Help!! Resp 4 Credit B4 Turned 18?

If you lied on the applications that you were 18 when you weren't, then I believe you can and should be held responsible. I mean the idea that you can lie about your age to get credit, go charge it to the max and then decide well I'm not 18 yet so I don't have to pay it back is pretty pathetic. Why did you do this?

 

The contract is not enforceable. The burden, I believe, is on the lender, to verify statements made by the borrower on the application. That is what they call underwriting. I agree it is a shabby, silly, dumb thing to do, but most companies will just let it go, because they are as much at fault as the minor who lied about his age.

It is probably a crime of some sort, but again, nobody wants to get into it. Once the CRA accepts proof of your real age, the accounts will probably get shifted around to other collection agencies, and you will definitely have a royal screwed up mess, with different dates of birth being reported and the accounts being sold, and then you have to fight the battle all over again.

Dumb, dumb, dumb. You should have just asked for a bigger allowance, or gotten a part time job.

 

Sounds almost like another just turned 18 years old person we all know here. Matty where are you? Maybe you'd like to comment.

 

I so agree!

 

Eric,
save your money on a lawyer, and accept the $500 settlement. Make sure you get this in writing though. It will look better than having 8 years of collection. You could try to have it deleted with payment, offer this in writing stating that you were underage when the card was issued, but you are willing to pay the settlement for deletion of the account. State it in such a way that you agree that in return for deletion you will not pursue their mistake using a contract lawyer. doing this now will save you alot of headaches in the long run. Chances are once its paid, even if the CA doesn't delete it, it will be fairly easy to have removed from your credit report.

 

So it is the lenders fault. You had nothing to do with it? You didn't initiate it? Your logic is flawed. Lying on a credit application can be considered fraud if the creditor wishes to pursue it. You are lucky if they don't. You need to rethink your logic.

 

LKH, it's a point of law, just like the SOL. It doesn't matter that he did a stupid thing. The lender will be held responsible also.

I see this guy in the same category as people who in ignorance of the consequences, ran up too much debt and then defaulted. Not a smart thing to do, but why beat them up?

He said he did it, now he wants to know the solution to this dilemma he has created. Why are you reacting so harshly to this, when there are folks on here who just decided they would rather not pay, and figured out a way to do that and get it off their reports?

I am not getting it, obviously.

 

This reminds me of the hilarious story of the woman who accepted a pre-approved credit card offer sent to her dog - she actually got a card issued in the dog's name. If she had used it (she didn't, she was a writer, and did it to write the story) and then defaulted, she would have been wrong, but would the card company have done anything - no, they would have written the debt off and sold it to a collection agency in a batch of defaulted debts.

The lender has a responsibility to underwrite. If they don't, they can get burned. In their frenzy to get more business, some of them do not bother. Then they are sometimes going to get what they deserve.

My opinion.

 

I don't see him trying so much to get a solution as to get away with it (fraud). I for one don't want to be a part of helping him play this out completely. If someone else wishes to or sees it differently, I say to each his or her own. I'm sorry, Breeze, we don't disagree much but on this one, I Gently stand on the opposite ground with LKH. I'm solely reacting to this situation and not based on others here.

 

Breeze, what bothers me is him trying to place all the blame on the creditors because they didn't verify his dob.

 

LOL. Eric, we're not fighting, we're discussing. LKH and NanaC and I are friends.

We just have different opinions about this particular situation. I am inclined to give people whatever information it is they ask for.

Glad you didn't mind me calling it dumb, LOL. You have got yourself into a dilemma, I think. If you can pay them, it would be in your best interests. If you just don't want to, that's not nice. Either way, I am not your judge (or anyone's).

 

Actually, Eric, you need to talk to Lizardking - he will tell you how to make THEM pay YOU. hahahahaha!!!

 

And, that is exactly what I gave you! It might not have been what you wanted to hear, however.

 

As a mother who raised 2 teenage girls...I'm probably a little more forgiving of mistakes in judgment by teenagers. The good thing is that at 21 he is responsible enough to try and fix the problem. I can't criticize someone who is offered a "deal" to settle for less than they owe....as there are plenty of people on this board who have done the same thing.

As a paralegal....my opinion on this is that underage people cannot be held responsible for contracts....the law certainly does come into play re:fraudelent statements on the credit card apps...so my advice would be to try and settle...and when you do ask for complete deletion of the tradeline....for the amount they are owed I really don't think they want litigation...as it costs more to litigate than to settle.

Also don't lose any sleep over what they can do to you....there isn't any judge I have personally known that would throw the book at someone who made a mistake when they were 17 years old....if it would even get to that point. The credit card companies are being criticized as we speak for the offers to college students with no income....how they trap them into outrageous debt and then chase them for 7 years or more to collect. So I do agree that even issuing cards to 18 year olds with no source of income is not moral on the part of cc issuers.

If I were you I would try a validation letter....basically to see if they have a copy of the credit card app where you signed the line that you were over 18....if they have that then I wouldn't try and get it deleted using the "under 18" defense....I would probably try and settle for the $500 and chalk it up to valuable life experience at a young age.

Good luck...keep posting....we were all teenagers at one time...but sometimes we forget....or we are so used to telling our own teenagers that we were models of good behavior (a ploy that never worked for me as my daughters would laff and say"right, mom, child of the 60s and a perfect angel...hahaha") I think it is very admirable of you at 21 to want and fix your credit probs...

An experienced mom,

clc