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Email this9:31 am
April 6, 2013
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…
Personally, I don't really have a quarrel with any of it as I've never been turned down for anything. My only problem, such as it is, has been with the credit agencies as my records there are very very sparse and do not include everything that they ought to. I hear lots about people trying to get info changed or removed, but I have no idea how to get them to add things. - e.g. the credit card I've had for almost 40 years!
It is up to to the lender. Tradelines (information about a loan, credit card, and so on) can only be supplied by the lender.
One can't ask Equifax or TransUnion to include a loan or credit card. If a lender does not wish to report the credit card or loan to Equifax or TransUnion, then it won't show up on one's credit record.
I've seen some lenders report only to one of the credit bureaus and not the other. I've had credit cards that only showed up on my record at either Equifax or at TransUnion but not at both.
4:34 pm
October 21, 2013
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Indeed. And yet these companies are somehow considered the holy grail of information by the very same financial institutions that don't send them complete information. Catch 22.
7:27 pm
April 6, 2013
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Equifax and TransUnion are the only two grails in Canada. So, there's nothing holier! 
Lenders know that not everything will necessarily be at TransUnion or Equifax. So, they will request a borrower's record from both.
Your long-time credit card is probably being reported to one of the Canadian credit bureaus, if not to both. One may be able to ask the card's issuer to see which they report your card to.
If the issuer says they report the card to both, then the information may be associated to someone else's record. That person maybe enjoying a higher credit score from your positive tradeline!
12:35 am
October 21, 2013
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I won't get into the reasons, but the last possibility is not a possibility, although it may be for others.
I have wondered if the reason is because I've had the card for almost 40 years. Heck, I'm old enough to remember a world before MC and Visa existing, and when Visa was first introduced as Chargex.
Perhaps it never got added in the first place because systems were more basic then or computer upgrades lopped it off. Also, I don't use it much any more, so not much to report. I just keep it because it has a huge credit limit in case something comes up where it would be useful.
2:53 pm
April 6, 2013
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That is odd. I never had any cards that were missing from both my Equifax and my TransUnion credit records.
Until closed, my credit cards have been reported monthly, even for months with no activity and zero balance.
Is the card a personal credit card? A business or corporate credit card may be reported against the credit record of the business or the company and not the record of the person or employee.
3:27 pm
October 21, 2013
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Personal, no frills card, with paltry cashback, less than .5%.
5:25 pm
April 6, 2013
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With automation these days, it is not a significant effort for a major credit card issuer to report its credit cards to Equifax or TransUnion monthly. It is just a computer file that's generated and uploaded.
It is possible the card is being reported and just not linked to your credit record. Perhaps, you have two credit records!
Back 40 years ago, people applied for credit cards on handwritten forms. I think SIN was optional back then too. Without the SIN, the credit bureau would have to try to match tradelines on name and date of birth.
Data entry clerk could have misread the handwritten date of birth on the credit card application. That handwritten date of birth 1954-04-23 could have looked like 1959-09-28. As HSY reported, sometimes the credit bureau only receives the first initial of the first name!
With a wrong date of birth, there was no match to an existing record. So, credit bureau may have assumed it was the first hit ever for the person and created a file for "L Smith" born 1959-09-28, instead for "Loonie Smith" born 1954-04-23.
Subsequent cards and loans had the full name and correct date of birth. Another file would then be created for "Loonie Smith" born 1954-04-23 and those later loans and cards would be linked to it.
7:46 pm
October 21, 2013
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Based on my lifetime of experience with it, I'd say there is a reasonable chance of spelling error in my name, although it's correct on the card.
As I'm disinclined to throw anything away, I might even have a copy somewhere of that original application form! but where?
5:42 pm
April 6, 2013
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It would be interesting if you could locate a copy of the application form.
I vaguely remember some credit card application forms had a line to specify a preferred version of one's name to appear on the card instead of one's full legal name. Perhaps, the legal name was keyed in incorrectly and sent to the credit bureaus while the preferred name was keyed in correctly and imprinted on the card.
If the SIN wasn't provided originally, then providing it to the issuer now may straighten things out after the next monthly upload to Equifax and TransUnion.
6:37 pm
October 21, 2013
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Why is the SIN required at all? I thought this was only to be used if there was going to be a CRA issue.
I'll let you know if I ever find the application. Could take a year or two!
7:59 pm
December 12, 2009
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Loonie said
Why is the SIN required at all? I thought this was only to be used if there was going to be a CRA issue.I'll let you know if I ever find the application. Could take a year or two!
You don't need to provide your SIN, and if your FI asks for your SIN for tax reporting purposes, you can request that its use be limited to sharing with the CRA only. If your SIN appears on your credit report, you can request that it be removed, I believe, and instead, when they do a credit check, they'll need your full name as on your credit report and your date of birth, also as on your credit report.
Cheers,
Doug
1:52 pm
May 27, 2016
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Voluntarily providing a SIN can be in your own self-interest because it distinguishes you from another person who may have the same or extremely similar name whose credit file may be less than stellar. It ain't fun being confused with someone else at either (1) the border or (2) the credit bureau.
Having said that, I totally get why a person wouldn't want to disclose their SIN unless absolutely necessary
4:09 pm
October 21, 2013
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I won't be providing my SIN. Sparse though the record may be, it has still been enough to give me an excellent credit rating and I have never had any problems, so there is no real need.
6:56 pm
April 6, 2013
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Londonguy said
Voluntarily providing a SIN can be in your own self-interest because it distinguishes you from another person who may have the same or extremely similar name whose credit file may be less than stellar. …
That's why I voluntarily provided my SIN on my credit card applications.
The SIN also ensures that a new credit file isn't created should the date of birth or the name be off. There is a check digit in the SIN that makes it difficult to mistype a SIN and still be accepted as correct. Dates of birth and names don't have such error detection.
I suspect that's what happened with that one credit card. Name and date of birth were off. Equifax or TransUnion thought it was the very first hit for the person and opened a new file for that name and date of birth combination.
The file is now orphaned as you would not be able provide any ID to Equifax or TransUnion that matches the incorrect name and incorrect date of birth in order to access it. 
Please write your comments in the forum.