Equifax and Transunion have gotten a report from some company that settled on my dads credit card (I was an authorized user on). Originally the card was with Bank of America, he decided not to pay, settled and now it is with another Bank. Problem is, he decided not to pay it their either and now he's 3 months late. Those two boroughs are destroying my credit rating (below 550 on both) (Experian (doesn't have the card listed) has be at 720)). My pops is getting all defensive and rude trying to pretend I am the one causing problems any time I tell him to fix it. I sent disputes to both Equifax and Transunion and I got a result from Equifax and apparently "Equifax verified that this item belongs to you. If you have additional questions about this item please contact:" I am for sure a "authorized user". Bank told me that, I never signed anything and it says "Whose account - Authorized User" on the dispute results. I thought these boroughs had to remove this if I had no financial responsibility to pay off the debt. I haven't heard from TransUnion yet. From what I heard and read about from sites like this, getting this thing removed would be simple. What do I do? Do I seriously have to suffer because my dad is being a deadbeat, blaming the government and refusing to pay off his credit cards? How long before this things is gone, if they don't remove it, and what do I do to get it off here. I seriously just want to tell him to pay his damn bills but he honestly yells at me, complaining about Obama and the government. There is seriously something wrong with my dad, not sure what, but regardless I want this thing gone. What do I do? I think since it has already settled and the account is closed, he cant remove me as an authorized user from the bank. Do I need to get a lawyer?
I am so aggravated. I start a PhD program in the fall and have to get a car. That is almost certainly not going to happen, and by the looks of it, I may not even be able to get a damn apartment. How he can sit there and skip out of his debt then act like I am the ******* for bringing it up is beyond me. Am I going to have to sue him?
I have been there and done that. Get a copy of your credit report and it should list you as an individual or authorized user. If indeed you are only an authorized user, ask them in writing to delete based on that reason. I have done it many times and the entire account was deleted without questions. Hope it helps, in about 30 to 45 days the accounts should be off of your reports. Make sure you keep the deletion letter from the credit bureau, just in case.
Yeah, that's what I did. Humm, here is what it says "Current Status - 90 - 119 Days Past Due; Type of Account - Revolving; Type of Loan - Credit Card; Whose Account - Authorized User; ADDITIONAL INFORMATION - Account Closed By Credit Grantor; Credit Card;" I am getting aggravated because, like you said and many others I asked before I sent in a dispute, just saying I am an authorized user, it will get deleted. Why didn't Equifax do that? Can I initiate another dispute for the same account? This is what they told me.... "The results are: Equifax verified that this item belongs to you. If you have additional questions about this item please contact:" Did they screw up... They said themselves "authorized user".... Did I read it wrong and they actually removed it?
Have you tried calling the bank to have yourself removed from the account? Perhaps you could get the bank to send you a letter or an e-mail to the effect you were removed? (I would be as polite and diplomatic as humanly possible as they don't have to do anything.) You might try that, and then try a new dispute. (BTW, it's bureaus not boroughs.)
Any other advice? I cant really call the bank as I do not know the account number. I can try and ask my dad for the account number, but chances are he will just start complaining, telling me to "go ask obama". It's honestly like talking to a 10 year old (he smoked too much pot as a kid =/). I sent in the dispute, told them I was just an authorized user. How much crap am I going to get from this. Clearly my credit score is bad but that's because the ONLY thing on my credit report is this very large (40k debt) that has ~3 months past due. Beyond that, Equifax and Transunion also says I am like (negative) 207% of my maximum credit left available. (Experian says I have 100% left (as I have personally taken out no loans, no credit cards, no anything really). Any advice on what I should do if I cant get the bank to remove me and these bureaus don't remove it? Should I even bother with a lawyer? I personally have had no issues. Been in college for the last 4 years and have had no issues with nonpayment of bills. Lived in the same apartment for 3 years w/ no problems. Could it come down to me having to pay my fathers debt?
I called Equifax and asked wtf the deal was. The guy said they had me as an authorized user (seemed like he knew what the deal was as he said "you dispute that you are just an authorized user").... He started another dispute (I am a little worried there) and I called the bank and told them "i am just an authorized user". Is there any reason they wouldn't remove it, given the fact that I am just an authorized user, and have no responsibility to pay the debt? The bank told me "you are an authorized user", the credit report says "authorized user", i never signed a thing, and the guy I talked to on the phone said "yes our system shows you as just an authorized user"... Are there any problems any of you foresee?
Yes. You're not authorized to make changes to HIS account. Catch22, yes. But they have legitimate legs to stand on. You're going to have to get your father to take you off. But I'd be much more worried about the delinquent $40K debt, though. It's a killer. How did you get to be an authorized user in the first place?
Is something wrong with the wording, and that is why these things keep getting declined. I just got the results for the second dispute and called (this one said the same thing as the last). I asked her what the dispute claimed and she said over the phone the previous two disputed that "it wasn't my account". (The two previous individuals told me over the phone that I was disputing that I was only an authorized user)... She started a 3rd dispute saying that 'I am not liable for the payment of the account and that I am only an authorized user'... Why wont these things go through.. I thought "authorized user" disputes were simple. Just say, you are just an authorized user... BTW, bank wont remove me from the account. Credit card has already been closed. BTW this is only equifax (at the moment) the original trans union dispute hasn't been returned year and experian never listed this account. What is the issue here. Are they just wording the dispute wrong? What exactly should I say, if god forbid I have to do a 4th dispute with equifax??
Disputing that you are an authorized user does nothing. What the CRAs and some folks here are telling you is that there is nothing to dispute. You ARE an authorized user. The creditor is REPORTING that you ARE an authorized user. They are reporting accurate information, which they are required by law to do. When people say authorized user accounts are easy to get rid of, what they mean is that all you have to do is have the account holder contact the creditor and remove you as an authorized user. Then you dispute that you are not an authorized user. The CRA checks with the creditor, they say you are not an authorized user, and the tradeline disappears. But in this case, the bank won't remove you as an authorized user, so you aren't going to get this off your credit report. It is reporting accurately.
Honestly, a simple "Not Mine" approach works in these situations because it isn't your account. If you want to put some lipstick on it, write to them and say "I am not responsible for repayment of this account insofar as I am merely an authorized user thus, it is not my account and accordingly, I demand that this account tradeline be deleted.
I tried the "not responsible for repayment" dispute. I understand I am an authorized user, but didn't know that you they couldn't trash somebodies credit for that. I signed nothing. My pops called, had them put my name on the card (and maybe he gave them my SSN). If he knew Obama's SSN he could have his as an authorized user as well.... BTW, I heard back from TransUnion. They said "the item you are disputing does not exist on your credit report". Kind of funny, seeing how I pulled it up and looked right at it. Hopefully the monthly report (new one on the 2nd of April) will show it was removed =/. Quick questions, if the bureaus do not remove this, how long before the account no longer contribute negatively to my credit score? Would a lawyer be able to handle this easily and if so how much might I expect to pay a lawyer?
I would again suggest that you try simply "not mine" but, in writing. If that fails, as a lawyer I can tell you that you're looking at about $500.00 or roughly thereabout for writing a letter to the creditor directly (the CRA's will not accept communications from the a third party even if said party is an attorney). If you've suffered real damages, you should consult with a skilled consumer protection attorney in your state and sue. You've hooked the furnisher under s-2b and the credit reporting agencies as well. Google consumer protection lawyer for the town or state in which you live.
