Is this GOVERNMENT STUDENT LOAN Federal or Provincial? If it is Provincial, in which province was it issued and by whom?

Since the student loan was issued, have you made any payments on this loan? If so, to whom? Do not include any income tax or GST rebates withheld.

Once I have this information, I can explain why this information is appearing on your TransUnion Credit Report and does not appear on your Equifax Credit Report.

Johnny wrote:

"There is a credit or consumer reporting law that applies to the credit bureau and how they record and report information. There are provincial laws and I believe there is a federal one as well."

Most Provinces and Territories have consumer reporting legislation but for those Provinces that do not, such as New Brunswick, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ( PIPEDA ), a Federal Act, provides for this void. Some Provinces, such as British Columbia, have passed their own Privacy legislation and where there is a conflict between PIPEDA and a Provincial Privacy Act, the provisions of the Provincial Privacy Act applies.

Johnny wrote:

Each Provincial and Territorial Consumer Reporting Act states the maximum period of time that a credit reporting agency can report "DEROGATORY" information. Each Act is "SILENT" on how long a credit reporting agency can report "NON-DEROGATORY" information. And the Federal Act, PIPEDA , is totally "SILENT" on how long information can be reported whether the information is "DEROGATORY' or 'NON-DEROGATORY' providing it is accurate. As well, each Provincial and Territorial Consumer Reporting Act states the MINIMUM period of time that an inquiry must remain on a Credit Report.

With this background, both TransUnion and Equifax have developed their own reporting POLICIES to comply with the reporting provisions of the various Provincial and Territorial Consumer Reporting Acts.

The policies of Equifax are as follows:

All inquiries, both "hard" and "soft" are purged after three years from the date of the inquiry. Inquiries from collection agencies and debt buyers are shown as "soft" inquiries and are only reported on a Consumer Disclosure Report and not on a Credit Report.

All "Trade" and "Collection" accounts are purged after six years from the "Original Date of Default with the Original Creditor". While Equifax clearly states both on its website and on its Credit Reports and on its Consumer Disclosure Reports that all accounts are purged six years from the "Date of Last Activity", that statement is technically incorrect.

All single Bankrupties are purged six years from the "Date of Discharge". All second and further Bankrupties are purged fourteen years from the "Date of Discharge".

All Consumer Proposals are purged three years from the date the Proposal has been completed. All Orderly Payment of Debts and Credit Counselling are purged two years from the date the program is satisfied.

All Judgments are purged six years from the date of the judgment.

The policies of TransUnion are as follows:

All inquiries, both "hard " and "soft" are purged after six years from the date of the inquiry. Inquiries from collection agencies and debt buyers are shown as "hard" inquiries in contravention of an "Order" issued by Consumer Protection BC. The "Order" was filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia in early 2012 to which TransUnion refused to comply with the "Order". In response, TransUnion has filed for a Judicial Review of the "Order". No date has been set for the hearing.

All "Trade" accounts that contain "DEROGATORY' information and all "Collection" accounts are purged after six years from the "Original Date of Default with the Original Creditor". All "Trade" accounts that contain "NON-DEROGATORY' information are retained for twenty years before they are purged.

All single Bankruptcies that occurred in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland are purged after seven years from the "Date of Discharge". All other Bankruptcies that occurred in the remaining Provinces and Territories are purged after six years from the "Date of Discharge". All second and further Bankruptcies are purged fourteen years from the "Date of Discharge".

All Consumer Proposals are purged three years from the date the Proposal has been completed. All Orderly Payment of Debts and Credit Counselling are purged two years from the date the program is satisfied.

All judgments issued in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Newfoundland are purged seven years from the date of the judgment. All judgments issued in Prince Edward Island are purged ten years from the date of the judgment. All judgments issued in the remaining Provinces and Territories are purged six years from the date of the judgment.

I trust this detailed commentary will help clarify the numerous misunderstandings and misconceptions of how the consumer reporting system operates in Canada and provide a "breath of fresh air" to those who seek accurate and detailed information on the reporting policies of both Equifax and TransUnion, the only two credit reporting agencies in Canada.

Johnny wrote:

ABSOLUTELY FALSE. There are NO FEDERAL REGULATIONS regarding the purging of information from a Credit Report because consumer reporting falls under the jurisdiction of a Province or Territory and not the Federal government.

If Johnny honestly believes that there are Federal Regulations governing the purging of information from a Credit Report, then let him prove it.

On this forum, state the exact name and number of the Regulation and when it was passed. Include the Section, Subsection or Paragraph that is applicable. Better still, I want you to quote directly from this "alledged" Federal Regulation.

