How does a credit check work if you have 2 surnames?

April 24, 2016 9:12 PM

Changed my last name, but credit card is still under my original surname. Does this complicate things when I get credit-checked?

I'm apartment-hunting and will need to have a credit check run when I apply for a place. My credit score should be great, no worries there. But things are slightly complicated bcs I changed my surname several years ago (legal change, but not for marriage), and out of pure laziness I never changed my surname on my credit card account. Should I tell prospective landlords to run a credit check under both names, or would a credit check on my current surname automatically/magically include the info under my original name? (I just have the one credit card, no cards under my current surname.)

posted by anonymous to Work & Money (6 answers total)

Your SSN is the primary identifier to the credit bureaus and so your report probably has both surnames associated with your SSN if you have applied for credit under both names but the same SSN. So you probably don't have to do anything to allow the landlord to get the full picture.

If you are filling out a credit report order form yourself there will likely be a blank on it for other names, and you could put your former name on it there. If the landlord fills out the form for you, you could volunteer that information if you want.

People change their names all the time (and in most jurisdictions there's no law against using a fictitious name so long as you're not doing it to defraud anyone) so that's why they use the SSN.
posted by kindall at 10:02 PM on April 24, 2016

You can sign up at Credit Karma to see your own credit reports, and check if your credit card shows up on it.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 10:34 PM on April 24, 2016

Credit unions make money by tracking situations exactly like this. You'll be fine. Just use your current name.
posted by deathpanels at 10:58 PM on April 24, 2016

+ 1 to sign up for Credit Karma (Free and extremely useful) and that it's generally checked with your social and you can add a previous name if you're worried.

I believe you will have had to change it with social security though which I assume you did. I too still have credit accounts with a maiden name.

That said, it did take about 6ish months after I got married for Credit Karma to update my new last name even though my social security was updated the week I got married, but if you changed your name years ago then it should be fine.
posted by Crystalinne at 12:04 AM on April 25, 2016

As said above, it's your social security number that matters. Both my names appear on my credit report. My previous name when married and my maiden name which I now use again.
posted by shesbenevolent at 7:02 AM on April 25, 2016

Your SSN is the primary identifier to the credit bureaus and so your report probably has both surnames associated with your SSN if you have applied for credit under both names but the same SSN.

Not always true. I changed my first name (transgender) and the two names are not linked even though my SSN is the same. I have fantastic credit under my new name because none of the bad stuff transferred over. I would get credit reports for both names and tell the landlord to run whichever has the better score. Provide landlord with the court order (or divorce decree, whatever) that shows you are the same person as your previous name.

Unless you're paying your rent on a credit card, the LL doesn't need to know about it. (I do recommend changing the name on it ASAP so it does show up on your new report. Some places make this hard - Chase Bank - and some make it easy - Discover.)
posted by AFABulous at 7:32 AM on April 25, 2016