Credit Card for Minor

[Llhg71]

JCPenny let my 17 year old sign up for a credit card.  He was denied.  He didn't have any credit to begin with.  Now the only thing he will have on there is an inquiry.  Does anyone know the law concerning this?  I have chewed his butt out for doing this and I need to know where I stand before I call JCPenny. 

[enharu]

there's usually a clause in T&C in the app form that he has to be 18 years old at least to apply.

Your son agreed to the terms and conditions and went ahead with it.

I think there's nothing you can do for now other than sorting it out with your son. It's just 1 inquiry anyways.

I don't think JCPenny can do anything about it and you shouldn't pursue this with them either. It might just complicate things for your son because technically he commited fraudulent misrepresentation. Not that JCPenny or anyone is going to care nor is your son going to get prosecuted though.

[Burned2manybridgesB4]

JCP...should've told him to do Sears.

It could be removed, but as previously mentioned, it'd be a headache. It'll age off.

[culture]

isnt the resposability of the person filing the card to let them know he needed to be 18 ?

I guess the bonus for getting a card signed was more important to that employee than the rules...

[Burned2manybridgesB4]

Two way street. The DOB should've been given, shouldn't it? I've never done an "in store app" that didn't ask for my ID.

[enharu]

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@culture wrote:

isnt the resposability of the person filing the card to let them know he needed to be 18 ?

I guess the bonus for getting a card signed was more important to that employee than the rules...

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it can be done many ways without the sales or any CSR intervention.

for example, you could have filled in those forms for credit application, which is then mailed to a processing center (the traditional way).

or he could have input everything into the computer on his own.

Also, the sales person is just there to input the data as it is told to him, not to provide credit counseling or advice. Of course, the irony is that some of those sales are given commission for each credit app they get customers to do, but there's really nothing illegal about it. They did not force the customer to do it nor did they do it without their consent.

A lot of times the CSRs can't be bothered to calculate your age as well either. Same thing for drug stores / gas stations that will sell cigarettes to anyone who provides a driver's license without a red line across it (which means that individual is >21years old) without actually paying attention to your exact birth date. 

Of course the sales rep is at fault as well. But there's nothing much that can be done other than making the problem bigger than it ought to be.

[culture]

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@enharu wrote:

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@culture wrote:

isnt the resposability of the person filing the card to let them know he needed to be 18 ?

I guess the bonus for getting a card signed was more important to that employee than the rules...

---

it can be done many ways without the sales or any CSR intervention.

for example, you could have filled in those forms for credit application, which is then mailed to a processing center (the traditional way).

or he could have input everything into the computer on his own.

Also, the sales person is just there to input the data as it is told to him, not to provide credit counseling or advice. Of course, the irony is that some of those sales are given commission for each credit app they get customers to do, but there's really nothing illegal about it. They did not force the customer to do it nor did they do it without their consent.

A lot of times the CSRs can't be bothered to calculate your age as well either. Same thing for drug stores / gas stations that will sell cigarettes to anyone who provides a driver's license without a red line across it (which means that individual is >21years old) without actually paying attention to your exact birth date. 

Of course the sales rep is at fault as well. But there's nothing much that can be done other than making the problem bigger than it ought to be.

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my premise was thinking it was done in store....   

[youngandcreditwrthy]

Did he lie about his age?
I used to harrass people into signing up for JCP cards all the time when I worked there was number one at my store with 500+ apps in a year (I received about $2k worth of bonuses! Lol)
My point is that the system they use will not let you proceed with the app if the inputed birthdate indicates the applicant is under 18.

[b_seeker]

I may be overstepping here, but shouldn't you want your kid to build up credit? I understand people can get into trouble very easily with credit and this is going behind your back, but at 17, you should be looking to build some credit since a lot of important things in the future will be based on actually having something on file. 

[starry1]

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@b_seeker wrote:

I may be overstepping here, but shouldn't you want your kid to build up credit? I understand people can get into trouble very easily with credit and this is going behind your back, but at 17, you should be looking to build some credit since a lot of important things in the future will be based on actually having something on file. 

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Its not legal.  No one under 18 can be legally held responsible for contracts they sign.