If you can't do this or choose not to do this, then all you are doing here is "BLOWING SMOKE". If you can quote directly from this "alledged" Federal Regulation supported by complete documentation as to the name and number and when it was passed, I will personally make a full apology to you.

Johnny wrote:

Complete and total "RUBBISH". Each jurisdiction in Canada is governed and legislated independently of any other jurisdiction. Consumer legislation which includes the regulation of consumer reporting agencies and collection agencies among many other things consumer related fall under the jurisdiction of a Province or Territory and have absolutely nothing to do with Federal legislation. The Federal government has enacted Privacy legislation, namely, the "Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act" ( PIPEDA ) which applies to all jurisdictions in Canada unless a given jurisdiction has passed its own Privacy legislation in which case, the Provincial or Territorial legislation applies.

Johnny wrote:

"Emerald" clearly stated that this student loan was taken out in July 2003. All Federal guaranteed student loans ended on July 31, 1995. Therefore, this student loan cannot possibly be a Federal guaranteed student loan. All loan agreements entered into with the Federal government after July 31, 2000 are called "Direct" student loans and the funding for these loans is provided directly by the Federal government through Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and administered by the National Student Loan Service Centre. After July 31, 2000, financial institutions did NOT issue Federal student loans.

I strongly suggest that if you are going to offer advice on this forum that, at least, you get your facts straight instead of misleading and misinforming posters who are seeking accurate and correct information.

Footloose

First of all, I would never command an apology from you for making a mistake, which you certainly have done. You are correct though and credit reporting is provincially regulated. I was merely thinking about the FCAC but after looking at their mandate it does not include credit bureaus. My bad for pissing in your pool there Footloose.

Secondly, in reference to my comment about the New Brunswick taking the same as Nova Scotia.. dude, this is what I was told by them. I didn't say I agreed with it.  I am just relaying what I was told man. "From what they say" means "from what they say". Right? If they are incorrect then take it up with the New Brunswick ministry people. You are the ... whatever it is that you are and do who seems to know everything about bankruptcy, credit reporting, and whatever other law you are an expert at.

Now, when a student loan reports "paid as agreed" with a zero balance, and a positive narrative, that can ONLY be a government loan. When I say government guaranteed, I mean CSL1, 3, or Federal Direct. I did not say anything about the first or second generation loans program you. The government guaranteed loan is just that - a guaranteed loan. A debt owed to the government.

Don't attack me. If I make an error simply say" Johnny, you are incorrect about ...". This is a civilized arena here and not a courtroom circus and no one is on trial. Bahave accordingly.

Based on the information that you have provided, here is what has happened.

In 2003, you made two applications for student loans because Alberta does not have an Integrated Student Loan Program which only requires a single application. That means that a separate application for a Federal student loan was made to the National Student Loan Service Centre ( NSLSC ) and another application was made for a Provincial student loan to EDULINX which administers all Alberta Direct Student Loans.

You clearly indicated that your Alberta student loan has been repaid. Therefore, the GOVERNMENT STUDENT LOAN that is shown on your TransUnion Credit Report is your Federal student loan. You also indicated that you only made 2 or 3 payments on this loan with the last payment being made as shown on your TransUnion Credit Report as July 1, 2005. You did not confirm this date as your last payment date, so I am gomg to assume that that date is correct. You also did not indicate if you had made any payments to either the NSLSC or to the Canada Revenue Agency ( CRA ) since July 1, 2005. In addition, you failed to indicate if you had made any written and signed acknowledgement to either the NSLSC or the CRA regarding this student loan since July 1, 2005.

If my assumptions are correct and you continue to make no further payments on this student loan to either the NSLSC or the CRA or you do not make any written acknowledgement of this student loan and signed by you, then pursuant to Section 32 of the Crown Proceedings and Liability Act, this student loan is now "STATUTE-BARRED". This means that the Federal government CANNOT litigate ( i.e. sue you ) for any balance that may still be owing on this student loan. However, pursuant to Subsection 164(2) of the Income Tax Act ( Canada ), the CRA can exercise their "right of set-off" by withholding any monies payable to Her Majesty in Right of Canada or to a Province and remit those monies to the NSLSC. Monies withheld by the CRA for your income tax refund and your quarterly GST rebate are NOT defined as a payment made towards your student loan because it is an "involuntary" payment. Only "voluntary" payments made are considered to be a payment made towards your student loan.

In regards to your TransUnion Credit Report, the comments "PAID AS AGREED" and "ACCOUNT HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED" was submitted by the NSLSC to TransUnion when your defaulted student loan was transferred to the CRA for collection. The "PAID AS AGREED" status only indicates that the NSLSC no longer is administering your defaulted student loan even though at the time of its transfer to the CRA, there was still an amount outstanding and unpaid. This is standard practice when the NSLSC transfers any outstanding and unpaid student loan to the CRA.

