Possible Discover card CLD or closure.... Is there anything I can do?

[Anonymous]

Long story short, I have a joint account with my mother as the primary.  We opened it in March of this year when her scores were near 700.

As of late her score reported on the discover website has continued to tumble mostly because my sister has moved in with my Mom because of Mom's health.  Which is a good thing because someone is there all the time with Mom.   But the bad thing is that my sister has been using Mom's credit cards and has almost all of them maxed out and also has been 30 days late on a car note Mom cosigned on.  Mom knows my sister is using her cards, I just don't think she knows she is hurting her credit to the extent it has. I've been trying to help her pay down the balances, but it's a catch-22 because if I pay them to help Mom, my sister is the one that uses them and she'll probably run them back up.  

Mom's score is now  570 now according to Discover.  I check the discover site daily just waiting to see the account closed or the credit line of 2400 reduced to what the balance is ( it's 349.00, I pay this one)

So my question is:   Since I'm joint on the account is there anything I can do to save this account or open another account in my name, possible.  My scores are right around 690 now but I still have a couple old chargeoffs that are about 5 years old that have balances. And several that i have paid off from 5 years ago.  I have been saving up to pay them off here real soon.  

Any suggestion are welcome.  

[Anonymous]

Why don't you freeze credit on mom's account (discover has that feature) and change her login.

[Anonymous]

I'd see if you can get your own card, as it sounds like the situation is going to be a disaster in the end. Also, you need to have a talk with your mother and make sure that other card is not getting used by anyone but you, while you pay it off and leave it paid off. Obviously, you know if it goes bad, so do you. And.....what the heck is your sister doing maxxing out her cards? That, to me is unacceptable and looks like someone is taking advantage. Is she an AU on those cards? If not, how is she using them? I watched my sister in law do the same thing to my mother in law because she had a huge gambling problem and kept taking cash advances, running mother in laws credit into the ground. We didn't find out until much later and the damage was done. Oh, one other thing, If you are an AU on any of mother's accounts, I'd be for getting myself removed.

[Anonymous]

No one uses the discover card but me. It's mom's other cards that sis uses. Im just wondering if there's anything I can do to save that account. I've talked with mom about all the maxed out cards. But she basically tells me that my sis handles all the bills now. So Im kinda stuck on the other cards. But wanna save this one if possible.

[Pway]

I would remove myself from this card and obtain one in my name only.  Since Discover is balance chasing, they are more than likely going to close the account sooner than later.  I understand that you are concerned about your mother credit, but since she is not really concerned and you sister is doing all the damage I would just leave it alone.  Your hands are pretty much tied as to what to do. 

[Anonymous]

I'm not so sure you can save the account from AA, but you can sure save your credit by making sure that account is paid. There are no guarantees that they won't reduce the CL and balance chase you. Be prepared for the worst. You sure it's a joint account, or are you AU? If AU, I'd get off that account asap, because joint reported bad action will hurt you..

[Anonymous]

To add to what everyone else has said there is something to be said to contacting a family attorney if your sister is taking advantage of your moms health for personal financial gain.  It's never good to be.in these situations but from the sounds of it your sister is looking out for herself first over your moms financial well being.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

To add to whatever everyone else has said there is something to be said to contacting a family attorney if your sister is taking advantage of your moms health for personal financial gain.  It's never good to be.in these situations but from the sounds of it your sister is looking out for herself first over your moms financial well being.

---

+1

[FinStar]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

To add to whatever everyone else has said there is something to be said to contacting a family attorney if your sister is taking advantage of your moms health for personal financial gain.  It's never good to be.in these situations but from the sounds of it your sister is looking out for herself first over your moms financial well being.

---

This exactly.  I realize family matters can be really sticky depeding on the situation but if not handled proactively, it can end up being a bigger mess down the road.

[CreditDunce]

Since this is a joint account, I am not sure if Discover will balance chase/CLD.  There are two people responsible for the bill afterall.  That is assuming it is being PIF each month.  None the less, I would close the account.  Once all of the other cards stop working, the temptation to use the Discover will increase.   Instead, you might want to consider adding your Mom as an AU on a couple of your other cards.  An Amex would work well.   You don't have to give her the AU card now.  But it would be ready if things fall apart in a few months.

You could request your Mom's other credit card companies send you duplicate statements.  It would be a way to see if the cards are being used for your Mom's benefit or not.  From the OP, I am not convinced the issue isn't a lack of funds to pay the CC's (medical bills can be expensive).   However, it doesn't sound like your Mom would be interested in that.  I don't think the main issue is your Mom's credit.  The main issue is to make sure your Mom's assets aren't being wasted.  She will likely need them in the future.