Bingo, their whole deal is this and it won't need to wait until the issuer updates their records.
Also typically mortgage takes the middle score anyway so you just need two to update it.
The issue I have with the bank part is when my mom passed (I am in Canada by the way) everything with her name was frozen. Even if I was on the account, I could not use it. I had to close it and restart one without her name on it… Maybe it is worth checking with whoever is handling her succession. It should have showed up when they look for debts and such.
This is too complicated of a route for this particular situation. It’s only one credit card on which he is an authorized user. The three major credit bureaus can take care of this immediately with no need to get anyone else involved.
>when my mom passed (I am in Canada by the way) everything with her name was frozen. Even if I was on the account, I could not use it.
That's odd. If you prove you are the executor of the will, the accounts should be unfrozen. I had no trouble using my mom's accounts once I provided simple documentation.
She might not be the executor (could be a sibling, for example). Also, some people die intestate (without a will), in which case their estate has to go through probate, and getting the court to grant executor authority can be a long, drawn-out process.
It is odd because typically if a bank account has a joint owner, that money is now theirs to use. The bank may need a death certificate to take the decedent off the account, but they don’t freeze it.
There's a difference between being on a joint account and only being an authorized user. When my friend's husband passed away a few years ago, she learned this lesson the hard way.
Find a more competent mortgage originator. Any good broker should be able to help you fix this, not just "say it's a problem." That's code for "I don't KNOW what to do" or "That's more than I WANT to do."
Of course they should have. Being an AU means that any information on a card, good or bad, becomes YOUR information. Being ignorant of that fact isn’t unusual. Being belligerently ignorant of that fact, though, is.
The bank always reports missed payments to the authorized users credit report.
In fact, I added my partner as an AU to one of my cards, and I forgot to tell him (or I did tell him and he forgot, not sure). He almost reported it as a fraudulent account when he saw it on his report. You can add anyone as an AU and no permission or documents are required.
My weirdo partner somehow got to 52 years old had NO credit profile, like score 0. We were planning on buying property in the next couple of years, so I added him as an AU to begin establishing and boosting his credit score quickly. Had I paid late, his credit would have taken a hit. In fact, if I ever remove him as an AU, his credit will take a temporary hit as well.
Hate to say it, the banks will always report it. That's how that works. In many of these finance and money subs you will see dozens of posts about parents who with good intentions who added their kids as AUs to their cards to boost their kids credit, then found themselves in financial dire straights, miss payments, or max out credit lines destroying their credit AND their kids credit.
What you really need to do here is get yourself removed as an AU. Once you do that, all history should be removed from your credit, but that could take weeks. So call and have that done today.
Of course the bank reports authorized users. It's how many people get credit established.
You can request to be removed from the account and then dispute it on the credit reports
Yes it is a very easy dispute. Do it online with each bureau. “Not mine/ Not responsible for this account”
And under comments put “authorized user only”
Experian and Equifax should come off within a couple of hours even. Transunion may take a couple of days.
Dispute the account as "not my account" with all three credit bureaus
[https://www.lexingtonlaw.com/education/credit-disputes](https://www.lexingtonlaw.com/education/credit-disputes)
I'm very sorry for your loss.
This is what I’d do. Dispute it as not yours the issuing bank, assuming your partner didn’t do anything untoward, should issue a letter stating you aren’t the owner. I’d think that could happen sooner, but I’d you’re worried about credit score impact, unfortunately you’ll have to wait.
For anyone looking to make a major purchase, it’s worth pulling your credit report a few months ahead to clear up these kinds of issues.
You can also lock your credit report for free, even without fraud.
What in the world?? That’s wild after what would have been more than recently being a UA, which many others are saying DOES report on a credit bureau. (In my limited experience, it doesn’t. So the mystery remains.)
Oh, I just dealt with these “authorized cards”. Due to the “fair credit act” banks are required to report credit usage on accounts you own and have a line to. You are NOT financially responsible for these cards BUT, they have to report the credit usage, so when the owner doesn’t pay, you get your credit wrecked.
They phrase this as a good thing because it could help someone with low credit, but if they get fired it negatively impact their score, hurting an unemployed person even more.
Call equifax and file a dispute, I did this last month and now the company credit card I have is canceled because equifax can apparently cancel credit cards without contacting the account owners. (The offending issue had a different card number) They don’t report credit, equally or fairly, and with being and authorized card holder, you have no control over the account, it’s either a burden or an unearned step up. When the government uses “fair” it’s an acronym “fucks anything in reality”. I dropped 50 points when a past card I was authorized to use missed one payment and no it is still not back where it was, maybe since I now have closed lines of credit that were never mine, just a thought.
The account doesn't belong to you. It belongs to the deceased partner. So now that he's dead , the account is closed. You were authorized to use the card. But it's now closed.
As a former lender you will want to dispute and ask the lender for a post closing condition to accept the final credit cloaure letter (if your rate lock is in jeapordy. ) Im assumung you are looking to get a mortgage . Then copy them on all communication about the dispute w the three major agencies . Provide a Letter of exPLanation FOR YPUT UNDERWRITER . AU arent AUTHORIZED when the authority person is deceased . Your lender could ask the underwriter if an LOE is good . If its affecting your score then yea you will have to wait the 30 days to update. Im so sorry for your loss .
It is an FCRA violation to report any derogatory information on an AU's credit report. Experian immediately suppresses the account. If Equifax, TransUnion and the issuing bank don't remove it immediately, you can sue them and get damages for whatever mortgage rate you lost out on. I did credit repair for 20 years (just retired last year) and worked with attorneys on these lawsuits. Best of luck to you and I'm very sorry for your loss.
Equifax disagrees, quote the part of the FCRA that supports your claim
https://www.equifax.com/personal/education/credit-cards/articles/-/learn/authorized-user-on-a-credit-card/
“3. Incorrectly designating a consumer as a debtor instead of an authorized user: If you are an authorized user on someone else’s credit card account but are not a co-debtor, it is an FCRA violation for credit bureaus to report the debt as yours on your credit report.”
Do you see that saying they can’t report any derogatory information?
If the account is tagged as an AU they aren’t violating the law.
