Applying for mortgage with credit card debt not under proper name

boab16

Hello

My partner and I will be looking to apply for a mortgage in the next few months. I wanted to ask a question about the mortgage application, specifically what mortgage providers look at on bank statements.

Long story short: I have two credit cards that are under the name that I am known by, not the name on my birth certificate (my "Christian name"). However, my credit report is under my Christian name. I have tried to link my credit report to those cards by filling in the "also known as" section but they still don't appear. There's about £2500 on each card and no missed payments. I've checked both Experian and Credit Karma and neither card appears on either of them. 

Context: I have a 'Poor' credit score on Experian (although just 15 points away from Fair) due to two CCJs. Both are over three years old. I have no other active balances on my credit report. My partner has a perfect credit score.

Question: given that these cards do not appear on my credit file, will mortgage providers be able "see" them e.g. will the cards appear in their credit searches? When it comes to the mortgage application, I'm considering not declaring them given they do not appear on my credit file. However, when it comes to providing a bank statement, the mortgage providers may see my monthly direct debits coming off and question it. 

Or, is it better to declare given that there are no missed payments on either of the cards? I'm just worried that £5000 debt in total will be detrimental to our application. 

Any advice is welcome!

Thanks

[Deleted User]

Declare them.

Committing mortgage fraud is a lot less fun than it sounds.

boab16

Deleted_User said:

Declare them.

Committing mortgage fraud is a lot less fun than it sounds.

When applying for a mortgage, do you have to declare all of your credit accounts/outgoings on the application? 

[Deleted User]

In general terms, yes - you'll declare whatever is asked by the lender, which will include all debts and significant outgoings. 

penners324

Pay the cards off, you'll not need to worry about this then

[Deleted User]

£5000 in debt on cards is likely to be less of an issue than having CCJs in the last few years. Card repayments on your outgoings has to be declared unless you particularly fancy a CIFAS fraud marker