What happens to your credit report?

[Amoré]

This is an interesting thing that I was wondering about  I am in the process of getting a new ID document with a new ID number what happens to your credit record when this is changed do they migrate it somehow to your new ID and name or do you really start over fresh?

[Michelle_P]

Good question!

I was just looking into this regarding name changes in the USA. Only one of the agencies even has a way to directly change a name. Instead, they collect data from creditors including when someone changes the name on an account, and they just add that as an alias.

I gather this makes a short term hit on a credit score, just because people sometimes try to evade debt with a name change. It also means that it can be hard to truly go stealth as someone pulling a credit report will see the old names.


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[KathyLauren]

That would depend very much on the laws in your country and the procedures and regulations of the agency(-ies) maintaining the credit records.  Procedures and practices in North America might not apply in your country.

[Mirya]

Michelle is right, at least for those in the US (I'm not sure how it works in other countries).  Since your date of birth and social security number remain the same after a name change, the credit reporting agencies just add your new name to the record.  There's a temporary hit to your credit, then it goes back to the score it was at previously.

I changed my name twice.  The first time was 20 years ago when I became a US citizen (to a more common American name).  So my credit report shows 3 different first names. 

[FTMax]

Get a copy of your most recent credit report and contact all of the accounts listed on it to update your name with them.

[Maybebaby56]

 I legally change my name in October, and most of my banking and loan information in November/December. So far there has been no change to my credit score at all.

~Terri

[tgchar21]

According to the OP's profile, she lives in South Africa - which would likely make things different for her than many of our American members depending on the laws where she lives.