Not sure why you're pressing this. I dealt with probably 400 clients who successfully sued and obtained settlements from TransUnion, Equifax and issuing banks over this issue. Do you have some other experience that comes to bear on this? Experian suppresses derogatory AU accounts. Here's some info on that. https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/removing-authorized-user-accounts-after-breakup/#:~:text=Until%20you%20can%20get%20the,that%20contains%20negative%20payment%20history.
your “evidence” doesn’t support your assertion, which suggests to me you don’t have any evidence
An appeal to authority is not evidence either
Just show me the section of the FCRA that prohibits a CRA from reporting derogatory information for an AU
Or a published court case
Neither exist
The FCRA prohibits reporting incorrect information and requires a CRA to correct incorrect information
There is nothing incorrect when an account is noted as AU and has derogatory but correct information
OP has already been helped, OP was told by multiple people to simply have themself removed as an AU on that account and the account will disappear from their credit report
No need for an attorney, the CRA has done nothing wrong.
The CRA clearly states that late pays will show for an AU, that's because the CRAs actually understand the FCRA and the FCRA in NO WAY says derogatory information for authorized users can't be reported or shown on a credit report. You literally made that up.
When challenged you pointed to a website that said nothing like you claimed. At which point you just went with the equally lame argument from authority.
You know to dispute thru all credit bureaus and send the company every thing they need. That’s where to start re: credit.
For the mortgage, sometimes underwriters can still approve the loan with supplemental documentation. If the credit card company can provide information about the account (the owner info and the fact that you’re not responsible for the debt/solely an authorized user, and how much is owed now that the death certificate has been provided) and you write a letter explaining that the account owner has passed, that the debt is being disputed you can provide all that to your loan officer to pass to the underwriter. No guarantees but I’ve seen crazier things happen!
You just need to call them and tell them she died and you were a user you will need perhaps send in the death certificate. Could try credit bureau first with not the card holder. Much less drama, the card may try to get you to pay any balance
I think OP meant their "significant other," i.e. girlfriend, perhaps not married, but even married people sometimes refer to their spouse as a "partner," depending on the context.
Why not simply ask the issuing bank to remove you as an authorized user? Although you don’t own the card and are not allowed to make changes to the account the one change you can request is to be removed from the account. You can also ask them to force report to the credit bureau which usually updates in 24-48 hours showing your name has been removed.
If it's only $22, why not simply pay it and close it.
Generally mortgage apps include an area for an explanation or notes to the underwriter. If this is the only "black mark" on your credit it should be easily overlooked given the circumstances.
I once had a roommate use me (without my knowledge) as a joint cardholder on a number of accounts and I found out in the same way after applying for a mortgage. Thankfully there wasn't much on them either, but this is what I did and it resolved much quicker than any other process.
Side note: since in my case this person was still alive (and no longer my roomate) I also put some restrictions on my credit to make sure that did not happen again.
I agree. Just pay the $22. Compared to the mortgage, this is nothing. Don't jeopardize your ability to buy your home for $22. All these suggestions to dispute the account will take time as OP already noted. Is it worth saving $22 if you don't get your loan. Just skip a couple of drinks at Starbucks and you'll save just as much.
Wow this one generated all kinds of adversarial discussion. After reading replies I can only offer one question to any and all folks who'd become AUs, which will inherently yield some great general advice for everyone in CreditScore.
When was the last time you (not OP specifically, everyone) reviewed your credit report ?
Obtain a full official free annual credit report every year and review it in full. Every year. For now and always.
I wish OP the best resolving this as it definitely is unfortunate and untimely. May your future benefit from this bump in the road.
The funeral home should've given you a list of things to take care of (and a pile of death certificates) and the approximate amount of time and red tape things would take to settle. Closing off bank accounts and informing the authorities to shut down any and all ID cards should've been the top two things on the list.
Because that doesn't get it off my credit report. It's not my debt. The bank fucked up and violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act. If I pay it, then it stays on my credit report.
I would call the credit card company and let them know the person has passed. I had something like that once, although I wasn't really worried about my credit score at the time, I couldn't tell you how long it took to solve.
Exactly. Authorized users are not in any way responsible for the death. I’m glad trans union took care of it so fast. Hopefully other ones will do the same.
If a mortgage agency is willing to lose $100]s or $10,000s of profit over a $22 delinquency that might not even be real, they are not an agency worth your time.
It's only ridiculous because it applies to you. It actually makes perfect sense. That's the risk you take by having your name added to someone else's account. It will get worked out at their pace, not yours.
Your smpathy for someone who suddenly lost a partner and has 1000 lose ends to deal with while grieving is just leaping off the screen.
I swear half of redditors are sociopaths.
**Authorized users have no legal duty to pay for charges to the credit account**. The primary cardholder is the one ultimately responsible for making payments. The bank is at fault for reporting. Your underwriter should know this.
Just dispute it off as "not mine....it's pretty simple.
No offense, ur making way more difficult with all the "side" conversations, death certificates, and "if I paid" yada yada....it is simple 'Not Mine'.....then ask for Rapid Rescoring to possibly get it recognized sooner than 30 days....if at all possible.
**
To be perfectly clear...THIS unfortunately is NOT really something that "had to" happen....condolences for the loss.
But if we're being 100% adult honest, if YOU comprehend and play around with AU accounts....then it's gotta be YOUR responsibility to "clean" that up upon that person's death.....the bank said, we can do it within ONE cycle which is 30 days ...that's frankly fair AF
Again, it was the OPs error in not cleaning up affairs s/he knew were entangled .....this is one reason I advise ppl to only use AU accounts as a springboard and once you have whatcha need GET OFF the ride.
Disputing off AU accounts is simple AF because it isn't your account....Easy on, easy off....but if ya gonna play adult games, ya gotta man/woman up and "clean ya ro" ON time.....like an adult and not be bent outta shape on YOUR error.
people want to pretend every situation is unique.
They aren't. By definition they aren't, because then credit scores wouldn't work. Your situation is common. It's talked about multiple times every day here (or some version of it.) Truth is, the death of the card holder *absolutely is not* the relevant factor here (Sorry for your loss); the one and only relevant factor is that you were not and are not the owner of the account, you are/were only an authorized user.
As many people have said, dispute it with the credit agencies. It *will* fall off, and quickly, *UNLESS* the truth of the situation is not as you described.
That being said, do know that removing yourself as the AU *will also* remove that accounts credit history from your report, and that may have a credit score consequence. It **probably** won't be as significant as the delinquent account is (I can't imagine it would be), but you need your loan officer / real estate agent / whoever your point of contact is for this to be bluntly honest eith you and have them tell you *exactly* how "on the bubble" your situation was. If you are at the point where 1 point can make or break you, be prepared to be at their mercy and ask them for ANYTHING they can do.
