Hi Gilbert

Firstly, I would like to commend you on the website. It was a good read. I chanced upon it when I was googling for information.

Basically, I have some questions about the impact of bad credit rating and bankruptcy have on someone. My friend is presently unemployed since he decided not to renew his contract 5 months ago. I found out recently that his girlfriend has incurred a hefty sum of credit card debts with a few banks and she has just received a legal letter from a lawyer acting on behalf of one. Both my friend and his partner are also planning to get married.

I know that my friend is actively looking for full-time employment and I wonder if his girlfriend’s bad credit rating (or bankruptcy, hopefully not) will affect his chances of gainful employment once they are married, despite his good qualifications and work experience.

From the information that I have gathered so far, it is usually the debtor who faces problems in terms of employment and loan applications. I have yet to come across anything that explains how else partners in matrimonial can be affected apart from future bank loan applications.

I would appreciate it very much if you could share some of your knowledge on this issue.

Thank you for your time.

Best regards
Pauline

My Reply:

Dear Pauline,

Thanks for your interest in our website and your mail.

I can only comment based on my own experiences and this may not be the official mouthpiece.

Firstly, debts incurred by someone on an individual account remains the problem of that person alone even if he is married. Spouses are not held responsible for their partners’ credit debts for that matter. However, if it is a joint card account or mortgage loan, then both parties will be held accountable.

For an individual who has credit card debts or bankruptcy problem, if he wants to get a mortgage loan with his wife, I am sure that this will be a problem. The credit rating of the person will be assessed by banks through Credit Bureau who are processing any financial loans taken out by the person. I am sure that the mortgage loan is likely to be rejected by the banks.

Hope this help and as spoken this may not be the official view.

You can actually get more info from Credit Counselling Bureau.

Thanks and take care.

Gilbert

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