Why is My Husbands credit card debt on my credit report!! (pay, debts)
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If anyone can help with a credit question....
I recently went through forclosure and know my credit is bad, but I just checked my credit report and found that my husband's credit card debt is also showing. Not all his credit cards, but his highest debts are on there. Is it because he had me on as a user? It was under his social security number, not mine, and I never signed any paperwork. He had decided it would be good for me to have one.
Is the only way to fix this if he files for bankruptcy? Can I do anything? There is no way I could afford to settle a debt over 15,000.00
If you are an authorized user, SOME cards will report on your report. AMEX is one that does. This can be good or bad, but bad in your situation.
Not sure how a BK works in that regards. If the acct is still open/active and hasnt been closed by the credit card, he can have your name deleted. If it is already closed and listed as a bad debt, I dont think your name can be removed and the derogatory info will just continue.
If you have just gone thru foreclosure, then you might want to at least check out a BK. I guess it is better to do it all close to the same time, so you start fresh. However, BK is a big decision to make so check out all your options.
In many states, your (spousal) credit is tied to your partner's under "fair credit" statutes.
These work to allow you the benefit of the line of credit that your spouse has established and not discriminate against you. The original concept was that one spouse might be the primary "breadwinner", and the other have little or no income at all, and sought to establish that credit in your name, too, based upon the spouse's creditworthiness and income. You could literally apply for credit in your name based solely upon the creditworthiness of your spouse, and not be denied.
Unfortunately, this "fairness" works both ways. If your spouse has bad credit, you get to enjoy the consequences of that situation, too.
Specifically, in Colorado, even if you are legally separated pending a divorce, or even after your divorce is final ... your ex wife can go out and obtain credit solely in her name without your knowledge or consent, and the credit issuer will hold the former spouse accountable on the credit line when the ex wife doesn't make the payments. You don't want to ask me how I know, but it cost me over $12,000 to clear off a spending spree from my ex, and I was unable to have any credit issuer cancel her line of credit upon which I was making the payments! Seeking legal counsel, it was essentially determined that it was less expensive to pay off her outside of the joint debts than to fight them through the courts ... convinced me that "justice" is something that happens only on TV shows, and not in the real world of the courtroom.
Yes, if you are an authorized user on the card, all his credit info (well, most institutions do this...) will show on your report. It doesn't have to be a joint account to show in this case.
One day while stationed in Fort Sill back in the early 90's, my husband was preparing to go "in the field". He had a ratty pair of sneakers for PT in the morning and I decided to take his Sears card and go buy him a pair. The sales associate refused to let me use his card unless I was added as an authorized user. It didn't matter that I had a power of attorney to conduct his financial affairs...I had to be put on as an authorized user.
Within a couple of months, I had a credit report showing me as having a Sears card. It went back to when I was in grade school (he's older than me). LOL According to my report, I had credit since I was a little girl.
Many times parents will add their children as authorized users on their cards. That way the child, when they reach 18, already has outstanding credit. In some cases it could be bad credit...but the point is, you can be added and it will reflect the history of that account as though it were yours and yours only.
I have read that some (scams!) places that will charge a fee to hook you up as an authorized user to someone with a high FICO score. They charge huge fees to help "clean up" someone's credit. Many times the person with good credit will not even know they have been duped!
My cousins bankruptcy was on my mom's credit report. It got tied in when my cousin was living with my mom for a short time and for some reason they just linked it to that address.
I think I just read that the whole authorized user is being phased out by the credit report agencies.
Yes you are correct.
Here is a snippet from the below link
"Now, even though the payment history is still reported, it will no longer be used to calculate a credit score.
The credit scoring firms were faced with a difficult situation when piggyback providers started arranging for people to temporarily become authorized users on strangers' accounts with the idea of improving their credit score. If a credit score loses its predictive powers then it becomes ineffective in the credit approval process.
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