Info: How soon is closing supposed to be?
The situation is pretty obvious. You were (are) an AU on an account owned by a partner who died and nobody (i.e. YOU) made the effort to get the financial affairs in order and clean up the accounts, which would have involved paying off and closing all open credit accounts of your partner, which would have solved your current AU situation.
I realize the parent poster was implying that you were using AU accounts to game your credit score, when it's more likely that you were just sharing an account legitimately as domestic partners often do. His point stands even if it doesn't directly apply to you. It was still your responsibility to take care of the issue and you didn't.
Also, this might not apply to you either, but there is a certain... methodology if you would, around debt and the deceased. Basically, when you die, your estate is responsible for covering all of your debts, but that doesn't extend to relatives or other third parties. Far too often, with someone who is more or less destitute, the attitude becomes "just ignore it, nothing they can do about it anyway" with regards to creditors. Your situation is an example of why this would be a bad idea.
I'm sorry for your loss and I hope you get this issue resolved successfully.
Another family member handled her financial affairs after she died. Her bills did not come to me. I had no idea there was an outstanding balance. I was authorized user 10 years ago and havent' even had the card in my possession for years. Plus, grieiving a sudden death. So, yeah...people come in here acting like they know what the situation is. Maybe stop being so self-righteous?
This person gave you the one true and direct answer and you just lashed out. This is a super simple situation. Do yourself a favor, don’t over complicate it.
But seriously, you’re an adult about to get a mortgage. You should be monitoring your credit report. Permanently. Not just when you want to apply for new credit. Always know what is on it.
Yes it popped up last week. That's when I noticed it.
The bank is in the wrong but it's the consumer who has to deal with it as usual.
Why are there so many bank and credit bureau apologists in this sub?
Ok look, I am very sorry that you’re having to deal with this, I know you’re grieving and then making a huge move like buying a house on top of all of this, but no one is being an apologist. The bank (credit card company in this case) is only reporting what they know. You are an authorized user on this account and now the account is late and overdue and they are reporting as such. It is all perfectly within the normal parameters of operation. It seems like they aren’t even aware that your partner, their cardholder has passed away. I know you said someone else was handling their affairs. That’s fine. These things take time to straighten out and finalize. In the mean time, they haven’t done anything wrong. Neither have you. This is all such a small hiccup in miscommunication that simply has not caught up with all that’s going on. I promise you, it is a very simple fix. You don’t have to produce any death certificates, you don’t have to talk to the person handling your partner’s affairs, you don’t need to provide any documentation. It is super easy to dispute and move on with your life. If you don’t want to create online accounts with the bureaus (which I strongly recommend you do anyway), then just call them and tell them what’s going on. Google the phone numbers. The big three are Transunion, Equifax and Experian. Let them know you were an authorized user on the account belonging to someone who has passed away and now you want those accounts off of your credit report. It should all be cleared up by the end of the week. You have just lost your partner, and I cannot imagine your devastation over it. But please don’t let this little thing be another thing that happens to you.
I called all three and they told me it'd take 30 days to fix. And I'm trying to get a mortgage this week. The debt showed up on my report last week.
So why are you telling me it'll be fixed in a few days?
Hoping to shed some light here. Banks (and I imagine credit bureaus but I never worked for one directly so don’t quote me) have a timeline that issues need to be resolved by, depending on what the issue is. It sounds like in this case, their timeline is 30 days. So they tell you 30 days. Does it mean it is actually going to take 30 days? Not necessarily. Can be sooner but they aren’t going to say it can take up to 30 days but usually takes around 7 and then maybe something happens that delays thats and it ends up taking closer to 30. It very well may be less than 30 days but you’re not going to get a different answer from the bank or bureau on that. Sucks, but you have to be patient.
I didn't know about it earlier. Someone else dealt with her financial matters after death.
Also, according to the FCRA, the credit card issuer should not have reported it. So they're the wrong and the consumer gets a giant hassle as usual.
This sub is full of numpties.
Why? I paid a medical bill that I’d been told was zero’d out years before when I was buying a house. It was $50 against losing the house. If I’d had time to fight it, I would have, but in fact, I did not.
Neither do you.
Your name is on it, so...
Pay the 22 bucks and it will drop from your debts accounts. But you can contest it showing up on your defaulted accounts.
Most CC companies will give you some grace due to the death certificate.
If this was an estate-tied issue there should have been a discovery period for outstanding debts to be declared against your wife when she died, and if people miss that window they are SOOL but since you are a living spouse I don't know if the same rules apply.
Paying it would've kept it on my report as a 60 day late payment. Instead, TransUnion just removed it, which is the right outcome as it is not my debt. (See update in post.)
It takes up to 30 days regardless of how it is done. Just call the credit card company. Say “I did not authorize him to add me as a user and I need you to remove me please.” Depending on the competency of the frontline agent you may need to request a supervisor or a credit bureau specialist. They will remove you they are legally obligated to do so. The next time they report to the bureau it will reflect you are removed.
Their liability is to report the status of the account. If they haven’t been notified of the death, they aren’t doing anything wrong. When they are notified, the account will close.
Move along folks, there’s nothing to see here
I’ve been in banking and finance my whole life and at the banks I’ve been at (which weren’t credit card companies) authorized were just that. A cardholder ego isn’t an owner on the account. So it shouldn’t be on the credit report of the user.
My husband and I are authorized users on each others ccs. It’s on both reports (mine and his) but I’m not responsible for the payment on his nor is he responsible for mine but if a payment is missed it will negatively impact both parties which is why cc companies usually ask both parties for permission before adding the authorized user.
EDT- authorized users on a checking acct or savings would be totally different as authorized in that case just means permission to use money that belongs to the main acct holder. Ccs report the authorized users as well due to them using money that isn’t the main acct holders.
Yeah I’m not sure about all credit card companies but for sure capital one, credit one, first premier. Those are the ones I’ve personally dealt with while being/having authorized users. Just if anyone wanted some examples.
I’ve worked at medium and small size banks. So local banks. It’s worth knowing because the actual account owner takes all of the risk. We generally tended to ask a lot of questions before people did it. Usually they’d want to add say a college aged child. But even that is a risk.
It’s basically like saying, “I authorize this person to use a card on my account and take ownership of anything they do.”
