Criminal Record

desk_jockey

I'm sure there are many young people in this situation. Too much alcohol, argument, court, criminal record.

Now my offspring is looking for a mortgage. While the mortgage application form (Northern Rock) does not directly ask the embarrasing question the attached insurance form which has to be filled in does. (Regardless of if you take insurance with them or not.) He/she wants to tell the truth on the form but would rather avoid having to answer it and therefore sharing the info with many other companies. The questions are:
Are there any companies that do not ask about convictions other than financial/fraud?
Would giving the info definitely mean no mortgage/insurance?
Your help is greatly appreciated. Two mortgage advisors have advised us to lie on the form but we won't. Perhaps there are some more ethical ones out there who will point us in the right direction.
many thanks in advance.

hairy_cornflake_2

As far as I am aware all home insurance forms will ask this or similar questions. They are trying to assess risk. This should however have little bearing on your mortgage application and whether your offspring would be accepted.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES LIE - if you did not disclose all material facts and you made a claim in the future and previous undisclosed misdemeanors were discovered, the insurance would be unlikely to pay out. You were poorly advised on this point.

The worst scenario would be an increased premium for a set period of time, or reduced cover.

Its not a condition of Northern Rock to take insurance by them, just that the buildings are insured (they will charge you a fee if you dont take theirs however) -therefore you can shop around - although all insurance companies will ask the "embarrasing question"

desk_jockey

Thanks, we have had a think about this and will of course disclose all. The choice would have been to wait until he/she no longer had to disclose it until applying for a mortgage or to apply now with an attachment stating how things are more stable etc and buying property is an indication of that and hope the mortgage company is understanding. If only teenagers realised the real effects of getting into trouble I think there would be less of it! The real deal never gets explained.
Thanks again, a long search on the net didn't come up with much so perhaps this will help others. Maybe there are others on this forum who got mortgages etc after declaring all who could tell us their experiences.

Pollen

Hi desk_jockey,

This site is extremely useful (Provision of Services) see HERE

Hope this is of some help.

Queenie

"Criminal Record" sounds a very emotive term - and rather scarey! However, circumstances will always come into play! They *have* to do to avoid discrimination!!

A one off? A multitude of offences? Both must be taken by their own merit! Insurance/mortgage/banks will have to make their minds up and prioritise accordingly! For example:

A drink driver of 19yo with 1 conviction would have to be assessed differently from a middle aged professional of multiple occurances of drink driving! Even the penalties of LAW make a distinction - unde Human Rights the same must hold true and should never be a barrier on the individual APPLYING!

In all circumstances, integrity will win through 9 times out of 10 (that other 1 lot aren't worth your money anyway!).

Always be honest!!! Deception (lying!) is simply another negative mark if/when the truth is revealed! In this computer/IT world, deception/lying is far easier to trace
If company "A" doesn't want to run the risk - then there will be another company with a broader view of human nature (and possibly a higher rate of interest to offset any potential/imagined risk!).

I suppose I'm really saying: don't become downhearted if ONE avenue should give you the cold shoulder and is unsympathetic towards youthful, naive, spontaneous, no-time-to think it through, "mistakes". Integrity (IMHO) is paramount! Do not lie your way through - even if it takes a while, you WILL be caught out! Be honest and hope for the best - if one company is anal enough to turn you down, keep trying!!!!

cloud_dog

desk_jockey you don't say how long ago the conviction was.

Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act convictions become spent after a period of time; the time being dependent on the offence. Ordinarilly you do *not* have to disclose a conviction once it has become 'spent'; the exception to this is if you are requested to provide this information by the Police or other government (enforcement type) agencies.

If the conviction is 'spent' then you do *not* need to disclose it to insurance companies, etc, irrespective of how they word their question.

I would suggest doing a search for "Rehabilitation of Offenders Act" to find out more specific information.

Based on the description of your spouce offence I think most companies will not take too much of an adverse reaction to it. If it had been fraud (for example) perhaps they would steer clear.

cloud_dog

desk_jockey

Thanks misty mutt. :-) No its not spent yet and it was about an altercation in a bar. Too much alcohol and high emotions. Fine and community service. Very typical of today I'm afraid. I'll let everyone know how we get on.

desk_jockey

Thanks everyone for your comments. Sprog has decided to wait until the offence no longer has to be disclosed. All I've got to do is up the rent!
Thanks Again.