What is a notice of disassociation?

If you’re finding it difficult to borrow money, you may have been advised to check if you need a ‘notice of disassociation’. Today we’re looking at:

• what this kind of notice is
• what it’s used for
• and how you can get one if you need one.

What is a notice of disassociation?

You can ask credit reference agencies to add a notice of disassociation to your credit report. It lets lenders know that you’re no longer ‘financially associated’ with another person.

Why might I need a notice of disassociation?

People don’t always know what is meant by a ‘financial association’ (also sometimes called a ‘financial connection’). We’re often asked whether a customer’s credit history can be affected by an ex-partner, or even a parent.

The truth is, you don’t automatically have a financial association with someone just because you:

• are married to them
• live with them
• have the same last name as them.

A financial association is created when you and someone else:

• have or apply for a joint loan or mortgage
• have or apply for a joint bank account or credit card
• have or apply for a joint hire purchase agreement.

So you’re most likely to be financially associated with a current or former partner. But this could also be with a family member, or someone you have lived with.

Whatever the reason for your financial association, it could be considered if and when you apply for credit.

Sometimes this can be a good thing. If your partner has a better credit rating than you, you’ll stand a better chance of getting a mortgage together than you would alone. Happy days!

But if someone with whom you have a financial association has a bad credit history, lenders may consider you to be a credit risk too.

To understand why, here’s an example. Let’s say you apply for a loan. The loan company checks your credit report. They see that you have a joint mortgage with your partner, who has a bad credit score. The loan company might think: what if your partner falls behind on his half of the mortgage payments? You will have to make up the shortfall. This will make it harder for you to make your loan repayments to them.

This is why you need a notice of disassociation if you find that your credit report still shows that a financial association that is out of date. An example is if you and your partner have separated and no longer have a joint account, but your credit report still shows that partner as a financial connection.

How can I get a notice of disassociation, and what do I do with it?

First, find out whether any of the credit reference agencies hold information about a financial association you no longer have. You should contact all three of them. This is because they may all hold different information about you.

You can view your credit reports for free at the following links:

• Equifax
• Experian
• TransUnion (formerly CallCredit)

These links take you to the statutory reports. These are available for free. They may take a while to arrive. You can also get a credit report more quickly by signing up on their websites. But remember, these sites may charge you if you do not cancel your account after an initial free trial.

If you find any incorrect financial associations listed on any of these credit reports, here’s what to do:

• first check you have closed all joint accounts
• then get in touch with the relevant credit reference agency to request a notice of disassociation.

The way to do this depends on the credit reference agency involved:

Requesting a notice of disassociation from Equifax

If you believe there is an incorrect financial association on your credit report from Equifax, you will need to raise this as a dispute.

Requesting a notice of disassociation from Experian

You can request a notice of disassociation from Experian using this online form.

Requesting a notice of disassociation from TransUnion

Contact TransUnion at [email protected] to request a disassociation.

The credit reference agencies will then investigate. If they’re happy that what you’re saying is correct, they will then remove any reference to this other person from your file. This means lenders will no longer consider this other person’s financial situation when making decisions on any credit application you make.

We hope this post has answered your questions about notice of disassociation. Are your debts, or those of a former partner, affecting your credit history or any other aspect of your finances? It might be time to think about a debt solution. Take a look at our debt solutions page to get an idea of how we can help.