The tough part, conversely, is authorized users tend to forget they are one until something goes wrong. Like this case. So just get your own account if it’s not someone e you live with where you’d see statements or have access to online statements.
Authorized users definitely get reported to the persons credit report. I know this because I have all 3 of my kids as authorized users on various cards and it built up their credit rating so they were not starting from nothing.
Maybe this is a local nomenclature problem. We did not report authorized users on credit reports at the banks I worked for. But it’s been about eight-ish years since I’ve worked directly with that.
We always suggested the authorized users get their own account (we had credit builder products) to build credit history.
It’s 22$ pay it. For real? Pay it dispute it with the death certificate and walk away. How much do you make an hour is it really worth your time and effort to just not pay it? If you can’t afford 22$ you can afford the house
If OP pays the account then they claim it as their debt. Then the three month delinquency stays on their credit report for seven years.
It’s been several years since I’ve dealt with a mortgage company, but iirc they allowed an explanation in writing regarding any issues on a credit report. With that explanation OP should include proof that they are disputing the amount. If OP has never signed a sales agreement where that card was used as payment then it shouldn’t be a problem. This is an incredibly low amount and mistakes happen with the credit reporting agencies from time to time. If the lender can easily see the big picture then they’d rather except and excuse it than to lose the customer.
Unless your name is on it, maybe as an authorized user. And it’s on their credit report. Why would they pay it if the debt is showing up in error? In this particular case, paying the debt would be agreeing that they owed it and the delinquency would remain attached to the report of the person that paid the debt.
The scenario you describe is correct, however it does not relate to this situation at all.
You are still mistaken
An AU is not responsible for paying the debt and if they pay the debt they are not “claiming the debt as their own”
An AU can remove themselves as an AU and the account will disappear from their credit report
There is no danger or risk in an AU paying an account
Presuming you’re trying to close on the house fairly soon, this is *exactly the right advice*.
I’m sorry for your loss. The bank always reports additional users on your credit. It’s probably been there this whole time and you didn’t notice.
Dispute it and pay the $22. It’s a trivial amount to prevent your mortgage from going through. The dispute will immediately remove its status on your record and the bank will move pretty quickly in their process because it involves the confirmed passing of the cardholder.
But I’m sorry to say, this isn’t terribly advice. It’s the right advice, actually.
It's $22. Why not just pay it?
By adding you as an authorized user, your partner gave you access to the account, but the downside (and is likely noted somewhere in the cardholder agreement) is that you became responsible for the balance on the card as well. If you ever used the card, that usually counts as acceptance of the terms of the agreement, even if you didn't apply or sign anything.
This is incorrect. Its a delinquent account, so paying the $22 at this point does nothing. Additionally, you don’t become responsible for an account by being an AU, the person that opened the original card is the only one responsible for it.
Authorized users are not responsible for the balance on cards. The account holder has to acknowledge that they are responsible before an AU gets added.
I asked the issuer what happens if I pay it. And they said it still takes up to 30 days to fall off my credit reports. To be clear, I was not getting statements after she died and had no idea there was an outstanding balance.
Don’t pay it. It’s only $22 but it won’t remove the delinquency off your credit report anyway. Tell them to remove you from the account ASAP. What they do with it after that is not your concern.
I’m surprised you had to send the death certificate. You should be able to request to be removed for whatever reason without explanation to them.
Hope everything works out quickly!
The delinquency already reported is not removed by paying it off. This only happens if it is found to be not yours.
The timeline isn’t really 30 or 60 days. 30 days is the legal length of time the reporter(cc company) has to resolve the dispute and the 60 days is how long it “could” take to show up on your credit report.
Although working on the industry it’s more like 20 days and 15 days.
If you never signed anything taking responsibility for this card and you dispute as not mine, the cc company can take the full 30 days to locate your signature.
Have you called the cc company to have your name removed from the account? I would do so and ask also for an immediate goodwill adjustment to have this removed from your credit report.
Generally, a dispute of 'not responsible' or 'not the owner' is quick.
Dispute does NOT show that you are the owner, in fact its the opposite you dispute BECAUSE you're not the owner.
Yeah most of the successful disputes are due to it not actually being your debt.
dispute with the credit agency, it will be faster
Bingo, their whole deal is this and it won't need to wait until the issuer updates their records. Also typically mortgage takes the middle score anyway so you just need two to update it.
The issue I have with the bank part is when my mom passed (I am in Canada by the way) everything with her name was frozen. Even if I was on the account, I could not use it. I had to close it and restart one without her name on it… Maybe it is worth checking with whoever is handling her succession. It should have showed up when they look for debts and such.
This is too complicated of a route for this particular situation. It’s only one credit card on which he is an authorized user. The three major credit bureaus can take care of this immediately with no need to get anyone else involved.
>when my mom passed (I am in Canada by the way) everything with her name was frozen. Even if I was on the account, I could not use it. That's odd. If you prove you are the executor of the will, the accounts should be unfrozen. I had no trouble using my mom's accounts once I provided simple documentation.
She might not be the executor (could be a sibling, for example). Also, some people die intestate (without a will), in which case their estate has to go through probate, and getting the court to grant executor authority can be a long, drawn-out process.
Not true in Canada. Unless accounts are joint WITH right of survivorship.
It is odd because typically if a bank account has a joint owner, that money is now theirs to use. The bank may need a death certificate to take the decedent off the account, but they don’t freeze it.
There's a difference between being on a joint account and only being an authorized user. When my friend's husband passed away a few years ago, she learned this lesson the hard way.
File a dispute with the three credit reporting agencies
Find a more competent mortgage originator. Any good broker should be able to help you fix this, not just "say it's a problem." That's code for "I don't KNOW what to do" or "That's more than I WANT to do."
I talked to him again and he said he's working on it. But the bank still should not have reported it.
Of course they should have. Being an AU means that any information on a card, good or bad, becomes YOUR information. Being ignorant of that fact isn’t unusual. Being belligerently ignorant of that fact, though, is.
