I have been married close to a year. I have received 2 preapproved offers (one mastercard and one gas card) that I am thinking about trying for, as I haven't had a lot of luck with applying for cards. But both are in my maiden name. Can I still respond to these offers? (And then change to married name after). All of my IDs now are married name. How do I get the CAs to update my name? (At least 5 of my accounts are now in my married name (and have been for 4-5 months), yet they all just list my maiden name. Thanks, Deb
Your statements seem to suggest that you were on an credit-card applying spree for a while, and did not experience much success. If this is true, I seriously suggest that you do not apply for any credit for the next 6 months to one year. Everytime you apply for credit, a "hard" inquiry is generated and placed on your file. Every hard inquiry is a FICO killer, and you have accumulated too many such killers in the recent past (if what I assume above is true). But their effect wears off after 6 months, and will have no effect after 1 year (this is per FICO website www.myfico.com ) This means, forget about those pre-approved offers, whether they are in your maiden name or married name. Also, you mentioned "CA"s ... this acronym is usually taken to mean "Collection Agencies" on creditnet. You mean CRAs (Credit Reporting Agencies), don't you?? If you mean collection agencies and I'm mistaken --- you *DO NOT* want them to ever have your information, and the less information they have the better off you are In the meanwhile, if your spouse's credit history is good, ask him to make you an authorized user on one of his credit cards. That will give an instant boost to your credit score (let one statement cycle pass before you see the change). Also, please see below to learn about tricks to establish good credit! http://www.faircreditmovement.com/newcredit.htm Lastly, you need to send a copy of your marriage certificate or other legal proof listing your name change, along with a utility bill listing your changed name and current address to each CRA to let them update their records. The normal procedure for CRAs to update name and address changes is reports through credit card companies --- if you don't have a credit card or not using them at all, such updates cannot happen, and you must write letters yourself to make the name change happen. Best of luck. -- lakpr
You are not talking about utility accounts, are you? They do not report to CRAs at all. Only credit card accounts and any installment loan accounts that you may have, will report positive history to CRAs.
Re: Preapproved Cards in Maiden Nam Yes you are right, I meant CRA's. As for inquiries, in the last six months, I have had a total of 5 inquiries. I don't exactly know how they are divided, but on the Equifax/MyFico, they only have 2. So I am still willing to try for one or two more if I think it's worthwhile. Otherwise, I'll just wait it out. As for the maiden name thing, to clarify I have updated all my existing (currently used, I should say) tradelines on credit reporst - my mortgage, car loan, and credit cards. Is it unusual for the CRA's not to be updated with my married name based on the reporting from these accounts? Or, does it take longer than 4-5 months (I did it in December)?
Re: Re: Preapproved Cards in Maiden Nam 5 inquiries in 6 months is really too many Some credit card companies pull inquires from all three bureaus, not just Equifax. It is quite possible that all 5 inquiries hit one particular CRA, and that's the report they considered in denying your application. You are entitled to know from each creditor which CRA they pulled if they denied. And since you say you were denied credit, you are even entitled to free credit reports from each of the CRAs. Perhaps you want to call them up and ask them to send you your copy as authorized by law. When you get the reports, you can dispute information on it; you can then say your name is listed wrong, and have them correct it ... a month later you will get another credit report If Equifax shows only 2 inquiries, you need to apply for such a card company that pulls ONLY Equifax and not others, for you to have best chance of getting a card. Target Guest card is one such, but you must apply online (if you go to store and apply, they pull TU; I had Target card, and they pulled TU when I applied in store). See PsychDoc's resource at the top of the threads to make an informed decision to apply. Actually, it is unusual. Normally 2 months is more than enough time for your current creditors to report changes to your name to CRAs .....
