"For example, Home Depot is financed by the CIBC; The Brick sells it's finance contracts to CitiFinancial and The Bay is financed by Capital One, previously, it was GE Financial." These people are all Predatory Lenders in my opinion they are right up there with the Loan Sharks and worst then Payday Loans. They charge high interest rates worst then Payday Loan lenders, they are criminals and should be avoided. Signing up with anyone who deals with Citifinancial or any other finance company like that is like making a deal with the devil and you would regret it.

Every time an application is submitted to a bank, a financial institution or a credit card issuer, a Credit Report is ordered from either Equifax or TransUnion.

There are several items that a bank will examine on a Credit Report.

First and foremost, they will check the ratings for each account listed in the "Trade" section. These ratings range from "1" to "9" with "1" being the best rating and "9" being the worst rating. Each rating will be preceded by a letter such as "R" for a revolving account such as a credit card, "I" for an instalment account such as a loan, sometimes "C" for a line of credit and "O" for an open account such as a cell phone. It should be emphasized that these ratings do NOT appear on a Credit Report that you pay for and download from the websites of Equifax and TransUnion but they DO appear on your FREE Consumer Disclosure Report that you can order from both Equifax and TransUnion.

Second, they will check to see if you have any accounts shown as "Collection Accounts" and their current status.

Third, they will check to see if you have any items shown under "Public Records" such as judgments, consumer proposals or bankruptcies.

Fourth, they will check to see how many inquiries have been made wthin the last 12 months. A general rule of thumb is 3 inquiries in any given 12 month period is considered normal but any inquiries in excess of that number is deemed that you are shopping around for more credit.

And lastly, of course, is your Credit Score.

Each bank, financial institution or credit card issuer has their own criteria for granting credit but they all follow the format that I outlined above.

If you are experiencing difficulty in obtaining credit, I would suggest that you apply for a secured credit card. Capital One offers just such a card. Normally they will offer you a card for $300 with a deposit ranging anywhere from $75 to $300 depending upon your credit situation.

If you owe money to a bank such as a credit card and you have money on deposit with that same bank, they will exercise ther "right of set-off" and withdraw money from your account. To avoid this from happening, you should close your account with the bank to whom you owe money and open an account at a bank where you do not owe money.

A WORD OF CAUTON

If you attempt to open an account at a different bank, they will pull a Credit Report on you. If they are not satisfied with the Report, they will refuse to open an account. There is no requirement to deposit any money when you open a new account at a bank but you will be asked to supply 2 pieces of photo identification. Remember, a Social Insurance Number will be required but it is NOT considered identification. Such ID as a driver's licence and a health card will be satisfactory.

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Educating one Consumer at a time

Thanks footloose can you tell me what banks use the credit check for? I have bad credit and some bad debt and I just wanted to know so I have options just in case someone uses right to set off. So, my questions should be what banks accept people with bad debt and that owe defaulted monies?

PC Financial is financed by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ( CIBC ), therefore, when an application is submitted to PC Financial, it is CIBC who does the credit check.

Also, every "in store" credit card such as The Source, Best Buy, Future Shop, Leon's, The Brick, Home Depot, The Bay, etc. are all financed by either a bank, a finance company, or a major credit card issuer and it is these companies that perform the credit check.

For example, Home Depot is financed by the CIBC; The Brick sells it's finance contracts to CitiFinancial and The Bay is financed by Capital One, previously, it was GE Financial.

The only lenders who do not perform credit checks are the Mafia, Loan Sharks and Pay Day Loan providers ( legalized loan sharks ). But their interest rates are outrageous and their collection practices for defaulted loans are very unique.

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Educating one Consumer at a time

PC Financial.

none!

What Canadian banks dont do credit checks?