topic Re: Ghost account on Experian credit report in General Credit Topics

Ghost account on Experian credit report

Nashwaaker — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 13:54:34 GMT

The backstory isn't important, but I was briefly an Authorized User on my partner's Amex BCE card. I never actually used the card. Partner had me removed from the card in Sept 2025, and subsequently closed the account entirely. Equifax removed the account from my report on the next update. Transunion updated my report to show the card as 'Terminated', but immediately removed it in response to a 'not my account' dispute. But Experian updated their report to look like this (image is from my report pulled online yesterday):

I opened a 'not my account' dispute with Experian. They responded that American Express has verified the data as correct. I contacted Amex and was directed to their "Credit Bureau Unit". They sent me a letter, which included the following summary of what they are reporting to Experian:

So, I opened another dispute, including Amex's letter. Experian again closed the dispute claiming that Amex had verified the information in my report.

I contacted Amex's CBU again, and this time the agent connected interactively to Experian's database while talking with me. They confirmed that Experian has recorded an ECOA code of 'T' on my file. So, it appears that Experian has the correct information (as they insist) but that they are displaying it incorrectly. I opened a dispute on that basis, but again they do not appear to understand my complaint. Yesterday I received a long email explaining their FCRA obligations and telling me how to submit a consumer statement to be attached to my file.

Has anyone else ever encountered this kind of ghost account on an Experian credit report ? Should I care about it ? Is there any point in submitting a consumer statement ? As far as I can tell, it is not being considered in the calculation of my FICO 8 score. It's just noise.

Re: Ghost account on Experian credit report

pizzadude — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:28:15 GMT

As long as there isn't any derogatory payment history or anything negative showing ( it looks good to me from your images ) then I wouldn't worry about it at all. It's not hurting your FICO scores in any way.

Re: Ghost account on Experian credit report

radiofrequencies — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 20:40:25 GMT

Your experience is the same a user on another credit forum reported after they were removed as an authorized user from an Amex card. Amex handles reporting authorized user accounts differently that most card issuers. And technically, I don't see anything wrong with the reporting - you were an authorized user on an account that is now closed. Is the account included in your average age of accounts calculation and was the account opened on July 26, 2025 or is that when you were added as an authorized user?

Re: Ghost account on Experian credit report

Nashwaaker — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 21:28:59 GMT

@radiofrequencies wrote:
And technically, I don't see anything wrong with the reporting - you were an authorized user on an account that is now closed.

Except that according to what Experian is showing, the account is open and I am still an AU - those statements are both false. It certainly confuses Experian's own CMS, which includes it in the number of open accounts, the total credit limit and the aging stats. I don't believe FICO is including the ghost in any of it's calculations, although it's hard to be sure.

Re: Ghost account on Experian credit report

radiofrequencies — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 21:42:44 GMT

@Nashwaaker wrote:
Except that according to what Experian is showing, the account is open and I am still an AU - those statements are both false. It certainly confuses Experian's own CMS, which includes it in the number of open accounts, the total credit limit and the aging stats. I don't believe FICO is including the ghost in any of it's calculations, although it's hard to be sure.

I totally missed where it's listed as open in the Experian screenshot and was thinking "terminated" meant the account was closed. It's possible American Express's language of "terminated authorized user" is saying that you're not an authorized user any more rather than "the account was terminated". Is the account listed as open on your reports from annualcreditreport.com? If yes, I would submit another dispute to Experian for the "Open/Closed" field being incorrect.

Re: Ghost account on Experian credit report

AndySoCal — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 23:00:42 GMT

This is an authorized user account. The only way the card can report as closed is if the owner of the account closes the card with AMEX. Your relationship to the account is has been terminated by whose request it does not matter. You are not financially reponsible for the account.

