nightmare flatmate past 12 months...has she ruined my credit rating

Snow_Angel

Eleven months ago my flatmate of one year moved out of our lovely 2 bedroom flat. I then let a work colleague move in to the spare bedroom. This last year has been nothing short of a nightmare with her.

Because my last flatmate moved out I put all the bills in my name - apart from the council tax which is in joint names. My current flatmate has been dreadful at keeping up to date with her half of the payments, to the extent that I have had several 'red' bills for utilities in my name and constant council tax reminders each month. Thankfully, in one month out tenancy agreement ends and I can get away from her (she also never cleans...ever).

My problem is, if I'm looking for one bedroom places through letting agents, will my credit checks be a disaster and stop me getting a tenancy agreement? Any advice or other peoples' previous experiences would be very useful. Many thanks in advance.

sooz

So all the bills are in your name, & you didn't pay them on time?
Then if your credit rating has suffered, this is your fault, not hers.

If you have actually paid your bills, & have not had any further action, disconnections, court summons etc, you should be fine.
Red bills will not be flagged up on your credit rating. They are reminders.

Snow_Angel

Hi sooz - they are in my name but I had to wait for her to give me her half of the bill money as I'm not in a position to pay them upfront on my own and then get the money back. So by the time she finally gave me her half I'd had reminders.

If reminders won't show up on checks then that is very useful to know thank you.

tbs624

Snow Angel - check your own credit rating at Experian, Call Credit and Equifax. MSE Martin has a section on looking after your "credit rating" on the main part of this website.

As you say you have the CTax in joint names, ask for a note of dissociation to be placed on your credit files once you have gone your separate ways. Make sure that you have a forwarding address in case she fails to cough up the final bill share : she may be a current workmate but that could change especially if she has bills to clear and wants to disappear elsewhere.

Snow_Angel

tbs624 wrote: »

Snow Angel - check your own credit rating at Experian, Call Credit and Equifax. MSE Martin has a section on looking after your "credit rating" on the main part of this website.

As you say you have the CTax in joint names, ask for a note of dissociation to be placed on your credit filez once you have gone your separate ways. Make sure that you have a forwarding address in case she fails to cough up the final bill share : she may be a current workmate but that could change especially if she has bills to clear and wants to disappear elsewhere.

Thank you for your helpful advice - Thankfully my current landlady, who is aware of my predicament, has agreed to keep the deposit back until I have given her the all clear that I have all the money for bills. Thankfully it is written into the contract that the deposit can be kept back until all bills have been paid. So at least I won't lose the money - I was just worried about my ratings getting worse.

Experian_company_representative

Council Tax doesn't create a financial link on credit reports because the government does not share that information with the credit reference agencies. Also, some utility providers are now sharing monthly data with the credit reference agencies so late payments (which generally precede red letters) may be recorded. Only way to be sure is by checking your credit report, probably with all three CRAs.

James Jones

clutton_2

""Only way to be sure is by checking your credit report, probably with all three CRAs."" what a predictable response..... hope you are not touting for business here ?

you could have told OP about the "free" way to check his credit status.... this is a money saving site

sinbad182

clutton wrote: »

""Only way to be sure is by checking your credit report, probably with all three CRAs."" what a predictable response..... hope you are not touting for business here ?

you could have told OP about the "free" way to check his credit status.... this is a money saving site

Why would a company representative, who has been given permission to post here, go out of his way to advertise a free way of getting their information?

clutton_2

because they are not supposed to tout for paid business..... if they do they get banned.....

sinbad182

clutton wrote: »

because they are not supposed to tout for paid business..... if they do they get banned.....

But he isnt touting for business. He's saying that you can check your credit rating via any of the three agencies, which is entirely true. Dont look for a wrongdoing where there is none.

ChrLot

Hi,
I'm in a very similar situation. So I would like to ask: how does one "ask for a note of dissociation to be placed on your credit files once you have gone your separate ways"? Who do i need to contact?

I definitely want to do this.
Also, can I dissociate myself while we are still living in the same flat? she is refusing to pay her bills, and they are registered on me and other two flatmates.

Tonight I have closed the billing accounts that are under my name aand asked for a final bill to be sent so that we can try to settle the bills forcing her to pay her equal share, but at least from tonight my name is no longer on the account. I want to totally dissociate myself from this nightmare flatmate.

any of your advice is very very welcome