Remove self from DH credit cards?

[BarbaraBeau]

I am making lots of progress toward improving my credit scores.  I am thinking about asking my DH to remove me as an authorized signer from his cards. Will this help/hurt my credit score if I'm only an authorized signer?  He is late sometimes on payments and I don't want it to negatively affect my score.

[Anonymous]

You can't remove yourself from an established account if the account is in your name. If you're just an 'authorized user' of the card and the account isn't in your name it will not affect you whatsoever.

[Anonymous]

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LBTRS wrote:
You can't remove yourself from an established account if the account is in your name. If you're just an 'authorized user' of the card and the account isn't in your name it will not affect you whatsoever.

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This is not true.  AU accounts currently count in the AU's FICO score just as if the account belonged solely to the AU.  This will no longer be the case when FICO 08 takes effect, but it still is the case as of today.

It is very easy to remove yourself as AU.  Just call the CCC and tell them you would like to remove yourself as AU.  They will instruct you to destroy your card and they should delete the account from your CRs within a matter of days.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
You can't remove yourself from an established account if the account is in your name. If you're just an 'authorized user' of the card and the account isn't in your name it will not affect you whatsoever.

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This is not true.  AU accounts currently count in the AU's FICO score just as if the account belonged solely to the AU.  This will no longer be the case when FICO 08 takes effect, but it still is the case as of today.

It is very easy to remove yourself as AU.  Just call the CCC and tell them you would like to remove yourself as AU.  They will instruct you to destroy your card and they should delete the account from your CRs within a matter of days.

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I have never provided SSN's for any authorized users on my accounts. Authorized users are not financially liable for the account so how can it be on their credit report?

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
You can't remove yourself from an established account if the account is in your name. If you're just an 'authorized user' of the card and the account isn't in your name it will not affect you whatsoever.

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This is not true. AU accounts currently count in the AU's FICO score just as if the account belonged solely to the AU. This will no longer be the case when FICO 08 takes effect, but it still is the case as of today.

It is very easy to remove yourself as AU. Just call the CCC and tell them you would like to remove yourself as AU. They will instruct you to destroy your card and they should delete the account from your CRs within a matter of days.

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I have never provided SSN's for any authorized users on my accounts. Authorized users are not financially liable for the account so how can it be on their credit report?

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But they are! The CCC's use other ways of verifying identity. I'm AU on my husband's Discover, and it's on all three of my reports. I was ever-so-briefly AU on my daughter's new BofA, until it reported on my reports, and I called up and was removed. Bless BofA's heart, it was gone the next day on EX and EQ, and two days later on TU. In neither case did they get my SSN.

Not all CCC's report AU's. I was astonished to find that I'm an AU on my daughter's Gap card, and that doesn't report, thank goodness. DH is AU on my PenFed card, because it's the family gas-and-grocs card, and it doesn't report on his.

AU's can be useful as a brief jump-start for credit, but you're at the mercy of the cardholder's payment patterns. BarbaraBeau, since your husband is occasionally late, I'd recommend getting off those things PDQ. Most credit card companies will let the AU remove themselves; a few require the actual cardholder to do so.

[BarbaraBeau]

Thanks so much for all the advice.  Here's my last question.....since his cards do show up on my credit report...if I remove myself, won't that hurt me too since that will take away some of my outstanding available credit?

[haulingthescoreup]

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@BarbaraBeau wrote:

Thanks so much for all the advice. Here's my last question.....since his cards do show up on my credit report...if I remove myself, won't that hurt me too since that will take away some of my outstanding available credit?

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You will lost the length of history that his cards contribute, and you will also lose the available credit limit.

But if he has a new 30-day late report, it could easily cost you 30-50 points. (It was 50 for me, with my very own mistake. ) That late would undo all the good from the other stuff.

If he's "just" late, as in missing the payment date by a couple of days, and it's not being reported to the credit bureaus, you might hang on until a late eventually posts. (Sorry, no jinx intended.) Then you can jump off. In the meantime, concentrate on getting your own credit limits up to where you won't be too bruised if you have to drop the AU status.

AU is useful as a temporary crutch, but like any crutch, you want to get rid of it pretty quickly. And your DH needs to get better about timely payments, as I'm sure you both know. In this day and age, that's all it takes for a CCC to close your account.

[Bethm1026]

Just a little FYI!!

I was AU on my ex's cc about 6 yrs ago. Well guess what??!! I now have a judgement that just popped up on my CR and I am in the middle of buying a house!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah so that junk of "don't count" is a load of **it!

I may have to pay this off @ $3.5K or I don't get a house!!!!!!!

Any advice anyone???  

[haulingthescoreup]

If you were genuinely an authorized user, as opposed to a joint user, you are not responsible for any of the debt. If you haven't done so already, get yourself off of any AU account belonging to your ex.

But if you were a joint user instead, you're going to have to deal with this, I'm afraid.

[BooBee]

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cheddar wrote:

It is very easy to remove yourself as AU.  Just call the CCC and tell them you would like to remove yourself as AU.  They will instruct you to destroy your card and they should delete the account from your CRs within a matter of days.

Is that true that if you remove an AU the tradeline on THEIR report gets deleted, even if it shows all positive stuff?

I have my wife on one of my Cap1 cards with a 1500 limit that has been helping her credit.  I thought if we eventually removed her as an AU once she gets her own credit established (new credit user) then the tradeline from my Cap1 account would stay on her report unless she disputed (which would be unwise if it's nothing but a positive account).