Re: Ghost account on Experian credit report

Nashwaaker — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 07:32:50 GMT

@radiofrequencies wrote:
@Nashwaaker wrote:
Except that according to what Experian is showing, the account is open and I am still an AU - those statements are both false. It certainly confuses Experian's own CMS, which includes it in the number of open accounts, the total credit limit and the aging stats. I don't believe FICO is including the ghost in any of it's calculations, although it's hard to be sure.
I totally missed where it's listed as open in the Experian screenshot and was thinking "terminated" meant the account was closed. It's possible American Express's language of "terminated authorized user" is saying that you're not an authorized user any more rather than "the account was terminated". Is the account listed as open on your reports from annualcreditreport.com? If yes, I would submit another dispute to Experian for the "Open/Closed" field being incorrect.

"terminated authorized user" is not some Amex expression. It's the standard representation of the ECOA code 'T'. This is part of the Metro2 standard.

Experian provides at least three different versions of their report, depending on the exact way you request it (annualcreditreport.com, 877-FACTACT and their own CMS). Although there are slight differences in the reports, they all show the Responsibility element as "Authorized User", despite the ECOA code being 'T'.

Re: Ghost account on Experian credit report

Nashwaaker — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 07:40:51 GMT

@AndySoCal wrote:
This is an authorized user account. The only way the card can report as closed is if the owner of the account closes the card with AMEX. Your relationship to the account is has been terminated by whose request it does not matter. You are not financially reponsible for the account.

As stated in the original post, the primary cardholder has already closed the account.
My complaint is that, while knowing this tradeline was reported with an ECOA code of 'T', Experian continues to report the responsibility as 'Authorized user' - this is clearly visible in the report extract in the original post.
That I am not financially responsible for the account has always been true. The issue is that some FICO scoring metrics do take AU accounts into account. In particular, a single, zero balance, AU account will incur a scoring penalty of about 15 points in FICO 8.

Re: Ghost account on Experian credit report

Nashwaaker — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 07:50:57 GMT

@radiofrequencies wrote:
@Nashwaaker wrote:
Except that according to what Experian is showing, the account is open and I am still an AU - those statements are both false. It certainly confuses Experian's own CMS, which includes it in the number of open accounts, the total credit limit and the aging stats. I don't believe FICO is including the ghost in any of it's calculations, although it's hard to be sure.
I totally missed where it's listed as open in the Experian screenshot and was thinking "terminated" meant the account was closed. It's possible American Express's language of "terminated authorized user" is saying that you're not an authorized user any more rather than "the account was terminated". Is the account listed as open on your reports from annualcreditreport.com? If yes, I would submit another dispute to Experian for the "Open/Closed" field being incorrect.

Oops - I posted my last reply too soon.

I have already submitted such a dispute three times - including more information each time. Experian always replies that they have verified the information on the report. That's true - but the problem is that they are not displaying the information that they have, in fact, recorded. Their own database shows that this account was reported with an ECOA code of 'T' - yet they do not include that fact in their presentation of my report.

I've actually received an email from Experian suggesting that I need to stop disputing this account. They suggest that I should tag the account with one of their canned personal statements.

But that tag will not affect FICO scoring. I have stated that I think FICO is ignoring this account, but there's no way to know. They AU AZ penalty could be applied. (There are enough other minor differences between my EX report and the other two that it is not possible to isolate the effects on my EX 8 score.)

Re: Ghost account on Experian credit report

Nashwaaker — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 10:31:43 GMT

@radiofrequencies wrote:
Your experience is the same a user on another credit forum reported after they were removed as an authorized user from an Amex card.

I think you may be citing my own posts in the r/CRedit community. (I cannot find any other reports concerning Experian's presentation of accounts with ECOA='T', in that forum or anywhere else on the web.)

Authorized User accounts are a frequent topic of discussion in that community - especially with respect to their lack of utility as a credit building tool. The topic also arises when people realize that a primary user is having trouble and this is dragging down the credit score of an authorized user. Most knowledgeable commentators assert that it is easy to get an AU account removed, that all negative effects will immediately go away, and that the account will vanish entirely from their credit reports.

