Credit score/Equifax?

[irv]

I just received a call from Telus as I am in the process of purchasing a new phone for my son.

The Telus guy says they ran a credit score through Equifax and it came back very poor (without actually saying that) and they want a $200 deposit for this phone.

After conversing with my wife and this guy, something is amiss but since most of the CC's are in my wife's name, I guess it's possible I don't have a good score?

I used to use a Visa that was in my name that I used for years and always paid on time but I haven't used it in at least 3-5 years due to us becoming Costco members and using their Mastercard. Is it possible Equifax has no history of that Visa card?

I am 54, have worked for 35 yrs and counting and have things paid off with zero debts so it was quite surprising to hear I have a poor credit score. Should I call into Equifax to get things corrected or is the only way to improve a credit score by using a Visa/CC?

Never been down this road before so it's all new to me. Is this worth pursuing or should I just let it be as it may/will cause a lot of work and big headaches?

Thanks in advance

 

[SatinSilver]

I would order up a copy of your credit report through Equifax and see if there's anything negative on there. The Costco card should be a good credit reference for you. Usually it's a third party bank that issues the card for Costco. Maybe the Telus guy said what he did because there's only one card being reported and they like to see more. So lack of credit in other words which is better than a negative credit history of course. Sometimes they like to see several car loans paid off, mortgages(paid or being paid on time) and a few CC's going with lots of available credit. If the Costco account is the only one reporting and the balance is high with little available credit then maybe that's the culprit.

 

[Pelican]

Originally Posted by irv
I just received a call from Telus as I am in the process of purchasing a new phone for my son.

The Telus guy says they ran a credit score through Equifax and it came back very poor (without actually saying that) and they want a $200 deposit for this phone.

After conversing with my wife and this guy, something is amiss but since most of the CC's are in my wife's name, I guess it's possible I don't have a good score?

I used to use a Visa that was in my name that I used for years and always paid on time but I haven't used it in at least 3-5 years due to us becoming Costco members and using their Mastercard. Is it possible Equifax has no history of that Visa card?

I am 54, have worked for 35 yrs and counting and have things paid off with zero debts so it was quite surprising to hear I have a poor credit score. Should I call into Equifax to get things corrected or is the only way to improve a credit score by using a Visa/CC?

Never been down this road before so it's all new to me. Is this worth pursuing or should I just let it be as it may/will cause a lot of work and big headaches?

Thanks in advance

Equifax makes mistakes, if you have online banking you should also have a way to check the credit rating of the main holder.

 

[Andrew1972]

Get your credit report and see what is up. Maybe the Telus guy is lying to up his profit or sales commission. I don't trust uneducated sales people at those cell plan stands and stores. They lie because they are paid so little and need to make a commission.

Case in point my wife's friend broke her cell phone. She has deactivated iPhone 7 from her father who recently died on another provider. She went through process to take it over and make unlocked. The toll free number stated her phone would work based off model number provider and to go into the local Sprint store and get a SIM card. The sprint store flat out lies and says it won't work and attempts to sell a new phone/new plan. She resorted to calling the 1800 number in store and putting on speaker who in turn talked to the store employees who installed the SIM.

 

[Uphill_Both_Ways]

Irv, if you use the Royal Bank, there's a link on the first web page, bottom right, to TransUnion's credit-score site, and from there to its credit-rating page.

It's not Equifax, but the TransUnion info might give you instant insight into any problem or mistake by Equifax.

Other financial institutions might offer such a link, perhaps to Equifax.

 

[irv]

Thanks guys.

The more I think of this the more I think something is askew?

My mortgage was in my name, truck/vehicle loans were in my name and like I mentioned, I used a Visa in my name for years.

I also found it odd that a guy called today, on a Sunday to discuss this? I wouldn't give him any info over the phone other than verify everything that he already had. He read my license number, address, DOB, etc, back to me which I verified. He wanted me to submit my Costco CC into some third party thing but I said I was uncomfortable giving that over the phone to some guy who says he works for Telus.

He did give me numbers to Equifax and to Telus to call tomorrow but I haven't verified those yet.

My first name is not my chosen name, (the same as my Father), and issues have arisen like this before with banks so that, I'm guessing, likely has something to do with this problem, maybe?

If all is legit and on the up and up with this Telus guy, I will pursue/look into the Equifax problems tomorrow.

Thanks again.

 

[eljefino]

I have a prepaid phone I bought online. They don't have much of my personal information.

I would tell the telus guy to forget it then, you don't want the phone. Might be the easiest $200 you'll ever make.

In America if you get denied credit you can get a free credit report. Dunno about canada.

 

[Leo99]

Originally Posted by eljefino
I have a prepaid phone I bought online. They don't have much of my personal information.

I would tell the telus guy to forget it then, you don't want the phone. Might be the easiest $200 you'll ever make.

In America if you get denied credit you can get a free credit report. Dunno about canada.


You're not giving them $200. Just letting them hold it as security.

My credit was very poor when I got my first cell phone 20 years ago. Had to give them $800 security. They said if I paid full on time every month for a year, they'd refund the money.

Get a copy of your credit report/score and see what's up. Make sure the Telus is legit before sending $200.

 

[JustinH]

Does $200 not buy a lot of prepaid airtime?

 

[JMJNet]

I am not sure if it is still valid but it used to if a creditor request your credit report, you should be able to request that same report from same agency for free.

 

[StevieC]

In Canada you can sign up for a free Borrowell and Credit Karma account and get your credit score for free. It will also give you information about accounts open in your name etc. from the two credit agencies here. Get one of each because they can both have different scores and different information.

