can i check my partners credit history?

taz01_2

Can anyone help me, my partner is clocking up loads of debt i have tried talking to him about it but he just wont admit there's a problem, i know he has £1000 overdraft and he usually gets paid about £1100 a month, he has maxed out one credit card to £5000, he has a £10,000 loan and i know he is still using a credit card when he reaches his overdraft limit, i love him but he wont face up to these issues and i was hoping we could build a future together, but if he doesnt sort this out i dont know if i can risk staying as we have a house together and i am worried that i will end up liable when he cant pay this debt.
my friend told me to do a credit check on him to see ecactly how bad the problem is but im worried that i would be breaking the law if i do this

does anyone have any advice????

mattp_3

I dont think members of the public can access credit files like that - I believe it is only businesses regulated by the Credit Consumer Act (or with a credit consumer licence) that would be allowed to contact the credit reference agencies?

However, if you already live together and you send off for a copy of your credit file then it is likely that a lot of his details will be contained in the same report?

But be careful - if he feels that you have gone behind his back - he's not going to be happy and may continue to cover up his level of debt???

benjamin_4

You certainly wouldn't be able to apply obtain his credit history legally.

Hope you don't mind me saying, but the fact that you are wanting to do this is pretty sad. Have you not tried talking to him about it? If you don't trust or beleive him then you have more important issues to deal with.


--

PS Out of interest, how do companies get the right to carry out credit checks? Do the CRAs issue licenses to do this, and if so are they stringent enough in who they issue them to?

taz01_2

yes i know it is pretty sad but he wont tell me exactly how much he owes as he keeps saying its not a problem but i know he is still withdarawing money on his credit card coz ive seen him do it and i know its not good that i dont beleive him but he really does stick his head in the sand
if its not a big deal then he should be able to just show me what he owes without too much hassle, i dont think its abnormal to want to know whats going on in eachothers finances when you share a house but his attitude is that as long as he pays his half of the bills the rest is none of my business but i dont agree
we do get on really well so i dont want us to split but this is driving me crazy coz i want to get it sorted

Bun

Hi Taz01,

I understand where you are coming from completely. If you are serious about your partner you could tell him that it will affect every area of your lives, so yes it is very much your business. His debt/spending will impact upon any house you buy, any loan or credit you apply for, any time off/reduction in working hours you may want to care for a baby if that happens. He would probably not like it if you were the one doing the spending and reducing his possible life options without his knowledge.
With the salary you quoted he must be spending a large amount of this servicing his debts. Is the money going on anything in particular or just to keep up with his debts? At least if you know then you can take some advice on this board to try to change the spending patterns and start to pay some of it back rather than increase it.

Good luck

mattp_3

The problem you have is - what are you going to say to him if you do get a copy of his credit file???? He is going to know that you have been really sneaky about it??

Maybe you should try to be subtle - like leaving the newspaper open on pages about people going bankruptcy at 23 and the UK debt reaching £1.1 Trillion ????

If you find out he owes £150,000 - its not going to make life any easier for you, especially if you are worried already??

Xbigman

mattp wrote:

Maybe you should try to be subtle - like leaving the newspaper open on pages about people going bankruptcy at 23 and the UK debt reaching £1.1 Trillion ????

Be carefull with doing things like this. He might think you want him to go bankrupt!

As to your situation. Your are part owner of a house so critical questions are; Do you own 50% of the property?
Are any debts in joint names (including anything you might have signed with out reading or any sort of loan linked to a joint account)?
Has he secured anything against the house?
Can you pay the mortgage/secured loans out of your income?
Regards




X

mountainofdebt

The answer the question is yes you can get his credit report but only if you pretend to be him (so I guess you would be breaking the law, lol!) but that leads to another question ....what would you do with the information once you got it?

Would you feel any better knowing the full situation, having got the information behind his back?

If he is hiding statements from you (and lets face it you could get the info you need from them) then it sounds as if there is a problem.

Have you tried watching those money makeover programmes with him? That might be a good starting point in getting him to talk about your joint situation.

taz01_2

thanks for all you comments, in answer to some of those questions, i think most of the money he gets paid goes towards repaying his debts, he pays the min payment on his cards and has a direct debit set up paying off his loan, the reason he keeps adding more debt is because he goes out to the pub 4 nights a week, he just wont stop going out he wont stay in to save money if he's skint, if theres no money after his wages and overdraft are gone he just draws it out on his credit card,
hes always been like this but when we decided to get a house he said he would stay in more to save money but it just hasnt happened
we both jointly own the house and the mortgage is in both our names, his loan and credit cards are in his name, thats the reason he believes its none of my business, he doesnt worry about it at all
i tried discussing it because i was getting fed up with my family always giving us money for things because they think we are skint then i feel guilty because we are only skint because of him, i manage my money well because i hate having debts i sorted mine out when we got the house
i dont know what to do - he wont listen

rchddap1

The old phrase...you can take a horse to water, but you can't make him drink ...springs to mind. When someone is on a slippery slope to never ending debt they have to take the first step and want to do something about it. Until he really wants to change and become debt-free there is little that you can do. He has to want to do something about the problem.

Which means you have to show him how bad this could get unless he does something.

Another thing....protect yourself. make sure that you can 'cover all the important bills' should the worst happens....ie, no shared current account or savings account.

mountainofdebt

how does the OP show her partner how bad things could be before he has his lightbulb moment?

Does he know that your family are helping you out? It might be an idea to refuse any more help that your family offer....I know this is going to be hard on you and the situation may get worse before it gets better.

I really do sympathise ....at least the debts hubby and I have run up, we've run up together!