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A broken heart may not be all you're left with after a relationship ends: it's essential to sort out any joint finances so that an ex-partner’s bad debts don’t hurt your own credit rating
As highlighted in recent media reports, it may not be just your heart that’s broken when Mr or Miss Right turns out to be Mr or Miss oh-so-Wrong. Bad debts of an ex could haunt you for years to come – and make it really difficult to get new credit – if you haven’t sorted out any joint finances that you may have had while you were together.
Leading instant online credit information provider, Equifax, is warning that it’s vital to sort out any joint finances at the end of a relationship – otherwise there could be a risk of what has been called ‘sexually transmitted debt’, with one half of the partnership finding their credit rating affected if the other gets into debt. And that includes old joint credit cards – even if you’re not using them any more.
Protecting yourself from paying off your ex’s debts
- Apply for a copy of your credit report so that you are aware of your financial status and can tackle any joint agreements.
- Clear all joint bills immediately and then inform the supplier or lender that you wish to amend the account details/terminate your contract with them. Close all joint accounts immediately.
- If you have applied for credit together links to your partner’s credit report will be shown on your report as ‘associations’. These will remain unless you inform the Credit Reference Agency. You can apply for the associations to be removed (what is known as a disassociation request) from Equifax once you can prove that you no longer have any financial connections with you partner.
- If your former partner has had access to potentially sensitive information change your PIN numbers and monitor your bank statements and credit report.
Good Credit Management
- Registering to vote will improve your rating. This is an essential way for lenders to verify an applicant’s identity and prevent ID fraud.
- Close old credit card accounts – even if they show a zero balance lenders will look at the potential credit available when assessing applications.
- Aim to pay off more than the minimum each month – again because lenders look at the potential debt an individual has to assess their credit worthiness
To view your personal credit information that lenders are currently basing their credit decisions on, apply now for a free online credit report. Click here for a free 30-day trial and a free copy of your Experian credit report
