Credit Bureau Information Breakdown

Credit Bureau Information Breakdown When an account is first assigned to our office the debtor s file information such as name (first, last and middle initial if available), address, phone number (if on file), SIN and/or date of birth are sent to Equifax Credit Bureau and Consumer Reporting to obtain a match with their credit reporting system. When there is a match on all or a portion of the information Equifax will send the most recent up to date credit bureau report to us. They also provide us with what was a match and what was not. If nothing matches or they were unable locate the debtors bureau due to lack of information or too common a name and it is returned to us as a miss we would correct or add the proper info to the file and re-request to Equifax for a manual paper copy of the bureau. Identification Area of a Credit Bureau The identification section as seen below provides us with what information was matched as well as their current address as last updated on their files and possibly 1 or max 2 prior addresses. The address we sent in may be different than the current on the bureau. Credit bureaus obtain their information from three major sources: 1. Tape reported clients/creditors will update existing credit info as per their inhouse records which can include the customer s personal info 2. Tape reported information provided on applications can be forwarded to the bureau as current info and therefore changes the address etc. even if the customer does receive the product or service they applied for 3. Verbally reported his is when the person calls or sends communication to the bureau themselves to be updated www.equalitymortgagesolutions.com Page 1

Previous or former addresses are very helpful when locating the debtor or doing basic trace steps on new business. First determine if the current address on CB is the same as your file and search both for possible numbers for contact. The last or oldest address on the CB could be, and has a higher probability to be, the debtors parents address, so search as well for possible next of kin information (NOK). The identification area will show what debtor information matched from the debtor account to the records pulled from Equifax. Be sure to closely check matching info and be aware of too many discrepancies. If DOB does not match there is possibility of junior and senior mix-ups. Watch for AKA s or if there is a middle initial that is on your file but not the bureau or vise versa. Inquiries Area of a Credit Bureau Many different types of companies or organizations can make an inquiry into someone s bureau. These are called Member Inquiries and the bureau will show when the inquiry was made, the name of inquirer and the phone number (if available) of the inquirer. The most common type of inquiry is for credit purposes (money, product or services) such as banking and financial institutions or retail services. These can vary from requests for overdraft, credit cards, mortgages, a line of credit or loans to vehicles either to purchase or even to lease. Examples of other inquiries: Employment Collections Cell, home or business phones Temp agencies Rental or Property Management High risk finance banking institutions Foreign Retail stores Most inquiries are initiated by the customer/debtor signing or verbally giving permission to have their credit bureau pulled and checked. This step causes the actual inquiry to be added and updated on the bureau. Numerous inquiries in short period of time (average 6 months) can negatively affect the person s bureau and ability to obtain credit. Any number or combination of different types of inquiries can cause this. Too many of the following type of inquiries can have the corresponding negative outcome: Bank or financial institutions = looks like a credit seeker (question of attempting to gain multiple credit quickly and/or too much to maintain) Employment or Temp agencies = shows lack of work stability (question of security and income changes) Property management companies = shows lack of residence stability (question of flight risk and maintaining contact or location or even cost of living changes) www.equalitymortgagesolutions.com Page 2

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Collection agencies = shows possible delinquency patterns and higher risk (question of debt from existing credit or other creditors not seen in trade info) Understanding how to read these inquiries gives you the advantage to locate and even understand the customer/debtor intentions therefore allowing you to utilize the information for a more effective call. Example 1- if the newest or most recent inquiries are by bank or financial institutions this could indicate the debtor/customer is aware of the situation and are presently exploring sources to correct it or are avoiding the situation and looking for personal financing. You would then use that info to confirm that your account is included in their search for a financial solution. Example 2 if there are several collection agency inquiries they may have more insight into how to get around paying or may feel more pressure as more collection agents are calling and therefore can be more defensive. This can also mean they may need to look at consolidation rather than only paying one debt. Example 3 if there are property management or rental inquiries this could indicate a recent change of address and/or can be used to locate their current information. Example 4 if there are vehicle or car lot inquiries this could indicate an upgrade in there transportation and therefore possible collateral and can also indicate to apply for a vehicle this would indicate they have a stable job of some form (most likely full time). Example 5 if there are foreign inquiries these do not necessarily mean they applied for credit out of country. The Foreign Bureau Inquiries still indicate they applied for Canadian funds or product foreign only means that the head office for that company is outside of Canada. Example 6 - if most inquiries are for retail services or credit this can indicate they may not have or are even looking for money but feel they can use or only qualify for store product and this would mean although they may have obtained credit it is constantly fluctuating and has no cash value (unless backed by a credit card) but this also increases their debt ratio, making it more difficult to obtain further credit. Employment Area of a Credit Bureau The employment information can be updated to the bureau verbally by the individual, by their place of employment or even by a current creditor. The current employment may or may not be up to date but it does provide a base to start your preliminary trace. If there is more than one employment listed this can show a trend that will provide a more defined trace tactic whether it be in the same area, location or within the same field of skills (example 1 & 5) even by pay ranges (example 3 & 4). When locating Poe s (places of employment) you may find due to short forms or acronyms; 411.ca, yellow or white pages may not provide the correct or even correct matches and www.equalitymortgagesolutions.com Page 4

therefore using Google or other security accessible search engines may allow a closer or more accurate matches for the employment possibility (example 2 & 5). There may not be information in this area on every bureau; it is not a requirement to be completed. This does not necessarily mean they are not working only that there employment has not been updated. Example 1 Shows similar work experience and job title which indicates consistent employment and allows for easier tracing. If the current employer is not correct it does create an avenue to continue the trace efforts, such as calling other medical or dental offices in the area. This also provides information for collection purposes, the employments listed would indicate the income as salary based, non-seasonal and generally only full time positions. Example 2 Shows tracing options through company names with possible similar career paths for each employment along with full time, salary based income. www.equalitymortgagesolutions.com Page 5

