A solution for credit check frustrations

Brokers are increasingly frustrated by credit check inaccuracies, and one industry player has proposed an easy solution.

Clients who check their own credit once a year are better equipped to quickly deal with bureau inaccuracies, says one broker who lends a helping hand.

“I advise clients to do their own yearly credit checks and I’ve had a very high success rate,” Omer Quenneville of Centum Regal Financial told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “I do seminars on getting a first mortgage and I tell people to do their own once a year because it’s free; I even offer to send the forms to them and I’ve had hundreds of people sign up for it.

“They need to know what’s on that file because if a mistake is made, getting it corrected can be done a lot quicker and it’s easier to remedy.”

Quenneville estimates that 10 per cent of his clients encounter inaccuracies and that this simple step not only helps clients rectify the situation – it also provides a great point of contact for him to keep the communication open.

Credit bureau mistakes are increasingly frustrating for brokers, with some reporting deals almost falling apart as a result. And, as a result, an increasing number of industry players are giving the same advice Quenneville has for years.

One broker has encountered several issues with one type of unsecured consumer credit that once delayed a deal by a month.

“Credit file inaccuracies happen quite regularly – especially with Visas through a bank,” Kevin Babin of Dominion Lending Centres NuVision Mortgage Group told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “Some client files have shown a balance on Visa cards that have been inactive for a long time when the balance should be zero; it slows down the process for getting a mortgage.

“Some underwriters will see it’s inactive and not consider it but others require it to be rectified first, which can take three to four weeks.”