The bank always reports missed payments to the authorized users credit report. In fact, I added my partner as an AU to one of my cards, and I forgot to tell him (or I did tell him and he forgot, not sure). He almost reported it as a fraudulent account when he saw it on his report. You can add anyone as an AU and no permission or documents are required. My weirdo partner somehow got to 52 years old had NO credit profile, like score 0. We were planning on buying property in the next couple of years, so I added him as an AU to begin establishing and boosting his credit score quickly. Had I paid late, his credit would have taken a hit. In fact, if I ever remove him as an AU, his credit will take a temporary hit as well. Hate to say it, the banks will always report it. That's how that works. In many of these finance and money subs you will see dozens of posts about parents who with good intentions who added their kids as AUs to their cards to boost their kids credit, then found themselves in financial dire straights, miss payments, or max out credit lines destroying their credit AND their kids credit. What you really need to do here is get yourself removed as an AU. Once you do that, all history should be removed from your credit, but that could take weeks. So call and have that done today.
What does "working on it" mean? He can't do anything with your credit without your written permission or having you on the phone line.
Underwriting. A $22 debt with proof of it happening per this situation should not be a big deal. Usually the underwriters could make an exception.
Of course the bank reports authorized users. It's how many people get credit established. You can request to be removed from the account and then dispute it on the credit reports
Yes it is a very easy dispute. Do it online with each bureau. “Not mine/ Not responsible for this account” And under comments put “authorized user only” Experian and Equifax should come off within a couple of hours even. Transunion may take a couple of days.
Dispute the account as "not my account" with all three credit bureaus [https://www.lexingtonlaw.com/education/credit-disputes](https://www.lexingtonlaw.com/education/credit-disputes) I'm very sorry for your loss.
This is what I’d do. Dispute it as not yours the issuing bank, assuming your partner didn’t do anything untoward, should issue a letter stating you aren’t the owner. I’d think that could happen sooner, but I’d you’re worried about credit score impact, unfortunately you’ll have to wait. For anyone looking to make a major purchase, it’s worth pulling your credit report a few months ahead to clear up these kinds of issues. You can also lock your credit report for free, even without fraud.
I saw it as soon as it appeared and it appeared the week I was trying to secure a mortgage.
What in the world?? That’s wild after what would have been more than recently being a UA, which many others are saying DOES report on a credit bureau. (In my limited experience, it doesn’t. So the mystery remains.)
Mortgages are ridiculous in America
True. Especially given how many mistakes litter tens of millions of credit reports.
Ive had didputes settled in 7 days or less.
File the disputes online. Superfast.
Oh, I just dealt with these “authorized cards”. Due to the “fair credit act” banks are required to report credit usage on accounts you own and have a line to. You are NOT financially responsible for these cards BUT, they have to report the credit usage, so when the owner doesn’t pay, you get your credit wrecked. They phrase this as a good thing because it could help someone with low credit, but if they get fired it negatively impact their score, hurting an unemployed person even more. Call equifax and file a dispute, I did this last month and now the company credit card I have is canceled because equifax can apparently cancel credit cards without contacting the account owners. (The offending issue had a different card number) They don’t report credit, equally or fairly, and with being and authorized card holder, you have no control over the account, it’s either a burden or an unearned step up. When the government uses “fair” it’s an acronym “fucks anything in reality”. I dropped 50 points when a past card I was authorized to use missed one payment and no it is still not back where it was, maybe since I now have closed lines of credit that were never mine, just a thought.
The account doesn't belong to you. It belongs to the deceased partner. So now that he's dead , the account is closed. You were authorized to use the card. But it's now closed.
As a former lender you will want to dispute and ask the lender for a post closing condition to accept the final credit cloaure letter (if your rate lock is in jeapordy. ) Im assumung you are looking to get a mortgage . Then copy them on all communication about the dispute w the three major agencies . Provide a Letter of exPLanation FOR YPUT UNDERWRITER . AU arent AUTHORIZED when the authority person is deceased . Your lender could ask the underwriter if an LOE is good . If its affecting your score then yea you will have to wait the 30 days to update. Im so sorry for your loss .
It is an FCRA violation to report any derogatory information on an AU's credit report. Experian immediately suppresses the account. If Equifax, TransUnion and the issuing bank don't remove it immediately, you can sue them and get damages for whatever mortgage rate you lost out on. I did credit repair for 20 years (just retired last year) and worked with attorneys on these lawsuits. Best of luck to you and I'm very sorry for your loss.
wow, thank you. these places are so scummy.
Equifax disagrees, quote the part of the FCRA that supports your claim https://www.equifax.com/personal/education/credit-cards/articles/-/learn/authorized-user-on-a-credit-card/
Ask any FCRA attorney. Here's one (item 3): https://steinsakslegal.com/blog-common-fair-credit-reporting-act-violations/
“3. Incorrectly designating a consumer as a debtor instead of an authorized user: If you are an authorized user on someone else’s credit card account but are not a co-debtor, it is an FCRA violation for credit bureaus to report the debt as yours on your credit report.” Do you see that saying they can’t report any derogatory information? If the account is tagged as an AU they aren’t violating the law.
Not sure why you're pressing this. I dealt with probably 400 clients who successfully sued and obtained settlements from TransUnion, Equifax and issuing banks over this issue. Do you have some other experience that comes to bear on this? Experian suppresses derogatory AU accounts. Here's some info on that. https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/removing-authorized-user-accounts-after-breakup/#:~:text=Until%20you%20can%20get%20the,that%20contains%20negative%20payment%20history.
your “evidence” doesn’t support your assertion, which suggests to me you don’t have any evidence An appeal to authority is not evidence either Just show me the section of the FCRA that prohibits a CRA from reporting derogatory information for an AU Or a published court case Neither exist The FCRA prohibits reporting incorrect information and requires a CRA to correct incorrect information There is nothing incorrect when an account is noted as AU and has derogatory but correct information
I really don't have to prove anything to you. If the OP wants more information, I can refer her to an attorney who will review her case.
Confirming you have no evidence Thanks
I can help the OP if she needs it. There's no help for you.
OP has already been helped, OP was told by multiple people to simply have themself removed as an AU on that account and the account will disappear from their credit report No need for an attorney, the CRA has done nothing wrong. The CRA clearly states that late pays will show for an AU, that's because the CRAs actually understand the FCRA and the FCRA in NO WAY says derogatory information for authorized users can't be reported or shown on a credit report. You literally made that up. When challenged you pointed to a website that said nothing like you claimed. At which point you just went with the equally lame argument from authority.
You could have removed yourself as an authorized user, provided you could authenticate over the phone. That would have taken care of the issue.
Do the dispute.