I have been adding cautions to those remarks - including my own experiences - to show that the situation is not so simple. I've also been trying to suggest that an FAQ document on the subject (which was last edited 12 years ago) needs to be updated to reflect current facts. This thread is part of my effort to collect corroborating evidence to support my experiences.

Re: Ghost account on Experian credit report

AndySoCal — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 18:32:00 GMT

@Nashwaaker If you want to show the account as closed get proof the the cardholder that it is closed. Submit that documentation to Experian in a dispute.
Also please provide third party proof about a single AU zero balance card dropping the score 15 points. All revolving accounts being at zero can cause a score reduction yes.

Re: Ghost account on Experian credit report

Nashwaaker — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 18:59:37 GMT

@AndySoCal wrote:
@Nashwaaker If you want to show the account as closed get proof the the cardholder that it is closed. Submit that documentation to Experian in a dispute.

Frankly, I don't care whether the account is recorded as closed, or not. I do care that Experian is presenting the Responsibility as "Authorized user", when they know that it is "Terminated".

But, since this aspect seems to be important to you, I did investigate it in my second conversation with the Amex CBU. According to Amex, they will never update the final record for the former AU account. That record is frozen in time. Submitting proof that it is closed to Experian would be pointless, as Amex would not verify it on an eOscar query.

Also please provide third party proof about a single AU zero balance card dropping the score 15 points. All revolving accounts being at zero can cause a score reduction yes.

Actually, that's a phrasing error on my part. What I was meaning to say was that if there is a single AU account on the report, and that account has a zero balance, then the AU AZ penalty applies.

Re: Ghost account on Experian credit report

AndySoCal — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 15:10:33 GMT

Authored user tellls the creditor that the consumer is not financially responsible for the account.
Terminated - Tells the creditor that the authorized use relationship on the account has ended.

Both are needed and both should be reported

Personally I have no use for authorized user relationships. Some years ago when I was helping my mother I would make on line purchases for her. She knew I was going to make the purchase and how much. Somehow I was added as authorized user to that card. Not at my request nor did I say anything about it. The account has since aged off my credit report. IMO Authorized user accounts has its purposes but it is not friends /relatives helping some raise their FICO score. Where authorized user accounts can and should be setup as example. A stay at home mom or dad who has limited credit could be added as authorized user accounts user on the other persons credit card to help pay for the expenses. This one example there are more.

Re: Ghost account on Experian credit report

radiofrequencies — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 16:02:18 GMT

@AndySoCal wrote:
Also please provide third party proof about a single AU zero balance card dropping the score 15 points. All revolving accounts being at zero can cause a score reduction yes.

There is a separate penalty if all AU accounts report $0.

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Understanding-FICO-Scoring/AU-experiment-amp-score-drops-from-small-balance-to-0-balance/td-p/5808798/highlight/true

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Understanding-FICO-Scoring/Credit-Scoring-Primer-pub-5-17-20/m-p/6036399/highlight/true#M170332

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Understanding-FICO-Scoring/Understanding-the-possibility-of-the-AU-all-zero-penalty/m-p/6119883/highlight/true#M176071

Re: Ghost account on Experian credit report

radiofrequencies — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 16:45:02 GMT

@Nashwaaker wrote:
@radiofrequencies wrote:
Your experience is the same a user on another credit forum reported after they were removed as an authorized user from an Amex card.
I think you may be citing my own posts in the r/CRedit community. (I cannot find any other reports concerning Experian's presentation of accounts with ECOA='T', in that forum or anywhere else on the web.)

Authorized User accounts are a frequent topic of discussion in that community - especially with respect to their lack of utility as a credit building tool. The topic also arises when people realize that a primary user is having trouble and this is dragging down the credit score of an authorized user. Most knowledgeable commentators assert that it is easy to get an AU account removed, that all negative effects will immediately go away, and that the account will vanish entirely from their credit reports.