Example 3 & 4 Indicates working in retail, most likely if not current still in the same mall or area. This also shows they could be a part time or full time employee and paid hourly with possibility of bonus or commissions. Example 4 (see example 3) Example 5 Indicates how the employment information can be listed on your system bureaus. ES=current EF=former E2=oldest. The actual name of the employment is William Osler Health Centre, due to the short forms and spelling errors this can make it more difficult to locate. Several searches through different sources could be necessary to confirm the correct information. ES-RIGHTS ADVISOR,WM OSLER HEALTH CENTRE EF-,PEEL MEMORIAL HOSPITAL E2-,WILLIAM OFLER HEALTH CENTRE Summary Area of a Credit Bureau The Summary section allows you to quickly identify a condensed financial picture of the credit bureau. It allows you to determine if credit is currently in good or bad standings or even starting to go bad as well as how long they have had credit and the last time they obtained credit. Pub/Other = identifies how many items are in the Public Records and Other Information section, which can include such things as collection items, bankruptcies or secured loans. Trades Oldest-Newest = identifies the 1 st date as the month and year credit was first obtained and the 2 nd date identifies the month and year of the most recent credit obtained. Total = identifies how many items are in the trade section which provides detailed information on existing current or past credit. High Credit = identifies the lowest and highest credit ever obtained. Rating for R/O/I/M/C = identifies the rating of each trade item (0-9) and how many items have each of the rating number. www.equalitymortgagesolutions.com Page 6

Zero to Nine = identifies the current, new or delinquent status of each trade or credit obtained (standard rating). R/O/I/M/C = indicates the type of credit obtain and is shown in detail in the trades section. The meaning of each letter is described below. R = Rotating credit like a credit card or line of credit where the balance and minimum payment is always changing. O = Open credit like a cellular phone account where you have not borrowed a lump sum to repay but you are rated on whether you continue to pay the monthly amount owing and as with rotating the monthly amount can constantly change. I = Installment credit like a car loan or personal loan where the borrowed amount is repaid with equal monthly set amounts and there is a set term and time frame when the repayment will be completed. M = Mortgage credit and although it is not presently used on credit bureaus to show delinquency and late payments on a mortgage it will be used in the near future and for collection purposes it will be a very affective tool for information. Although it is not used in the trade section yet there are different methods to determine if someone is a home owner such as a property search on the current address and looking for mortgage company name in the inquiry section. C = Line of credit like the M it is not a commonly used code on bureaus. Most line of credit whether business or personal or with security or without are presently listed in the trade section as an R for rotating because like a credit card lines of credit will also fluctuate in balance and minimum monthly payments. www.equalitymortgagesolutions.com Page 7

Public Records/Other Information Area of a Credit Bureau In this section the information provided is not rated 0-9 as a trade or credit item is. It is however still assessed as important data in a way by the 3 rd party information used to determine collectability, past activity or even trace avenues and contacts. The information is updated and or provided by several different sources whether by an existing or past creditors or even a 3 rd party such as a trustee or collection agency. If the public record section is not on the bureau and states 0 under the Pub/Other in the summary section then this would indicate there are no outstanding reported accounts in collection, there is no outstanding securities being used for a loan and they are no bankruptcies in process or have been discharged from. The information contained in the public section will fall under 3 different categories Collections, Secured loans and Bankruptcies. 1. Collection the name of the 3 rd party collection agency the date the delinquent account was reported (Rptd) to the bureau the type of account paid or unpaid the amount (Amt) owing when reported the date of last activity (DLA) the last voluntary payment made by the account holder the balance remaining (Bal) the outcome of the debt (Reason) if blank it is still outstanding, otherwise it may state settled or paid in full if paid it will have month and year it was paid (Paid Date) the creditor the debt is owed to and or the account number (Acct/Creditor) the ledger number is used for internal purposes How to utilize the information: If a customer/debtor bureau shows 1 or more items in collections this would change your initial approach of your call. Debtor who have www.equalitymortgagesolutions.com Page 8

2. Secured Loan the date the information was filed with the bureau and or when they opened the loan (Filed) the court name and court number are not used internally the date the loan will be paid off (Maturity) the maturity date also indicates when the security being held for the loan will be released (example a car can be used to secure a loan; failure to pay and the financial institution would repossess the car to cover the loan) the name of the creditor and amount of the loan that will be paid (including interest) by the maturity date (Creditor/Amt) www.equalitymortgagesolutions.com Page 9