Equifax and TransUnion are the only two credit bureau agencies in Canada that provide credit reports for the Canadian residents. No doubt both provide free credit reports (not credit score) if requested in written by post. At the same time if you want to check the score you may need to pay some money to get the latest credit score.
There are already companies in Canada like Borrowell, Mogo, etc., which provide a free credit score but all those fetch credit score from Equifax. So there is possibility that you could have different credit score with other credit bureau. Now the American company Credit Karma has launched its services in Canada and provide free Credit Score from TransUnion. In U.S.A, Credit Karma provides credit score from both Credit Bureau’s and I expect they will provide same in Canada in coming time.
Why to get credit score from Credit Karma?
The process is very easy from entering your details up to getting Credit Score. In order to verify your details they ask few security questions from your credit file to fetch your details. The best thing I liked about the Credit Karma while checking my score that it doesn’t only provide the score unlike Borrowell but also provide the details like open/closed credit accounts. Moreover, you can check your updated score after a week not only 4 times a year as in case of Borrowell.
The best thing I liked about that it provides you almost similar report what you can get by paying at TransUnion. You can also check which accounts still revolving on your credit file as well as closed accounts with their details.
At Credit Karma you can also check the credit inquiries made on your file or if your account sent to collections due to any behind schedule payment. It really helps to see that which creditors pulled your TransUnion report instead of Equifax. No doubt Credit Karma is still in beta stage in Canada and they will definitely be going to launch more services here in Canada like Mortgages, Credit Card offers, etc. So, if you’re concerned about your financial health, it’s not a bad idea to check your credit score for free at Credit Karma.