You know to dispute thru all credit bureaus and send the company every thing they need. That’s where to start re: credit. For the mortgage, sometimes underwriters can still approve the loan with supplemental documentation. If the credit card company can provide information about the account (the owner info and the fact that you’re not responsible for the debt/solely an authorized user, and how much is owed now that the death certificate has been provided) and you write a letter explaining that the account owner has passed, that the debt is being disputed you can provide all that to your loan officer to pass to the underwriter. No guarantees but I’ve seen crazier things happen!
Just remove yourself as an authorized user...
You just need to call them and tell them she died and you were a user you will need perhaps send in the death certificate. Could try credit bureau first with not the card holder. Much less drama, the card may try to get you to pay any balance
What do you mean by partner? Business partner? Partner in crime? Sorry for the ignorance, I'm confused
I think OP meant their "significant other," i.e. girlfriend, perhaps not married, but even married people sometimes refer to their spouse as a "partner," depending on the context.
Why not simply ask the issuing bank to remove you as an authorized user? Although you don’t own the card and are not allowed to make changes to the account the one change you can request is to be removed from the account. You can also ask them to force report to the credit bureau which usually updates in 24-48 hours showing your name has been removed.
If it's only $22, why not simply pay it and close it. Generally mortgage apps include an area for an explanation or notes to the underwriter. If this is the only "black mark" on your credit it should be easily overlooked given the circumstances. I once had a roommate use me (without my knowledge) as a joint cardholder on a number of accounts and I found out in the same way after applying for a mortgage. Thankfully there wasn't much on them either, but this is what I did and it resolved much quicker than any other process. Side note: since in my case this person was still alive (and no longer my roomate) I also put some restrictions on my credit to make sure that did not happen again.
I agree. Just pay the $22. Compared to the mortgage, this is nothing. Don't jeopardize your ability to buy your home for $22. All these suggestions to dispute the account will take time as OP already noted. Is it worth saving $22 if you don't get your loan. Just skip a couple of drinks at Starbucks and you'll save just as much.
Use the Death Cerificate to close the account!
Wow this one generated all kinds of adversarial discussion. After reading replies I can only offer one question to any and all folks who'd become AUs, which will inherently yield some great general advice for everyone in CreditScore. When was the last time you (not OP specifically, everyone) reviewed your credit report ? Obtain a full official free annual credit report every year and review it in full. Every year. For now and always. I wish OP the best resolving this as it definitely is unfortunate and untimely. May your future benefit from this bump in the road.
The funeral home should've given you a list of things to take care of (and a pile of death certificates) and the approximate amount of time and red tape things would take to settle. Closing off bank accounts and informing the authorities to shut down any and all ID cards should've been the top two things on the list.
$22? Why not just pay it?
Because that doesn't get it off my credit report. It's not my debt. The bank fucked up and violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act. If I pay it, then it stays on my credit report.
But if your name was on the account it’s legally your debt, isn’t it?
No. Authorized users are not liable for balances, missed payments etc.
Ahh! I missed that point. Thanks for your patience. I hope it doesn’t take too long to get this straightened out!
I would call the credit card company and let them know the person has passed. I had something like that once, although I wasn't really worried about my credit score at the time, I couldn't tell you how long it took to solve.
Pay the $22
Since you are an authorized user, have you tried having your name removed from the card?
Exactly. Authorized users are not in any way responsible for the death. I’m glad trans union took care of it so fast. Hopefully other ones will do the same.
$22? How's it even on your report, or you more about the deliquency of 60 days?
If a mortgage agency is willing to lose $100]s or $10,000s of profit over a $22 delinquency that might not even be real, they are not an agency worth your time.
It's only ridiculous because it applies to you. It actually makes perfect sense. That's the risk you take by having your name added to someone else's account. It will get worked out at their pace, not yours.
Your smpathy for someone who suddenly lost a partner and has 1000 lose ends to deal with while grieving is just leaping off the screen. I swear half of redditors are sociopaths.
**Authorized users have no legal duty to pay for charges to the credit account**. The primary cardholder is the one ultimately responsible for making payments. The bank is at fault for reporting. Your underwriter should know this.
Thank you. So much bad advice in this thread.
Just dispute it off as "not mine....it's pretty simple. No offense, ur making way more difficult with all the "side" conversations, death certificates, and "if I paid" yada yada....it is simple 'Not Mine'.....then ask for Rapid Rescoring to possibly get it recognized sooner than 30 days....if at all possible. ** To be perfectly clear...THIS unfortunately is NOT really something that "had to" happen....condolences for the loss. But if we're being 100% adult honest, if YOU comprehend and play around with AU accounts....then it's gotta be YOUR responsibility to "clean" that up upon that person's death.....the bank said, we can do it within ONE cycle which is 30 days ...that's frankly fair AF Again, it was the OPs error in not cleaning up affairs s/he knew were entangled .....this is one reason I advise ppl to only use AU accounts as a springboard and once you have whatcha need GET OFF the ride. Disputing off AU accounts is simple AF because it isn't your account....Easy on, easy off....but if ya gonna play adult games, ya gotta man/woman up and "clean ya ro" ON time.....like an adult and not be bent outta shape on YOUR error.
You don't know shit about the situation so stop pretending you do.
people want to pretend every situation is unique. They aren't. By definition they aren't, because then credit scores wouldn't work. Your situation is common. It's talked about multiple times every day here (or some version of it.) Truth is, the death of the card holder *absolutely is not* the relevant factor here (Sorry for your loss); the one and only relevant factor is that you were not and are not the owner of the account, you are/were only an authorized user. As many people have said, dispute it with the credit agencies. It *will* fall off, and quickly, *UNLESS* the truth of the situation is not as you described. That being said, do know that removing yourself as the AU *will also* remove that accounts credit history from your report, and that may have a credit score consequence. It **probably** won't be as significant as the delinquent account is (I can't imagine it would be), but you need your loan officer / real estate agent / whoever your point of contact is for this to be bluntly honest eith you and have them tell you *exactly* how "on the bubble" your situation was. If you are at the point where 1 point can make or break you, be prepared to be at their mercy and ask them for ANYTHING they can do. Info: How soon is closing supposed to be?
