As a mortgage professional, I do everything I can to maintain a high credit score. For example, I pay off my credit card in full, or at least the monthly minimum, on time every month. I don’t overuse credit and I stay under 75% of my credit limit.

However. . .

I recently switched from fee to no fee banking. Then I applied for a new credit card and – horror of horrors – I was told there was a problem. What?! Me?!

I immediately ordered a copy of my TransUnion credit file, (that was the credit company they used) and there it was. Apparently, I was using my old married name while living at a different address – horror of horrors once again (actually not that horrible, and I’ve so moved on). The thing is, I haven’t changed my address in 14 years and I’ve been using my maiden name even longer.

So, I checked all the trade-lines thoroughly and everything was in order. It could have been much worse.

I’m contacting TransUnion to get this cleared up, and I’ll probably put an alert on my file now.

Good save!

The moral of this story is simple: check your credit file at least once a year at either Equifax.ca or Transunion.ca. You can get a free report, but you’ll have to dig a little deeper.

Happy credit checking.