Checking a Friend’s Credit Report

Posted by: Henry B. | Apr 07,2008


OK, this is a little strange.  I heard a story about a woman who wanted to find out about the man she was dating so she asked to see his credit report.  She thought this was better than getting a copy of the credit report behind his back.  She thought of it as a kind of prenuptial agreement.  She’d heard a lot about his previous relationships, but she want to know what kind of man he was…in the bank.  

Actually, even looking at a bank statement isn’t the best gauge of a person’s financial habits.  What if the person came into money recently but ten years ago was knee deep in debt and facing bankruptcy?  You never know what lurks in a person’s past, which is why she wanted to check her new beau’s credit report.   I want to go on record here that I don’t think this is the best course of action in a new relationship.  Certainly, you can talk about finances, but running a credit check on a significant other seems, I don’t know, too professional.  

Because that’s usually the capacity that a credit report might be checked: by an employer looking for a prospective employee’s financial history, or a landlord looking for the same.  I mean, if you really like somebody, is there credit rating even that important?  If it is then it seems like the relationship wasn’t meant to be.  Maybe I’m a romantic, but I thought there was more to a relationship than dollars and cents.  

However, if you are going to do something like buy a house together than it’s very well within your rights to discuss that person’s credit history, as that will be a very important part of the deal.  I have to think, though, that a calm discussion about finances is a better route than asking to see a credit report.  It just seems like it would create a strange dynamic in the relationship.  

Sponsored Resources Ads by Google