Maiden name or married name

emmbeevee

My wife has applied for a 0% balance transfer in her married name but was refused. All her bank accounts and cards except for one are still in her maiden name. Should we apply again in her maiden name this time and will that affect her credit score in her married name. Thanks

DE_612183

she should apply in her LEGAL name - that may be why she was refused - nothing to do with scores - they don't count.

What is she on the electoral register as?

emmbeevee

She is registered in her married name on the electoral register and that was the name in which she was refused.

etienneg

Some (many?) credit cards only allow transfers between cards in the same name, which may be why this was refused.

Having different names for different purposes (for example, business and social) is fine as long as there's no possible fraudulent confusion. However, using two names for banking is not to be recommended - it could cause confusion, which could be interpreted as suspicious. I suggest she decides which name she wants to use for banking and gets the other card(s) (and any accounts) changed to this name.

To be clear: I'm not suggesting she intends anything fraudulent, but you must look at these things from the point of view of others.