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Improper filing of my dad's credit on my account!

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Anonymous
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Improper filing of my dad's credit on my account!

So apparently, almost four years ago, someone made a mistake and filed a department store card that my dad received under my credit account. I discovered this a few months ago and was thrilled to find that I have pretty good credit for a person just out of undergrad. I believe it has really benefited by having that card growing my credit because I had poor credit when I started college. I have three very good cards, which have all had their credit limits increased recently. I have been seeing some wild spending on the card of my dad's that was accidentally filed as my name as of late. The limit on this card is 1K, it is currently at $1,050 and doesn't look to be coming down soon. I have not had any points docked from my scores, however I got a notification saying that the card has reached 103% usage. I am torn between waiting until as long as possible because having the card on my account is great because it extends the average age of my credit. Yet having a card that is at 103% usage also scares me. I know that I can easily have it taken off of my account because I can prove that it is filed under my dad's name, however the payments are never late and always paid. Maybe some opinions would be helpful. As of now, I am just riding the wave for as long as I can until my credit accounts grow in age. Opinions?

Message 1 of 6
5 REPLIES 5
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Improper filing of my dad's credit on my account!


@Anonymous wrote:

So apparently, almost four years ago, someone made a mistake and filed a department store card that my dad received under my credit account. I discovered this a few months ago and was thrilled to find that I have pretty good credit for a person just out of undergrad. I believe it has really benefited by having that card growing my credit because I had poor credit when I started college. I have three very good cards, which have all had their credit limits increased recently. I have been seeing some wild spending on the card of my dad's that was accidentally filed as my name as of late. The limit on this card is 1K, it is currently at $1,050 and doesn't look to be coming down soon. I have not had any points docked from my scores, however I got a notification saying that the card has reached 103% usage. I am torn between waiting until as long as possible because having the card on my account is great because it extends the average age of my credit. Yet having a card that is at 103% usage also scares me. I know that I can easily have it taken off of my account because I can prove that it is filed under my dad's name, however the payments are never late and always paid. Maybe some opinions would be helpful. As of now, I am just riding the wave for as long as I can until my credit accounts grow in age. Opinions?


Having a credit card report over balance will definitely affect your credit scores before too long and while not likely because of the low credit limit, cause concern with your other creditors.  As to whether you should keep the account-if it's your father's account, do you have any idea when he plans on paying down the balance to below 30%?  If it's going to be awhile, then it may be worthwhile for you to make efforts to remove the account from your credit reports.

Message 2 of 6
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Improper filing of my dad's credit on my account!

Thanks for the advice! Although, I do not communicate with him much (long story), I know that he is comfortable with just making the minimum payments. I however, always pay my cards off each month, and plan on continuing to do so. As long as my overall amount of time having established credit does not shrink (causing my score to drop), I am fine with removing the card. I have heard that it is pretty common to have wrong filings when you have the same name as a relative.

Message 3 of 6
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Improper filing of my dad's credit on my account!


@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the advice! Although, I do not communicate with him much (long story), I know that he is comfortable with just making the minimum payments. I however, always pay my cards off each month, and plan on continuing to do so. As long as my overall amount of time having established credit does not shrink (causing my score to drop), I am fine with removing the card. I have heard that it is pretty common to have wrong filings when you have the same name as a relative.


Yeah, it is fairly common.  Removing the account will drop your AA0A and may cause a score drop but an over limit card on your report for a long time will do more damage.  Sounds like you would just be better off severing ties with that account and move on and work on your own ones.

Message 4 of 6
RobertEG
Legendary Contributor

Re: Improper filing of my dad's credit on my account!

It is not yours.

If you wish to have it remain, there is a process for legitmately requesting as such.  You can request he have it reported and identified as an AU account.

 

Otherwise, it is clearly inaccurate reporting that is not of your credit history.

You never know when it could negatively effect your scoring, such as is now the issue.

It is best to correct before you are in the middle of an application process, and then may not have the time to deal with the correction.

 

I would make an informal call to the creditor and inform them of the clear error.  It may be correctible on their part without any need fo go thru a formal dispute.

Message 5 of 6
takeshi74
Senior Contributor

Re: Improper filing of my dad's credit on my account!

Get it corrected.  Don't rely on quick and easy "fixes" for credit like this.  I'd advise that even without considering the potential for damage from revolving utilization.

 

Generally speaking, the longer a card is at high utilization the higher the risk of AA.  It's not just a matter of scoring but risk assessment as well.  Being over 100% is certainly a reason in and of itself to get that account removed.  Consider the typical relative weights of Amounts Owed and Length of Credit History.

http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/whatsinyourscore.aspx

Message 6 of 6
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