I have been adding cautions to those remarks - including my own experiences - to show that the situation is not so simple. I've also been trying to suggest that an FAQ document on the subject (which was last edited 12 years ago) needs to be updated to reflect current facts. This thread is part of my effort to collect corroborating evidence to support my experiences.

You're correct about me seeing your posts on r/CRedit! In general, AU accounts are deleted from someone's credit reports after they are removed as an authorized user but your experience demonstrates that's not the case with an AU Amex and Experian. I don't understand why TransUnion and Equifax deleted the account but Experian didn't. I would have expected all three credit bureaus to handle it the same way. It also doesn't make sense to me why your Experian report shows the account as open if the EOCA code is 'T'. Since the account is listed as "Open", will it stay on your reports indefinitely? Or will Experian use 10 years after the 'Last reported' date for the removal date?

I agree that some cautionary language should be included in advice given about Amex AU accounts, but it would be good to hear about other people's experience with Experian reporting after they were removed as an AU from an Amex account.

A couple of questions for my own curiosity... Did you file your disputes with Experian online or through the mail? Does the myFICO CMS show the same average age of accounts as the Experian CMS?

Re: Ghost account on Experian credit report

Nashwaaker — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 17:48:12 GMT

@AndySoCal wrote:
Authored user tellls the creditor that the consumer is not financially responsible for the account.
Terminated - Tells the creditor that the authorized use relationship on the account has ended.
Both are needed and both should be reported

Actually, these are both values of the same attribute in the Metro2 schema. The element is called ECOA and it can have the values

1 = Individual
3 = Authorized User
T = Terminated

(among others, some of which are obsolete). This is what shows up under the Responsibility element in your credit report.

The account has since aged off my credit report.

How did that come about ? Presumably, the primary user closed the account, and that copied down to your report.

I have no way of knowing what might happen with the ghost accounts on my Experian report. (While we're only discussing Amex in this thread, I also have a CBNA (Citibank) account that is presenting in exactly the same way.) They're shown as open, so presumably they will just sit there for the next 40+ years never changing. Open accounts don't age off reports.

IMO Authorized user accounts has its purposes but it is not friends /relatives helping some raise their FICO score. Where authorized user accounts can and should be setup as example. A stay at home mom or dad who has limited credit could be added as authorized user accounts user on the other persons credit card to help pay for the expenses. This one example there are more.

We're in agreement here. I think AU cards have many practical uses, but it was a mistake to allow them to be reported to the credit bureaus, and a lot of grief has arisen from that error.

You might remember from a previous conversation we had some months ago, that I'm actually a dual-citizen of the US and Canada (and l live in Canada). We have supplementary cards in Canada, too, but they are never reported to the credit bureaus. They're quite useful for increasing the spending levels on rewards cards, for instance.

Re: Ghost account on Experian credit report

Nashwaaker — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 18:31:20 GMT

@radiofrequencies wrote:
You're correct about me seeing your posts on r/CRedit! In general, AU accounts are deleted from someone's credit reports after they are removed as an authorized user but your experience demonstrates that's not the case with an AU Amex and Experian. I don't understand why TransUnion and Equifax deleted the account but Experian didn't. I would have expected all three credit bureaus to handle it the same way. It also doesn't make sense to me why your Experian report shows the account as open if the EOCA code is 'T'. Since the account is listed as "Open", will it stay on your reports indefinitely? Or will Experian use 10 years after the 'Last reported' date for the removal date?

Actually, it isn't just Amex. Before I started to build up my own credit in the US, I was AU on cards from three issuers: Capital One, CBNA, and Amex. (And all were there for practical purposes unrelated to any mythical advantage for credit building.) I've been removed from all three of them. Equifax removed all three automatically when I was removed. Transunion marked them 'Terminated' but left them on my report until I opened a dispute, but that dispute was processed instantly in every case.

Experian produced the same ghost presentations for all three. Capital One's card was removed by Experian in response to a 'not my account' dispute, but Experian won't remove the Amex or the CBNA account.