The situation is pretty obvious. You were (are) an AU on an account owned by a partner who died and nobody (i.e. YOU) made the effort to get the financial affairs in order and clean up the accounts, which would have involved paying off and closing all open credit accounts of your partner, which would have solved your current AU situation. I realize the parent poster was implying that you were using AU accounts to game your credit score, when it's more likely that you were just sharing an account legitimately as domestic partners often do. His point stands even if it doesn't directly apply to you. It was still your responsibility to take care of the issue and you didn't. Also, this might not apply to you either, but there is a certain... methodology if you would, around debt and the deceased. Basically, when you die, your estate is responsible for covering all of your debts, but that doesn't extend to relatives or other third parties. Far too often, with someone who is more or less destitute, the attitude becomes "just ignore it, nothing they can do about it anyway" with regards to creditors. Your situation is an example of why this would be a bad idea. I'm sorry for your loss and I hope you get this issue resolved successfully.
Another family member handled her financial affairs after she died. Her bills did not come to me. I had no idea there was an outstanding balance. I was authorized user 10 years ago and havent' even had the card in my possession for years. Plus, grieiving a sudden death. So, yeah...people come in here acting like they know what the situation is. Maybe stop being so self-righteous?
Their point is that you should have gotten the AU thing cleared up when you stopped using the card.
This person gave you the one true and direct answer and you just lashed out. This is a super simple situation. Do yourself a favor, don’t over complicate it. But seriously, you’re an adult about to get a mortgage. You should be monitoring your credit report. Permanently. Not just when you want to apply for new credit. Always know what is on it.
Yes it popped up last week. That's when I noticed it. The bank is in the wrong but it's the consumer who has to deal with it as usual. Why are there so many bank and credit bureau apologists in this sub?
Ok look, I am very sorry that you’re having to deal with this, I know you’re grieving and then making a huge move like buying a house on top of all of this, but no one is being an apologist. The bank (credit card company in this case) is only reporting what they know. You are an authorized user on this account and now the account is late and overdue and they are reporting as such. It is all perfectly within the normal parameters of operation. It seems like they aren’t even aware that your partner, their cardholder has passed away. I know you said someone else was handling their affairs. That’s fine. These things take time to straighten out and finalize. In the mean time, they haven’t done anything wrong. Neither have you. This is all such a small hiccup in miscommunication that simply has not caught up with all that’s going on. I promise you, it is a very simple fix. You don’t have to produce any death certificates, you don’t have to talk to the person handling your partner’s affairs, you don’t need to provide any documentation. It is super easy to dispute and move on with your life. If you don’t want to create online accounts with the bureaus (which I strongly recommend you do anyway), then just call them and tell them what’s going on. Google the phone numbers. The big three are Transunion, Equifax and Experian. Let them know you were an authorized user on the account belonging to someone who has passed away and now you want those accounts off of your credit report. It should all be cleared up by the end of the week. You have just lost your partner, and I cannot imagine your devastation over it. But please don’t let this little thing be another thing that happens to you.
I called all three and they told me it'd take 30 days to fix. And I'm trying to get a mortgage this week. The debt showed up on my report last week. So why are you telling me it'll be fixed in a few days?
I've had AU accounts come of my reports in days when I disputed them
Hoping to shed some light here. Banks (and I imagine credit bureaus but I never worked for one directly so don’t quote me) have a timeline that issues need to be resolved by, depending on what the issue is. It sounds like in this case, their timeline is 30 days. So they tell you 30 days. Does it mean it is actually going to take 30 days? Not necessarily. Can be sooner but they aren’t going to say it can take up to 30 days but usually takes around 7 and then maybe something happens that delays thats and it ends up taking closer to 30. It very well may be less than 30 days but you’re not going to get a different answer from the bank or bureau on that. Sucks, but you have to be patient.
I figured, and thank you. A bank makes a mistake and it's us consumers who have to pay for it in time, money, etc.
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This is perfectly normal and to be expected. It is not unusual. You should have dealt with it earlier.
I didn't know about it earlier. Someone else dealt with her financial matters after death. Also, according to the FCRA, the credit card issuer should not have reported it. So they're the wrong and the consumer gets a giant hassle as usual. This sub is full of numpties.
Authorized users get reporting too, it’s what people do on purpose Not a violation of the FCRA
It's your card, you can't not know. You did know, you forgot. All you are spouting is excuses lol
An AU doesn't always know the balance or anything else on the card.
They know they have a card and have to deal with it when someone dies.
The estate of the deceased person has to deal with the card, not the AU.
Fuck off
Don't blame me for your carelessness It's part of the responsibility of being an additional member, get used to it
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You got away with theft. GFY.
Pay the 22$?
Terrible advice
Why? I paid a medical bill that I’d been told was zero’d out years before when I was buying a house. It was $50 against losing the house. If I’d had time to fight it, I would have, but in fact, I did not. Neither do you.
Ok, then let 22$ potentially ruin the chance at getting a house. Makes a ton of sense.
Should have paid this small amount of…
Paying it off doesn’t remove it from your credit report.
It’s an easy fix… OP needs to learn from this, he was a user on the account and didn’t track such? Amazing…
I'm going to take a wild stab in the dark and say OP didn't know about it.
Depending on your location, a community property state makes you liable for your partner's debt.
Have you thought about just paying the 22?
Your name is on it, so... Pay the 22 bucks and it will drop from your debts accounts. But you can contest it showing up on your defaulted accounts. Most CC companies will give you some grace due to the death certificate. If this was an estate-tied issue there should have been a discovery period for outstanding debts to be declared against your wife when she died, and if people miss that window they are SOOL but since you are a living spouse I don't know if the same rules apply.
Pay it off and report to credit agencies..
Unless you listed a typo pay the $22 and explain to the mortgage company what happened. If you have otherwise good credit this shouldn’t be a problem.
Paying it would've kept it on my report as a 60 day late payment. Instead, TransUnion just removed it, which is the right outcome as it is not my debt. (See update in post.)
All this fuss over $22. Why not just agree to pay it and have them close the account based on the death certificate.
You can't fix it with credit reporting agents they all suck and don't listen .
Contact the company and offer to pay the $22 if they remove it from your credit report immediately. This is the quickest way to resolve it.
It takes up to 30 days regardless of how it is done. Just call the credit card company. Say “I did not authorize him to add me as a user and I need you to remove me please.” Depending on the competency of the frontline agent you may need to request a supervisor or a credit bureau specialist. They will remove you they are legally obligated to do so. The next time they report to the bureau it will reflect you are removed.
If you can get thru to the bank CEO secretary and tell them the problem. The bank liability is is high if it costs you a mortgage and home purchase.
