Money Matters: 'Could my girlfriend's debt issues affect my credit rating?'

Debt advice from the Kevin Boon of the Consumer Credit Counselling Service

In the first of our 'ask the expert' series, Kevin Boon of the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) tackles the issue of how co-habitation could affect your credit rating.

Q. My girlfriend has credit card debts from the time prior to when we met. We now live together in a privately owned, rented flat. She is paying back her debts, but has defaulted on payments in the past. As we live together, is my credit rating being affected? Could I be chased for her debts? We have plans to buy a house together, which will mean taking out a joint mortgage - James, Manchester

A. Only debts that you are jointly liable for will affect your credit rating, if in arrears.

You can only be pursued for debts that are solely yours, or for those where you are explicitly named as being responsible. Unless you are a joint holder of any of your girlfriend’s accounts, you will not be liable at any point, now or in the future.

You can check the original credit agreements for the debts in question to see who is named; copies can be acquired from her creditors. It would be a good idea to get a copy of your credit file. This can be obtained free of charge on line, just google credit reference agencies.

You are both liable for payment of your rent if you are both named on the letting contract.

It will be difficult to obtain a joint mortgage in the first place with outstanding debts and recent defaults on your girlfriend’s record. If you are successful, then any mortgage defaults caused by your girlfriend’s actions would have a knock-on effect to your own credit rating.

If you have spare capital once you have satisfied any of your own monthly credit commitments, you could consider helping her to reduce debts to get her on firmer ground faster, reducing the risk of her liabilities affecting you on any joint debts.

Having problems with debt?

Every Friday, Kevin Boon of the Consumer Credit Counselling Service will answer your questions and provide expert advice on the best way to deal with debt. Send your questions to j.hall@independent.co.uk with 'Money Matters' in the email subject line.

CCCS is a national charity giving independent advice to anyone worried about debt, delivered free of charge by expert counsellors. Based in Leeds, CCCS is able to help people with debt problems wherever they live in the UK, through its free national telephone service (0800 138 1111), ten regional centres and online debt remedy service ( cccs.co.uk/debtremedy).