Will my credit score be affected by my partner’s or marriage?

Your wedding day, or civil partnership celebrations should be one of the biggest and best days of your life, right? You and your partner are ready to share the rest of your lives together — it’s exciting and a big step into the future. But as you get ready to legally join yourselves together, the question of your credit reports (and your finances in general) might come up. So what exactly are you saying “I do” to? 

There’s no need to tie yourself in knots on something like this when you’re tying the knot. Read on to find out what impact your marriage or civil partnership, changing your name, or your partner’s finances can have on your credit history.

Does marriage affect your credit?

The simple answer is no. Getting married or entering into a civil partnership with somebody does not automatically make you responsible for their debts and it won’t have an impact on your report.

‍The three main credit reference agencies (CRAs) in the UK: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, don’t record your marital status on your report. There isn’t a couple’s credit report that jointly assesses both peoples’ finances either. Hopefully, you’ve discussed your finances before you’ve reached the point where one of you is planning on popping the question but if you haven’t, being transparent about your finances is important. Especially if you want to take out a mortgage together, get a joint account (and not just for banks, this includes utility bills too), or take on a joint debt. That’s when your individual credit histories will be looked at together.

What co-scoring means

When you have an active account with somebody and both your names are listed as payees, then you’ll automatically have your reports linked as “financial associates” or “financial connections”.

So for example, if you pay your share of a water bill with your partner by transferring them money each month, but only your partner is named on the letterhead of the bill, then that wouldn’t connect you (whether you’re married or not). The history of payments for this bill would be reported by the water company to whichever of the three CRAs they work with. 

However, if you and your partner have just one account where you are jointly named, that is enough to connect you financially and in turn, to have an impact on each other’s report. It doesn’t matter if it’s council tax, a joint bank account, or a phone contract. As soon as your reports are connected, you may see a positive or negative change to your scores — this is called co-scoring.

‍It’s important to know that as soon as you’re connected with that one joint account, you’ll be connected for good unless you end up parting ways. In this case, you can tell the CRAs that you needed to be disassociated. If you are jointly paying for bills and appear on each other’s credit reports when you’d prefer not to be, asking the CRAs to disassociate you both isn’t something you can do, unfortunately. You’d have to prove you are no longer associated.

‍It’s always good to check over your report and see if you have any old financial connections from exes, family members or previous housemates — if you spot any names on there that shouldn’t be, you can flag these up and ask to have them removed. We recommend you do this because if any of these old connections have poor money management, they could be bringing your score down (no thanks, right?)

Will my credit score affect my partner?

Because there is no such thing as a joint credit score, whether you are legally hitched or not, the only time your credit score will impact your partner’s finances is if you decide to open a joint account or collectively take on a debt.

If you want to, you and your partner can keep your finances separate and never worry about each other’s credit history. 

But there is a chance that you will want to bring your money together to be able to afford a house or a car. These big joint purchases are when your reports will likely have an impact on each other.

Does changing my name affect my credit score?

If you decide to take your partner’s name when you get married, you won’t have to start your history from the beginning and it won’t negatively affect your score. You will have to notify Equifax, Experian and TransUnion to tell them of your name change so that they can update their records though. Your old name will then be listed as a part of your credit report with each of these CRAs, but they will show up as an alias.

When you let your bank, loan and bill providers know that you’ve had a name change, they will then start to record your financial history under your new name.

I have a good credit score but my partner doesn’t

This can be a little bit awkward. One of you could have a glowing report, while the other one needs work. Perhaps it hasn’t mattered before because your accounts weren’t linked together, even if you got married. But when you want to get a mortgage, buy a car together, or get a joint account, then your credit scores will have to go on their first date, and it might not go as well as yours did! 

If your partner has a bad credit score the most important thing they can do is try to improve it. It’s tough to talk about money, but be honest with each other about any struggles you are experiencing and try to work through them together. You’re a team now, after all!

What should I do if I have a bad credit score?

There’s no need to feel embarrassed by your score when you are trying to take out a financial product with a partner. Taking action to tidy up your credit report is the first step in proving you can handle money in a responsible way, regardless of your financial past. The key is to just take some time to get it sorted.

We’re all about helping you build your credit and fall in love with your finances. With a Loqbox membership you can strengthen your credit history and save for the big day as well. To find out more, head to our homepage. 

Improvements to your credit score are not guaranteed.