I have a clean credit report after a decade. I had in the past a couple accounts charged off that were deleted from the reports after the 7 year period. I got a few credit cards as authorized user on my wife's accounts. After the charge-offs fell off my credit reports, I got 4 cards in my own name. it was like pulling teeth to get them. All of the card issuers said I was only an authorized user, so they won't give me credit. But after much persuation, they did and I have been paying all of them in full, on time ever since building up my credit. I have had my own cards for about 2 years now, in addition to my wife's account cards. My question is this: Would closing the Authorized user cards improve my credit score? My score is kind of low and they mention the fact that I don't have long history as one of the reasons. So, they are discounting 4 years of on-time payments as authorized user. Is there any reason to have these cards? Thanks.
Authorized Users don't show up on your credit file.... You should ask them to add you as a Joint. Since you're wife and you have a long history, she needs to write a letter to the company asking them to add you as a joint, include your information and ss#.. They will do it, Credit card co's like to have as many responsible people as possible listed for an account..... The Credit Card Co you're talking about should have a form letter to add AU, or convert AU to joint...
another option is, if all 4 au accounts are being reported and you want to find out if removing them will have an impact, why not close one (have you removed) and see what happens to your score.
backspace, You need to quit telling everyone this! Authorized users may or may not show up on your credit report, depending on whether the credit card company reports AUs and if you share an address with the card holder. And probably some other things that I'm not aware of. But Authorized Users can, do, and are frequently reported on your credit file. It's also been used as a side method of credit rebuilding. I personally am an AU on 3 of my wifes credit cards and they all report to all 3 CRAs. If in you are in doubt of something being a fact, don't state it as such.
Pat,I second the motion.I am listed on almost all of the wives accounts and visa versa.That's one wife,no I don't live in Utah
You are very wrong on this statement. I am AU on several of my mother's accounts. Different address, different last name. But...it helped me to rebuild my credit because I got the whole history she already had established. This is the 2nd post I've read where you are giving false information about this issue.
Hey Guys i'm sorry, I guess the AU reporting has changed since i was a Manager of a Private Label credit card. The AU and Joint reporting were definite issues then. I apologize if i've got anyone upset or challenged anyone. It goes to show I should read up on changes that affect credit, and. Gathering from all the responses reminding me i'm wrong. This board has been a great find and again my information wasn't intended to guide anyone in the wrong direction. I ADMIT I'M WRONG... I'M SORRY
pcotten, You won't have to close the accounts. Why don't you try this. One at a time, starting with the account with the least amount of history, call the creditor and inform them that you are no longer an authorized user on those accounts and would like that fact reflected on your credit profile. You are not responsible for the debt and you are no longer authorized to use it. Once the tradeline is removed, check your score and see what the effect is at that time. Those tradelines do affect your ratios and that may be one of the issues for your score. Don't close them. Maybe after removing just two tradelines, your score will increase and you will still have two older AU accounts helping the age factor of your profile. KK
Good. And another siuggestion is: start with the highest debt ratio first, (remember, you want to assess the impact of the account's removal--this will give the most bang for the buck if it has any effect at all.) Then, even after your credit report shows it's removed, wait a week or so to access the change in your score. (Sometimes there's a lag of a few days before the score "reacts".)
Did they change their AU reporting, or is it only for spouses? I'm an AU on my mom's Discover and it hasn't ever shown on any of my reports. I thought maybe the account was just too new, but it's on hers already for a few months now. I've been looking but not found a thread that has a list of cards that report AU's. Maybe I should start one...
My mom who lives in a different state put me on her Sears and Best Buy card. Sears did report to one bureau (Equifax) and it made a big difference. Still haven't gotten it to show up on Experian or TU (I just recently wrote them a letter). I called Best Buy and they do NOT report AU's. So Sears does, and Best Buy does not. Mommy2cats
Thanks. My mother has added me to Discover, Sears, Home Depot, and Target Visa. All are at least two years old, with the Target card aquired in '98. Assuming at least the Sears card will report, this will hopefully be the boost I needed. My credit history is too short, having just gotten my first real credit (LOC) in May, and a secured card in July. I have to find out why the card isn't being reported though, but I also have a Target guest card from July as well, so it helps, or will soon. Just the LOC going to 3 months age seems to have had a good effect on my scores, boosting them by about 20-30 points.
By the way, I called Sears a few minutes ago. My mom added me to her account - and it DID show up on Equifax in mid-August - although not complete. (no credit limit, wrong date of open, etc.) It didn't show up on Experian or TU. I called (had to input my mom's zip code) and talked to a really nice rep. He went through everything with me and put in the request to have it updated with full info with all three bureaus. Now hopefully it will! The open date is REALLY important to me as it's 1975 (Equifax has it wrongly reported as 1995). Those extra 20 years should really help. Mommy2cats
Roger that! I'm an AU on my FIL's only Mastercard and while it's nice having a 23+ year old tradeline, it's a pain because it shows a 30-day from about 8 months ago. Note that his statement address is our house and the bank was never told my SSAN when he ordered the card...yet they knew where to report it...Right now, the ownership code says "U"ndetermined.
Mommy2cats: How long did it take for the Sears account to show up on Equifax? My father recently added me as AU on his. He has had the card for over 10 years...it would be a huge benefit to me if it showed that way on my report! Do you remember the rep's name you spoke to at Sears?
It took about a month and a half. I wrote a letter asking them to report it. I did that because my last name is different from my parents and my address is also different so I thought it might be difficult to get it reported. It showed up about two weeks after that. But it wasn't complete, and never showed up on Experian or TU. The rep's name was Tony - didn't get the last name. I think if you are calling about something and not complaining - they're all proably pretty nice. It's worth a try. I don't know how long this update will take - I'll post when it changes on Equifax, and shows up on Experian and TU. Mommy2cats
