James
I want to ask if it is possible that a previous tenant at your flat could affect your credit rating. I have never been refused credit before and see no reason why I should be, but since moving to my new address a couple of months ago I have been refused a bank account and a car loan. The same bank granted me a credit card only a month before when I was at my previous address. Therefore, the only possible problem I see is where I live. Furthermore, a previous tenant keeps getting warning letters through for unpaid bills. Could it be that the address is associated with bad credit? I thank you in advance for your help.
Craig, Glasgow
Craig
No, although it looks as though this person has had problems - they aren't causing yours! Nobody ever needs to worry about the debts of previous occupants because lenders cannot conduct credit checks on properties, just on people. And a lender carrying out a check in your name would only see information about other people at your address if you actually had financial links with them - such as a joint bank account or loan. As you're not linked to the person who lived at your flat before you, then you can't be affected by their credit history.
But you need to know why you're being refused. And I think that it's probably because you've moved recently and so you're not yet shown as being on the electoral roll. This might be because you haven't contacted your local council and registered yet, or because you have but the update hasn't reached the credit reference agency databases yet. It sometimes takes a month or two. Lenders use the electoral roll to check identity.
You also need to let all the lenders you have credit accounts with know your new address, so they can shift your records over, too. This helps to show that you really do live where you say you do.
If you have let lenders know about the move and have been on the electoral roll for a little while, then you'll have to go back to the lenders concerned and ask them why they refused your applications. Only they know why.
Check out our Moving Home guide for more tips on how to look after your credit history when you move.
As for the mail you're receiving, send it back clearly marked 'no longer at this address' or something similar. If you have a forwarding address for the person who lived in the flat before you, provide it to anyone looking for him/her.
James