Hi, all the information on here has been so helpful. I just pulled my report and was pleasantly surprised to see scores in the mid 700's. It also though made me wonder about my handicapped daughter. She doesn't live with me. She is under 21 but over 18. I decided to pull up her report to see if the owners of the group home where she is staying is abusing their authorithy. Well, Experian would not allow me to. I think maybe because I used my credit card. However, I couldn't use hers since she is NOT suppose to have one. That was the point of looking to see if credit was established for her. I don't know if this has been presented on this board before, however could really use some suggestions on how to inquire if she has had credit estatblished. She cannot read, write, and speaks at a 2 year old level. Do you think I can call up the different companies and ask them? Please help. Deb
I'm sorry to hear of your situation, but honestly, no, I don't think you can call up to get the info. Why? Because there is no information in a credit file descibing her physical issues. All they are going to care about is that she is an adult and someone else, related or not, is trying to access her private credit report. Does she even have a social security number? I think the best you can expect is to type a letter and ask for a copy via the mail. If the address that you're requesting it to be sent it different than what they have on file, you can expect a return letter asking for proof that you're the person who is requesting the file... drivers license, bank statement and/or utiltiy bill. Understanding your situation... those may be hard/impossible to provide... Finally, remember, there are three major national creditor reporting agencies who maintain seperate files. Just because you have a good clean file with one, does not mean it the same with the others. You should check all three if you want to know the full story.
I assume you have power of attorney or guardianship or some kind of legal document proving that you can handle your daughter's affairs. I would take it, along with proof of her identity and proof of your identity, down to the nearest office of the CRA's you want to check, and tell them you want a consultation/conference, whatever they call it, to check to make sure no one is taking advantage of your daughter. As an insurance agent, I can tell you, if you have legal documents authorizing you to handle her affairs, you can do anything she would be able to do if she had the capacity.
Just apply in her name and when the denial letter come ask for a copy or your(her) credit report, include the denial letter and an ID or utility bill.
DON'T DO THAT... If you have POWER OF ATTORNEY, you can get credit reports, if NOT, you would have to get a "COURT ORDER"...
Excellent advice, breeze & George. Don't apply for her, you'd be commiting fraud (unless you signed the application with POA). Due to her condition, you I doubt any debt (if it happens) run-up in her name won't be binding. -mj
Yup! Exactly. I have seen nightmare situations arise where a parent signed a disabled child's signature to a legal document. There is no reason to do this. Go about it the right way - it's worth the little bit of extra trouble. Interesting note - Capital One has issued automatic $200 limit cards to people receiving SSI benefits. Now you know that is inviting trouble in this sort of situation. I worked in one of the insurance call centers and we talked to people who were obviously mentally/cognitively disabled, who had cards and didn't know it.
thank you for your help. I was thinking about writing the three major companies. She has no concept of credit, however I don't think it is right to have people abuse their authority Deb
Breeze, I don't have a power of attorney. I really never thought of getting one. I thought as long as she is still in school an under 23 that I still maintain legal right. I actually have been looking into this and found that to be untrue. I am currently seeking "conservership". It is very expensive but is is long term solution. I think Power of Attorney to obtain the Credit Report is a good immediate solution. I got nervous when I tried to pull up the report and it showed the group home as her "primary address". She has only been living there for 2 years. Her primary should be my home. This led me to believe that she could be having credit cards or other things opened up in her name and I would never know. Again, thanks to everyone that has assisted me. I will let you know how things turn out. Deb