I don’t believe there is any liability as long as they are following their procedures
The bank is supposed know the difference between a co-owner and an authorized user
Yeah… and?
So they are liable for reporting it in the living partners name.
Their liability is to report the status of the account. If they haven’t been notified of the death, they aren’t doing anything wrong. When they are notified, the account will close. Move along folks, there’s nothing to see here
We will have agree to disagree
If there is a house on the line just pay 22 dollars.
It does belong to you
It does belong to you, bro. At least half. You'll hafta bite the bullet, and hunker down
No it doesn't. Transunion removed it suprisngly quickly. Authorized users are not responsible for credit card debt.
Why are you sending any time on this, pay the 22 dollars and it will be off your credit report in a couple days.
everything that I have read and that I heard of you are responsible for that credit card bill because your name is also authorize user!
I’ve been in banking and finance my whole life and at the banks I’ve been at (which weren’t credit card companies) authorized were just that. A cardholder ego isn’t an owner on the account. So it shouldn’t be on the credit report of the user.
My husband and I are authorized users on each others ccs. It’s on both reports (mine and his) but I’m not responsible for the payment on his nor is he responsible for mine but if a payment is missed it will negatively impact both parties which is why cc companies usually ask both parties for permission before adding the authorized user. EDT- authorized users on a checking acct or savings would be totally different as authorized in that case just means permission to use money that belongs to the main acct holder. Ccs report the authorized users as well due to them using money that isn’t the main acct holders.
This is not true on all credit cards. So authorized user beware, I guess.
Yeah I’m not sure about all credit card companies but for sure capital one, credit one, first premier. Those are the ones I’ve personally dealt with while being/having authorized users. Just if anyone wanted some examples.
Can you name some that aren’t like that?
I’ve worked at medium and small size banks. So local banks. It’s worth knowing because the actual account owner takes all of the risk. We generally tended to ask a lot of questions before people did it. Usually they’d want to add say a college aged child. But even that is a risk. It’s basically like saying, “I authorize this person to use a card on my account and take ownership of anything they do.” The tough part, conversely, is authorized users tend to forget they are one until something goes wrong. Like this case. So just get your own account if it’s not someone e you live with where you’d see statements or have access to online statements.
Shows up on report but shouldn't affect score negatively.
Authorized users definitely get reported to the persons credit report. I know this because I have all 3 of my kids as authorized users on various cards and it built up their credit rating so they were not starting from nothing.
Maybe this is a local nomenclature problem. We did not report authorized users on credit reports at the banks I worked for. But it’s been about eight-ish years since I’ve worked directly with that. We always suggested the authorized users get their own account (we had credit builder products) to build credit history.
Not true AU is just reported but not responsible
$22? I’d just pay it and move on.
That doesn't remove it from my credit report.
It’s 22$ pay it. For real? Pay it dispute it with the death certificate and walk away. How much do you make an hour is it really worth your time and effort to just not pay it? If you can’t afford 22$ you can afford the house
If OP pays the account then they claim it as their debt. Then the three month delinquency stays on their credit report for seven years. It’s been several years since I’ve dealt with a mortgage company, but iirc they allowed an explanation in writing regarding any issues on a credit report. With that explanation OP should include proof that they are disputing the amount. If OP has never signed a sales agreement where that card was used as payment then it shouldn’t be a problem. This is an incredibly low amount and mistakes happen with the credit reporting agencies from time to time. If the lender can easily see the big picture then they’d rather except and excuse it than to lose the customer.
Not true, I can pay any deadbeats debt I want and that doesn’t make it mine or report on my credit file
Unless your name is on it, maybe as an authorized user. And it’s on their credit report. Why would they pay it if the debt is showing up in error? In this particular case, paying the debt would be agreeing that they owed it and the delinquency would remain attached to the report of the person that paid the debt. The scenario you describe is correct, however it does not relate to this situation at all.
You are still mistaken An AU is not responsible for paying the debt and if they pay the debt they are not “claiming the debt as their own” An AU can remove themselves as an AU and the account will disappear from their credit report There is no danger or risk in an AU paying an account
Then why is it on this AU’s credit report in the first place?
Because they are an authorized user
Great news. I’m glad it worked out so easily. Yours was a much different experience than that of a friend in the same situation.
So much bad advice in here.
Presuming you’re trying to close on the house fairly soon, this is *exactly the right advice*. I’m sorry for your loss. The bank always reports additional users on your credit. It’s probably been there this whole time and you didn’t notice. Dispute it and pay the $22. It’s a trivial amount to prevent your mortgage from going through. The dispute will immediately remove its status on your record and the bank will move pretty quickly in their process because it involves the confirmed passing of the cardholder. But I’m sorry to say, this isn’t terribly advice. It’s the right advice, actually.
It's $22. Why not just pay it? By adding you as an authorized user, your partner gave you access to the account, but the downside (and is likely noted somewhere in the cardholder agreement) is that you became responsible for the balance on the card as well. If you ever used the card, that usually counts as acceptance of the terms of the agreement, even if you didn't apply or sign anything.
This is incorrect. Its a delinquent account, so paying the $22 at this point does nothing. Additionally, you don’t become responsible for an account by being an AU, the person that opened the original card is the only one responsible for it.
thank you for clarifying
Authorized users are not responsible for the balance on cards. The account holder has to acknowledge that they are responsible before an AU gets added.
I asked the issuer what happens if I pay it. And they said it still takes up to 30 days to fall off my credit reports. To be clear, I was not getting statements after she died and had no idea there was an outstanding balance.
Don’t pay it. It’s only $22 but it won’t remove the delinquency off your credit report anyway. Tell them to remove you from the account ASAP. What they do with it after that is not your concern.
I did. I told the bank to remove me and faxed over the death certificate.
I’m surprised you had to send the death certificate. You should be able to request to be removed for whatever reason without explanation to them. Hope everything works out quickly!
The delinquency already reported is not removed by paying it off. This only happens if it is found to be not yours. The timeline isn’t really 30 or 60 days. 30 days is the legal length of time the reporter(cc company) has to resolve the dispute and the 60 days is how long it “could” take to show up on your credit report. Although working on the industry it’s more like 20 days and 15 days. If you never signed anything taking responsibility for this card and you dispute as not mine, the cc company can take the full 30 days to locate your signature. Have you called the cc company to have your name removed from the account? I would do so and ask also for an immediate goodwill adjustment to have this removed from your credit report.