Correcting Errors on Your Canadian Credit Report

You can dispute a credit report error in Canada for free. Under PIPEDA you have the right to access your file and ask the bureau to correct wrong information.

By Promissory.ca Editorial Team Reviewed against official Canadian sources Last updated: 2026-09-16

Your right to a correct file

Credit reports are compiled by bureaus from data that lenders and other organizations send them. Mistakes happen: a payment posted to the wrong account, a debt that belongs to someone with a similar name, or an account that was never closed when it should have been. When the record is wrong, you have a legal right to ask for a correction.

PIPEDA, the federal privacy law, gives you the right to access the personal information an organization holds about you and to request corrections when it is inaccurate or incomplete. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada oversees this right for federally regulated organizations. In practice, that means you can dispute an error with the credit bureau directly, at no cost.

What counts as an error

Not every disagreement is an error, so it helps to know what genuinely qualifies. Common examples include:

• An account you never opened, which may point to identity fraud or a mixed file.
• A payment shown as late when you paid on time.
• A balance that is clearly wrong.
• The same debt listed twice, often by both the original lender and a collection agency.
• An account that should have been closed or paid off but still shows a balance.
• Personal information that is not yours, such as a wrong name, address or date of birth.
• A debt that was discharged in bankruptcy but still shows as owing.

What is not an error

Accurate negative information cannot be removed, no matter how much you would like it gone. A missed payment that really happened stays on your file for the period the bureau applies. The same goes for a legitimate collection or a consumer proposal. Disputing accurate history will not work, and paying a company that promises to erase it is a waste of money. The productive path is to correct what is wrong and rebuild around what is true.

Step-by-step: how to file a dispute

1. Get your report from both bureaus. Request your disclosure from Equifax Canada and from TransUnion Canada, because an error may appear on one file and not the other.
2. Identify each error precisely. Note the account name, the account number as shown, the date, and exactly what is wrong. Vague complaints are harder to resolve.
3. Gather supporting documents. Bank statements, receipts, payment confirmations, a police report for fraud, or a discharge certificate for a bankruptcy all help. Make copies and keep the originals.
4. File the dispute in writing. Contact the bureau that shows the error and use its dispute process. A written dispute creates a record and makes it easier to follow up.
5. Tell the lender too. Reporting the error to the company that supplied the data can speed things up, since the bureau often has to confirm with that source.
6. Keep a paper trail. Save copies of everything you send, note the dates, and record any reference numbers or names you speak with.

What happens after you file

The bureau investigates by contacting the organization that reported the information. If the item is confirmed as inaccurate or incomplete, the bureau corrects or removes it. If the source stands by the data, the item may stay, and the bureau will usually tell you the outcome.

You may also be able to add a short consumer statement to your file explaining your position. This does not delete the item, but it lets a future lender read your side of the story alongside the record.

If the bureau does not fix it

If you believe the information is still wrong after the bureau has responded, you have further options. You can escalate to the organization that reported the data and ask it to correct its records. You can also bring a concern to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, which handles complaints about how federally regulated organizations handle personal information. Keeping your documentation organized makes each step easier.

Protecting yourself from repeat errors

Once a problem is fixed, check that it stays fixed. Review both credit files at least once a year, and more often if you are preparing for a mortgage or rebuilding credit. If an error suggests fraud, such as an account you never opened, act quickly. Contact the lender and the bureau, change passwords on financial accounts, and consider a fraud alert so lenders take extra steps before extending credit in your name.

If your file is accurate but damaged, a dispute will not help. That is a rebuild problem, not a correction problem, and our guide to rebuilding credit covers the practical steps. Before taking on any new loan, use our calculators to see the true monthly cost. Promissory.ca is not a lender and charges consumers no fee; it compares options and may receive compensation from lending partners.

The bottom line

A credit report error is worth fixing, and you can do it yourself for free. Get both reports, describe each problem clearly, support it with documents, and follow up until the record is right.

Common myths about fixing your report

One persistent myth is that a credit repair company can wipe accurate negative items from your file. It cannot, because only inaccurate information can be corrected. Another is that paying a debt automatically deletes it from your report, when in fact the record may simply update to show a zero balance. A third is that closing an old account improves your file, when it often does the opposite by shortening your history. Knowing these myths helps you spend your effort where it actually counts.