflected on the Credit and Consumer Disclosure Reports that they issue.
It is not uncommon for a Discharged Bankrupt to present their Certificate of Discharge and their Statement of Affairs to Equifax which clearly shows which accounts were included in the bankruptcy and that Equifax will adjust the balances shown on their credit file to zero. This is a "courtesy" adjustment on the part of Equifax because they are under no legal obligation to do so. On the other hand, TransUnion refuses to make this "courtesy" adjustment by taking the position that they are not legally required to do so.
Another major difference between the reporting practices of the two credit bureaus is that Equifax shows all inquiries from collection agencies and debt buyers as "soft" inquiries while TransUnion shows these inquiries as "hard" inquiries, even if the inquiry pertains to a debt that has been purged or is "statute-barred".
Equifax used to report these inquiries the same as TransUnion until they received a "Compliance Order" from ConsumerProtectionBC earlier this year to change their reporting practices. Equifax complied with the Order but TransUnion refused to comply. The Compliance Order was then filed with the B.C. Supreme Court which has the full force of a Court Order issued by that Court. TransUnion has since filed a "stay" of the Order and has filed for a "Judicial Review" of the Order. No date has been set to hear this matter.
In regards to your comment about only requesting an Equifax Credit Report should you make a credit request in the future, this choice is not your's to make. Most credit grantors only use one credit bureau and do not offer a choice to a credit applicant. For example, Royal Bank uses TransUnion exclusively while the Bank of Montreal uses Equifax exclusively. Unlike in the U.S. where a credit grantor will request a credit report from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion and average the credit scores reported by each credit bureau, the same practice does not happen in Canada.
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