Could a change of name harm you?

Posted in 'Credit Reports' by Richard Catlin

26 February 2009

The number of people legally changing their name hit record levels in 2008.

Over 46,000 people used the official deed poll service to change their names last year, up 15% on 2007 figures. The increase is believed to be due to a combination of increased divorce rates and the ability to apply for a change of name online.

As we reported recently, the number of couples filing for divorce is set to surge this year, as increased financial pressures add to the traditional New Year peak. This looks set to see the number of people using deed poll services increase even further.

More light-hearted reasons for name changes include drunken bets, a new lease of life and simply looking to overcome ‘unfortunate’ names. A list of the most comical, put together by parenting portal thebabywebsite.com include Rose Bush, Ray Gunn and Tim Burr.

B-list celebrity Christine Hamilton – wife of former Tory MP Neil - has helped increase awareness of how easy it is to change your name by legally changing her name to ‘Mrs British Battleaxe’ – in order to promote an online deed poll provider.

With online changes costing just £33, and with no restrictions on what you can change your name to, there’s every chance that 2009 will break records once more.

Whilst there is undoubtedly a fun side to many of the name changes that take place, it’s important for anyone who does change their name to remember the more serious side of things.

For anyone changing their name – through divorce for example – you must remember to inform your bank, any lenders and your local electoral roll office. The name-change process itself won’t automatically create an association between your old and new names and so you’ll need to manually put this in place.

Once you’ve informed the relevant parties of your change of name, make sure you check your credit report online to verify that everything looks as it should. Incorrect information on your credit file could see any application for credit turned down, as it could simply appear that you don’t have any credit history on which to base a decision.

If you’ve changed (or are changing) your name and you aren’t sure about what steps you need to take, our expert credit analysts are on hand to offer advice. We are also able to assist you in notifying all of the credit reference agencies of your name change, free of charge.