Can anyone give me any info on whether creditors are required to report to the CRAs in both names of a married couple if dual reporting is requested? One spouse is the primary cardholder and the other an authorized user. Thanks in advance.
Not sure I understand your question, but my experience is this: my wife is not on any of my credit cards, but EX list her first name under "spouse's first name". I you are an AU on her account(or if it's a joint account) the account will show up with a line referncing of or the other. It will not show as "husband" or "wife". Don't know if this answers your question.
I'm sorry I didn't make the question clearer. I'll try again. My question is: MUST the payment history of the account be reported in both names if the couple REQUESTS it to be reported in both names? Or can the creditor simply refuse to report in both names if one spouse is the primary account holder and the other is an AU? In other words, is having the history reported in both names the option of the creditor or the consumer? Thanks for the input though.
This doesn't seem to be very clear in the statutes. It says that married couples who both use an account should have it reported...but it doesn't specify between joint and au. I haven't been able to track anything specific down on this, but based on actions of Direct Merchants Bank...Au's do not have to be reported. L
DUH - I got it now! Generally, a CC will report tradelines on both the CR of the AU/Jointee and the primary. Usually this question is asked the other way around "I am no longer an AU, how can I get this negative tradeline off my CR?" Have you requested this of your CC company? There may be a difference between an AU and a joint. Aren't both indivuals resposible for the debt if it's a joint; therefore justification to report on both individuals CR's?
Yup, we did ask Direct Merchants to also report the tradeline on my credit report. The response was that they will not report for authorized users...only for joint cardholders. I don't have enough information to argue with them. L
