credit score effected by joint accounts

[Anonymous]

Hello there, I have an important question.
Me and my wife share a joint account just regular basic (college) account, no credit cards.

When we opened the the account we put only my wife social security # (I didn't have back then a number yet) only my name.

My question is, if there is something wrong with my wifes credit or she has a collection or eviction or anything else which can effect credit score, can effect me in some level, cause I am married to her.

Also on the apartment contract we used her social and only her and my name, is there any way that my credit with my new social will be damaged cause of this things ?

Thanks in advance.

[drkaje]

Sorry for your troubles,

If she's bounced or bouncing checks you're probably already affected. Looking into "Telecheck" is the way to find out. Basically, it's a service that lets potential creditors how likely you are to bounce checks.

I'd close any joint accounts (before it's too late) in your position.

Being sued or not probably has to do with being in a community property state.

[llecs]

Chexsystems is another credit report showing banking info. I believe you can order it for free.

I'll also add that if there's a problem with her credit or she owed $$$ to others and is delinquent, and if sued, creditors can go after the bank account to recover any money. Outside of the bank, creditors can also attach joint assets in the effort to recover any funds after being sued like a car or home.

If there's an eviction at the apartment creditors like an assigned collection agency can still report to your CR even if you never gave the apartment your SSN. They use a process called skip tracing to locate your info and collect. This can only happen if you signed the lease.