I was previously licensed in Ontario as a Mortgage Agent and as a part of that you are able to run folks credit reports from Equifax / Trans-Union and I would see all sorts of stuff on peoples credit reports from folks that never had more than one credit card, used breifly and then closed to the account to the person who was delinquent on multiple accounts trying to get more and more credit. I would also see where some wrong information about someone was posted to the wrong credit report not belonging to them and it had to be fixed and then there were the accounts with fraudulent activity committed in someone else's name without the person knowing until they applied for a mortgage.

Best thing to do is run your score and see what information you can get for free through the accounts I mentioned above and then go from there. It's also great because they send you an e-mail regularly updating you when something new was added to your report and when your score changes so it's good for monitoring for fraud etc. there after.

Links:

https://www.borrowell.com/free-credit-score/
https://creditkarma.ca/

 

[Mr Nice]

Originally Posted by JustinH
Does $200 not buy a lot of prepaid airtime?


That's lots of airtime for my TracFone.

 

[irv]

Originally Posted by Leo99
Originally Posted by eljefino
I have a prepaid phone I bought online. They don't have much of my personal information.

I would tell the telus guy to forget it then, you don't want the phone. Might be the easiest $200 you'll ever make.

In America if you get denied credit you can get a free credit report. Dunno about canada.


You're not giving them $200. Just letting them hold it as security.

My credit was very poor when I got my first cell phone 20 years ago. Had to give them $800 security. They said if I paid full on time every month for a year, they'd refund the money.

Get a copy of your credit report/score and see what's up. Make sure the Telus is legit before sending $200.


That's exactly what the guy told me. Good behaviour for a year then I get the $200 back.
In hindsight, I should have just went for it but like I mentioned, with today being Sunday and everything else he told me, I threw up a red flag.

 

[irv]

Originally Posted by StevieC
In Canada you can sign up for a free Borrowell and Credit Karma account and get your credit score for free. It will also give you information about accounts open in your name etc. from the two credit agencies here. Get one of each because they can both have different scores and different information.

I was previously licensed in Ontario as a Mortgage Agent and as a part of that you are able to run folks credit reports from Equifax / Trans-Union and I would see all sorts of stuff on peoples credit reports from folks that never had more than one credit card, used breifly and then closed to the account to the person who was delinquent on multiple accounts trying to get more and more credit. I would also see where some wrong information about someone was posted to the wrong credit report not belonging to them and it had to be fixed and then there were the accounts with fraudulent activity committed in someone else's name without the person knowing until they applied for a mortgage.

Best thing to do is run your score and see what information you can get for free through the accounts I mentioned above and then go from there. It's also great because they send you an e-mail regularly updating you when something new was added to your report and when your score changes so it's good for monitoring for fraud etc. there after.

Links:

https://www.borrowell.com/free-credit-score/
https://creditkarma.ca/


Thanks for that info, Stevie.

I'll look deeper into everything tomorrow and hopefully get it all straightened out.

 

[StevieC]

 

[Garak]

irv, you can also go old school with them. If you check each of the credit rating companies' web sites, they'll give you their postal address. You can send them the documentation they require and they will send you your credit record (not a numerical score) by mail. Of course, that's not instantaneous and Canada Post is at it again, but it does give an option where one wants information directly from a credit rating company without signing up.

 

[irv]

Originally Posted by Garak
irv, you can also go old school with them. If you check each of the credit rating companies' web sites, they'll give you their postal address. You can send them the documentation they require and they will send you your credit record (not a numerical score) by mail. Of course, that's not instantaneous and Canada Post is at it again, but it does give an option where one wants information directly from a credit rating company without signing up.


I think that is what I might do, Garak?

I called Equifax recently and they directed me to their website and for a fee of $23.99, I can get the info I need,

. I checked those sites Stevie posted up and both have 3rd party this and that and it sounds like I will receive phone calls and emails from those places. NO THANKS! I get enough of those already!

I just paid the $200 deposit on my son's phone so I will deal with my credit score some other time. I also have an appointment with my bank at the end of this month to discuss retirement options so I will ask about my credit score while I am there. Something is amiss for sure so I need to discuss that issue with someone in the know rather than trying to resolve this issue with someone on the phone that I can barely understand.

Thanks for letting me know, Garak.

 

[StevieC]

Irv, the only e-mails I get are when my credit score changes or when there is activity on my credit file and it's every couple of months from the both of them. I have had both services since they were launched (about a year ago) and I have received no marketing calls.

Also congratulations on your retirement.

 

[irv]

Originally Posted by StevieC
Irv, the only e-mails I get are when my credit score changes or when there is activity on my credit file and it's every couple of months from the both of them. I have had both services since they were launched (about a year ago) and I have received no marketing calls.

Also congratulations on your retirement.

Stevie, without revisiting those sites, I remember reading in their "Terms" and "Policies" about some 3rd party things that they said they were not affiliated with. They said these companies "may" contact you via phone/email.
I am at a position in my life where I don't need loans, a mortgage, etc, so receiving these types of things are totally unnecessary, which makes me think, how bad do I really need to get this credit score thing straightened out anyways?

I'm glad to hear you are not receiving any such correspondence, but I don't want to take the chance as I already receive far too many solicitor type phone calls and emails.

I'll see what my finance guy says all about this, and if he thinks I should act, then I will then.

Retirement is not until next July but I want all my ducks in a row well before then.

Thanks just the same.

 

[StevieC]

No problem.