Consumer Rights and Regulation

A bureau investigation is the review process a credit bureau uses after a consumer challenges reported file information.

Consent to a credit check is the borrower's permission for a lender or other authorized user to review file information.

A consumer disclosure is the copy of bureau file information provided directly to the consumer.

A consumer statement is a short note a consumer may ask to have associated with their credit file to explain a situation in context.

A correction request is a focused request to review and fix specific credit-file information that appears wrong or incomplete.

Cost of borrowing describes the total borrowing expense disclosed to the consumer, including interest and relevant fees.

A credit check is a review of a borrower's credit file for a defined purpose such as lending, account review, or self-monitoring.

Credit monitoring is the ongoing review or alerting process that helps a borrower watch for changes in file activity.

A decline notice is the communication telling the borrower that a credit application or request was not approved.

A dispute is a request to review and correct credit-file information that appears inaccurate or incomplete.

An investigation result is the response a consumer receives after a bureau or reporting party reviews a disputed file item.

A report access request is the borrower's request to obtain their own credit-file information from a bureau.

A report error is inaccurate, incomplete, outdated, or mixed-file information that appears on a credit report.

Report sharing means a borrower provides or authorizes access to credit-report information for a defined purpose.

Borrower-facing reporting terms such as consumer disclosure, report access, and consent to credit checks in Canada.

Supporting documents for a dispute are the records that help explain why a reported credit-file item should be reviewed or corrected.