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Mail	· Free of charge	· Credit score is not provided · Can take some time to receive

Internet	· Almost instant report · Option to get credit score	· Fee charged

Credit score

Your credit score is a judgment about your financial health, at a specific point in time. It indicates the risk you represent for lenders, compared with other consumers.

There are many different ways to work out credit scores. The credit-reporting agencies Equifax and TransUnion use a scale from 300 to 900. High scores on this scale are good. The higher your score, the lower the risk for the lender.

Credit rating

Some credit-reporting agencies report the lenders' rating of each of your credit history items on a scale of R1 to R9. A rating of "R1" means you pay your bills within 30 days of the due date. A rating of "R9" means that you never pay your bills at all or have filed for bankruptcy.

Details of each or the ratings are as follows:

Rating	Details
R0	Too new to rate; approved but not used.

R1	Pays (or paid) within 30 days of payment due date or not over one payment past due.

R2	Pays (or paid) in more than 30 days from payment due date, but not more than 60 days, or not more than two payments past due.

R3	Pays (or paid) in more than 60 days from payment due date, but not more than 90 days, or not more than three payments past due.

R4	Pays (or paid) in more than 90 days from payment due date, but not more than 120 days, or four payments past due Pays (or paid) in more than 90 days from payment due date, but not more than 120 days, or four payments past due.

R5	Account is at least 120 days overdue, but is not yet rated "9".

R6	This rating does not exist.

R7	Making regular payments through a special arrangement to settle your debts.

R8	Repossession (voluntary or involuntary return of merchandise).

R9	Bad debt; placed for collection; moved without giving a new address, or bankruptcy.

Other rating indicators that might be found on a report are "I" for installment credit or "O" for open credit line.

Source: Equifax Canada

To see examples of what credit reports look like and to get more information on credit scores, visit the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada's publication entitled Understanding Your Credit Report and Credit Score.