name change

[pineappledaydreams]

I applied to psecu with my new name instead of my old one. I legally changed it in court. Anyway they couldn't pull a credit report under the new name even though I still have the same ss. I am not sure if this is a good thing or bad. Is it easier to build credit from a fresh start or should I just have them pull up my report under my old name. What would you do? Keep both separate? My mother did that. Same ss but 6 different fico scores depending on which name she pulled up.

[BrokaToe]

Probably the best thing to do IMO would be to submit a name change to the CB's. Then it will reflect your new name but keep the same info.

But you probably have to submit a photo copy of your DL and SS card as well and of course they would both have to show your new name, oh and a utility bill too I think

[NewYorkGuy]

Update your new name with the credit bureaus first before applying for credit under the new name. I am in the process of changing my name and that is what I will do once the process is completed. Also you need to write all your creditors and update them with the name change. Once they report the new name to the credit bureaus, your file will be updated but you should also write letters to the bureaus to confirm the change.

Once all of that is completed, you can start using your new name on applications.

[LS2982]

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BrokaToe wrote:

Probably the best thing to do IMO would be to submit a name change to the CB's. Then it will reflect your new name but keep the same info.

But you probably have to submit a photo copy of your DL and SS card as well and of course they would both have to show your new name, oh and a utility bill too I think

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Agree. This will take some time but its the easiest thing to do to eliminate confusion on apps.

[pineappledaydreams]

Thank you both very much. Fax or mail?

[daybreakgonesXe]

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@pineappledaydreams wrote:
I applied to psecu with my new name instead of my old one. I legally changed it in court. Anyway they couldn't pull a credit report under the new name even though I still have the same ss. I am not sure if this is a good thing or bad. Is it easier to build credit from a fresh start or should I just have them pull up my report under my old name. What would you do? Keep both separate? My mother did that. Same ss but 6 different fico scores depending on which name she pulled up.

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I'm not even sure it's "kosher" to have two separate reports with both names...probably more of a headache than anything else for you, creditors, etc. Could you imagine having multiple cards report to different places depending on what name it's under, trying to transition an account you currently have to a new name, keeping up with 6 different credit reports and 6 different FICOs? Potentially getting denied because a certain report was pulled and looks worse than the other? Could wind up being an issue of russian roulette in that case! Hmm, which credit report will Citi ding with this app?

The best way to remedy this is to change all your other accounts to your new name, as well as report to the CRAs that you have legally changed your name. This way, your current CRA reports will report both your old name and new name, keeping all the accounts on one bureau.

My mom played around with her name a few times during her years, not to mention her credit report showing some interesting name usages due to joint accounts with my father. Using her legal birth names, using her ex-fiance's name, using her maiden name as her middle name when she married my father, moving it back to her birth middle name and dropping the maiden name, having jr's at the end of her name due to possible joint account disambiguity (let's say, for example, my father's was John Smith Jr. and my mom was Jane Smith. So, some joint accounts will have "John and Jane Smith Jr." as the addressee. This confuses my mother's last name for "Smith Jr." instead of simply "Smith").

Probably due to my mother's initiative when cleaning up credit or by sheer luck, all of the names report correctly on the credit bureaus as hers, though some names are on different bureaus and don't show up on the other. However, when doing a 3-in-1 report, it correctly recognizes that although on TU my mother's name may have been at one point Jane Doe Smith, it is the same person as Jane Sally Smith on EX.

[pineappledaydreams]

Thank you so much daybreak for taking the time to write that out. I truly appreciate it.

[daybreakgonesXe]

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@pineappledaydreams wrote:
Thank you so much daybreak for taking the time to write that out. I truly appreciate it.

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No problem! Haha by the time I wrote it and posted it you got nice, simple, concise answers to make your decision, but I hope I at least put things in perspective XD