     lfj | Wednesday, December 29, 1999 - 03:52 am 
My wife declared chapter 7 about 1 year ago. I was an "authorized user" on one of her credit cards and the bankruptcy is showing on my report. How can they report "authorized users" when I am not responsibile for the loan? What can I do if anything to correct this? Thank You |
| Gary | Wednesday, December 29, 1999 - 09:54 am
Got a copy of your credit report? Who from? Does it show you filed BK? Did you sign an agreement to be responsible for the card and payments? Did you ever use the card? |
| Christine Baker | Wednesday, December 29, 1999 - 10:34 am
Dispute the bankruptcy.
If you didn't file, it's not supposed to be there.
Christine |
| Sean | Wednesday, December 29, 1999 - 10:37 am
Authorized users, they report. Since you have no legal obligation for the debt, who knows why? But they do.
Basically your wife filed bankruptcy and now that one entry on your report says something like "CH7 Bankruptcy" or "Included in Bankruptcy" or something really obnoxious that's totally not your fault.
Try disputing it, but the likely problem is that they'll check that account and say, "Yep, it really was included in bankruptcy and yep, Mr. Lfj was an authorized signer."
Try contacting the original creditor and offering them something of value to remove your name from the entire thing. They might be willing considering you weren't involved with the thing. |
| kristy welsh | Thursday, December 30, 1999 - 03:16 am
I wouldn't offer the orginal creditor anything but a lawsuit. They cannot report you as an authorized user on your credit report. Write them immediately (registered mail), copy your state attorney general, and the FTC. Copying these agencies means that you send them a copy of your letter. That should most definitely get action. |
| Sean | Thursday, December 30, 1999 - 03:44 am
Kristy:
I'd be interested to know what portion of the FCRA (or state law) bans the reporting of authorized users. |
| kristy welsh - creditinfocenter.com | Thursday, December 30, 1999 - 05:42 am
Under FCRA:
Section § 603. Definitions; rules of construction [15 U.S.C. § 1681a]
section:
(l) Firm offer of credit or insurance. The term "firm offer of credit or insurance"
means any offer of credit or insurance to a consumer that will be honored if the
consumer is determined, based on information in a consumer report on the
consumer, to meet the specific criteria used to select the consumer for the offer,
except that the offer may be further conditioned on one or more of the following:
--> (1) The consumer being determined, based on information in the consumer's application for the credit or insurance, to meet specific criteria bearing on credit worthiness or insurability, as applicable, that are established
------->(A) before selection of the consumer for the offer; and
------->(B) for the purpose of determining whether to extend credit or insurance pursuant to the offer.
-->(2) Verification
-------->(A) that the consumer continues to meet the specific criteria used to select the consumer for the offer, by using information in a consumer report on the consumer, information in the consumer's application for the credit or
insurance, or other information bearing on the credit worthiness or insurability of the consumer; or
-------->(B) of the information in the consumer's application for the credit or insurance, to determine that the consumer meets the specific criteria bearing on credit worthiness or insurability.
-->(3) The consumer furnishing any collateral that is a requirement for the extension of
the credit or insurance that was
-------->(A) established before selection of the consumer for the offer of credit or
insurance; and
-------->(B) disclosed to the consumer in the offer of credit or insurance.
----end of FCRA snippet
In other words, only information on credit issued to a consumer is allowed. If you are an authorized user, you do not fall under these categories, you are not responsible for the debt and did not receive credit. |
| voigtkampff | Thursday, December 30, 1999 - 09:47 am
Maybe I misread your citation Kristy, but I didn't see the language that you referred to. I admit to reading it lazily, but it seems instead to define "firm offer of credit or insurance". Could you give the lazy a little more direction.
I was always under the impression (because it happens so commonly) that as long as a consumer really is authorized to use an account, then it would be accurate, and therefore OK to list this authorization on the report. And if the account that the consumer accurately is authorized to use, is also accurately involved in a someone else's bankruptcy, the it is also OK to disclose that fact. I would love to hear different because this definitely hurts my clients.
As I vaguely recall, rather than give an exclusive list on what a credit report is ALLOWED to disclose, the FCRA instead states a list of what a credit report is NOT allowed to disclose - like race, religion, medical condition, etc. Along those lines, on one of the other topics yesterday, someone stated that credit reports indicate income? Is that true? |
| kristy welsh - creditinfocenter.com | Thursday, December 30, 1999 - 10:49 am
From what I read, and of course I may be wrong, section 603 refers to what can go on your credit report. They are saying firm offer of credit or insurance are the things which can go on and they are defining this. An authorized user doesn't have credit on this account and it's only the signor that is responsible. So, in essence, if an account on which you are an authorized user shows up on your report, it would be someone else's credit (the signor on the account). I've had lots of readers successfully challenge this to both the creditors and the bureaus and have accounts in which they were authorized users removed.
About income from your credit report, I'd say the only indication you could use to calculate income is the amount of total monthly payments people have every month by totaling up their accounts. Of course this would be totally inaccurate method, but I guess it's a feel. That's the only way a creditor would know anything about your income unless you disclosed it on an application. Then they could calculate your credit score using it. |
| don | Saturday, January 01, 2000 - 06:07 am
It should be easy enough to take off with a
dispute. I've have the reverse situation with
my BK and my wife as an authorized user on my
cards. It was taken right off after her dispute. |