I have no way of knowing if they'll even be removed. As you've noticed, I seem to be the only person who's ever reported this behavior.

A couple of questions for my own curiosity... Did you file your disputes with Experian online or through the mail? Does the myFICO CMS show the same average age of accounts as the Experian CMS?

All these disputes were done through the CMS. Mail is not a practical option for me - as I'm not actually in the US. I tried it once, Experian replied by email, but their security systems refused to allow me to read the response !

As for the AAoA, I believe so, but I'll have to check.

Re: Ghost account on Experian credit report

Nashwaaker — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 19:19:23 GMT

@radiofrequencies wrote:
Does the myFICO CMS show the same average age of accounts as the Experian CMS?

In the Experian CMS there are two different places you can see the AAoA. On the Credit menu, there is a Credit Overview. If you scroll down to Score Ingredients, you can see an AAoA number. But, there's also a Credit Report section on the Credit menu. If you go there, you can print a report, among other things. But the AAoA number on my printed report is different from the one on the Ingredients display (as is the AoOA).

The AAoA number in the Ingredients section matches the value on MyFICO. The number on the printed report includes the ghost accounts.

I actually mentioned this briefly in message #4 on this thread, in answer to another of your questions ;-)

There are 0 scoreable inquiries on EQ and TU, but 3 on EX. EQ 8 is 752, TU 8 is 750, but EX 8 is 730. Since it's a young profile with a new revolver, I figured that the inquiries explained the difference. But, the AU AZ penalty could be in there, too. So you can see why I'm unsure whether EX 8 is counting the ghosts or not !

Re: Ghost account on Experian credit report

AndySoCal — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 21:57:39 GMT

As far as my being an authorized user on her Discover card . I was added a very vague memory was Discover called my mom. I had my own card since 1990 and this happened between 2000 and 2007. All that said the card aged off my report after she passed away.

Glad you brought up the Metro 2 format. The Metro 2 reporting uses segments to report the data. For the purposes of this discussion the segment that are involved are the Base segment, J1 and J2 segment. The J1 and J2 segments are for associated consumer same address and associated consumer differnet address. The list of ECOA codes gives additional guidance for the T - Terminated, X - Deceased Z- Delete consumer. Both the J1 and J2 segments contain the ECOA code field. The T or the A ECOA is in the base segment the other is in the J1 or J2 segment. As far as All zero penalty I have my doubts that is accurate because I doubt FICO would penalize person who has potentially no control if the account was used or not that makes no sense. In order for me to believe that I would want the complete credit report before the drop and the one after the drop in the score. I am not asking for that because it in none of my business.

Re: Ghost account on Experian credit report

Nashwaaker — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 08:44:29 GMT

@pizzadude wrote:
It's not hurting your FICO scores in any way.

I'm not actually concerned about my scores, per se, but if the ghost accounts are affecting them in some way, that would be a problem.

What's the basis of your assertion ?

I've focused on the Amex account in this thread, but I also have a terminated Citibank account that appears on my report in the same format. When I was going through the steps to get removed from that account, there was a period of time when it was still present on my Transunion report, but with Responsibility=Terminated. As I had done previously, I opened a dispute with Transunion and the Citibank account was immediately removed from my Transunion report. The CreditWise CMS alerted me shortly afterwards of a change in my TU F8 score - it rose by 14 points in response to the removal of the Citibank history.

That was my last AU account, and it had a zero balance at the time it was removed from my file. From that, and the magnitude of the score change, I conclude that the AU AZ penalty was no longer in effect. Of course, I cannot know that this was the cause, but it seems most likely.

This event seems to suggest that a terminated AU tradeline can still affect FICO scoring, at least at Transunion. If that's the case, it seems possible that this is also true at Experian.

Can you direct me to an authoritative source that supports your assertion that terminated AU tradelines that are still present on an Experian report do not affect FICO scoring ?