The "purge" policy of TransUnion is to retain all "Trade" accounts ( of which a government student loan is considered a "trade"account ) that do not contain "DEROGATORY" information for a minimum period of 20 years. All "Trade" accounts that contain "DEROGATORY" information are "purged" after 6 years from "The Original Date of Default with the Original Creditor". Because your GOVERNMENT STUDENT LOAN shows the comment "PAID AS AGREED", this comment is NOT considered "DEROGATORY", hence, this GOVERNMENT STUDENT LOAN will remain on your TransUnion Credit Report for 20 years.

The "purge" policy of Equifax is that all "Trade" accounts, both "DEROGATORY" and "NON-DEROGATORY" are "purged" after 6 years. That explains why your GOVERNMENT STUDENT LOAN does NOT appear on your Equifax Credit Report. It has been "purged".

I trust that this commentary about the status of your Federal student loan and the comments on your TransUnion Credit Report is most helpful to you Now you have a much clearer picture of how the credit reporting system operates in Canada.

You should have asked about any potential income tax refund. CRA often times does not gaff GST. Sometimes they do. It is weird how they roll sometimes. If a lien is removed then that is a good sign. If you call CRA tax office in your area they can easily tell you if there is a lien on you.

In a previous post, I wrote:

In response, Johnny wrote:

There is no provision in the Income Tax Act ( Canada ) that overrides the application of the "right of set-off" as provided for in Subsection 164(2) for defaulted Federal student loans that are "statute-barred" or are outside the limitation period as provided for in Section 16.1 of the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act.

In Section 2 of the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations, a "student loan" is defined as a "risk-shared loan or a direcr loan". Risk-shared loans were issued between August 1, 1995 and July 31, 2000 and direct loans were issued after July 31, 2000.

Under Subsection 16.1(2) of the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act, it reads as follows:

"Money owing under a student loan may be recovered AT ANY TIME by way of deduction from or set-off against any sum of money that may be due or payable by Her Majesty in Right of Canada to the borrower or the estate or the succession of the borrower."

You will note that Subsection 16.1(2) does not state that monies may be recovered ONLY if the defaulted student loan is NOT "statute-barred" or is ONLY within a limitation period. Therefore, any defaulted student loan is subject to the "right of set-off" as long as the loan exists.

You will also note that there is no provision to extinguish a defaulted student loan once it becomes "statute-barred". In other words, even if a defaulted Federal student loan becomes "statute-barred", the loan still exists.

Having said that, it should also be noted that the CRA has two divisions. One division is responsible for income taxes and the other division is responsible for commodity taxes ( i.e. sales and excise taxes ). It has been my observation over the years that there ihas been very weak communication between these two divisions as evidenced by a recent report entitled "Getting it Right" issued in July, 2012 by Mr. Paul J. Dube, Canada's Taxpayers' Ombudsman.

It is not uncommon for a taxpayer that owes a debt to the Crown, such as a defaulted student loan, only to have their income tax refund seized and paid toward their outstanding debt while at the same time receive their quarterly GST rebate. I'm at a loss to explain why this happens.

In response to my previous post regarding the CRA exercising their "right of set-off" for defaulted Federal student loans assigned to them for collection by the NSLSC, Johnny wrote:

For argument's sake, let's say that your position is correct.

Here is my question.

Is this an administrative policy of the Department of Justice with the Attorney General of Canada issuing a "Directive" to the Canada Revenue Agency to cease all applications of the "right of set-off" as provided for in Subsection 164(2) of the Income Tax Act ( Canada ) for all debts owing to the Crown or to Her Majesty in Right of Canada, including Federal student loans that have become "statute-barred"?

If so, can you produce that policy or any other documentation issued by the Department of Justice to support your position? I have never heard of such a policy and I am sure that our many readers and members would be keenly interested if such a policy or documentation could be provided or reproduced on this forum.

@Mark O'Meara

I raised this question because a neighbour of mine operated a very successful business in 1995-1996 to which he did not remit any employee withholdings, GST collected and a large amount of income tax that he personally owed. He showed me an account update that he received from the Winnipeg Taxation Office in 2010 showing that the balance owing including interest and penalties was in excess of $300,000. He has never been issued a judgment from the Federal court, had his wages garnished or any assets seized. Clearly, this debt is "statute-barred".

However, each year when he files his personal income tax return, the CRA withholds his income tax refund and applies the refund to his outstanding debt. This has happened since 1998. Surprisingly enough, he has always received his quarterly GST rebate. Go figure. This one is a real "head-scratcher".