How do I remove a financial association that’s no longer relevant?

Can you see a financial association on your credit report that’s incorrect or no longer relevant? Here’s how to start the disassociation process and end the financial connection.

If you can see a financial association on your credit report that doesn’t need to be there anymore, it’s really easy to have it removed. Just make sure you’ve taken the following steps first:

Close all joint accounts that you share with the financial association

Or

Remove your name from all joint accounts, or vice versa.

Keep in mind that financial associations aren’t limited to just a joint bank account or mortgage. This extends to loans, credit cards, utilities – the list goes on. If any of these account types are still open or contain both names, the disassociation process won’t be successful.

That’s where we come in. Just click ‘View’ and ‘Dispute’ where you see the financial association on your credit report. You’ll be given a few drop-down questions to answer, and once they’re done, we’ll take over the process. Even if the agencies need proof from you along the way, just send it to us, and we’ll manage the back and forth.

Remember, it can take 4-6 weeks for an account to be updated on your credit report, so if you closed a joint account yesterday, you’ll need to wait for it to show as closed on your report before the request can be started.

Once the agencies receive a disassociation, they look for any active accounts still linking you to each other. If they can’t find a link, they’ll be able to remove the name from your report. If they do find an active connection, they’ll let you know that they can’t complete the disassociation and why.

You can instead contact the relevant credit reference agency (or agencies) directly – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion – to request that the association is removed. If the agency can confirm that you no longer have a connection to the other individual, they will be able to remove the association from your report without any issue.

Experian

You’ll need to fill out a specific form with Experian to begin the process. The form asks for your personal details, the associate’s details, and details of your financial connection to each other. You’ll need to complete a separate form for each disassociation you wish to raise.

Equifax

Equifax requires you to get in touch with them and place a notice of disassociation on your credit report. Like Experian, they’d need both yours and the other individual’s details to start the process.

TransUnion

TransUnion requests that a disassociation is started by raising a dispute on your credit report.

It's also important to note that completing a disassociation at one of the credit reference agencies doesn’t automatically remove the name from the other agencies’ files. If the associate's name is listed at all three agencies, a disassociation will need to be done three times – one with each agency.

No matter how you raise the disassociation, you can expect the process to take around 28 days. That’s why it’s really important to make sure you’ve done all you need to before starting your disassociation request. Because if it doesn’t work, you’ll have to start it again once you’ve removed all financial connections.

You could instead choose to leave the association on your credit report. And if you do so, it’ll stay there indefinitely, which can be risky. While an association won’t affect your credit health, it could affect any credit application that you make, as their credit history could be taken into account. That’s why we encourage you to check in regularly to help you keep on track, spot errors early, and get in touch with us about anything on your report that doesn’t look right.

Take your credit health into your hands

Managing your credit health is about so much more than knowing your credit score. From joint accounts to registering to vote, your credit history is as colourful as your life history. That’s why Checkmyfile lets you see it all. Get started now