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If your grandparents have no knowledge of the Discover account, this is classic identity theft. If that's the case, you may have to call Discover and follow proper protocol, which may involve filling a police report among other unpleasant things. I'm sorry you have to go through that.
Not sure how old your grandparents are, but before you get her all upset, is it possible to pull her credit report and see how many accounts are listed? You could do the $1 trial at CCT and pull both of your grandparents reports with all three bureaus (with their permission, of course). That will give you some knowledge if this is limited to Discover or if it is widespread among other lenders.
I'd try and gather all of the facts before worrying her or putting her through the stress of next steps.
The cards say member since 1987 and the limit is $13.3k. I believe that originally the acct was opened by my grandparents. I just don't know at what point my aunt made the changes. Around 5 years ago when my grandfather went in to the nursing home, my grandmother paid off all her debts. My grandparents would never knowingly let her have free reign with one of their accounts, I do know that.
@Anonymous wrote:Not sure how old your grandparents are, but before you get her all upset, is it possible to pull her credit report and see how many accounts are listed? You could do the $1 trial at CCT and pull both of your grandparents reports with all three bureaus (with their permission, of course). That will give you some knowledge if this is limited to Discover or if it is widespread among other lenders.
I'd try and gather all of the facts before worrying her or putting her through the stress of next steps.
This is a good idea! I definitely don't want to worry her with this until I know more
I agree with prior posters, pull the reports and see where it goes.
It might not be an AU thing, though - one of the caregivers at my grandmother's last residence before she passed took one of her credit cards, had the billing address changed to her own, and went Christmas shopping with it to the tune of $4800. She didn't authorize herself or put her name on the account anyplace, she just took the card and hit Walmart, Target, the mall... banking on the (completely normal) lack of salesperson interest in the true identity of the cardholder. We caught it when we went online a few weeks later to pay the monthly bill for medication delivery, which was billed to that account, and instead of the expected $450ish balance, it was over five grand. We contacted Chase and disputed all of the charges, and they charged it all back. When we started asking questions around the residence they discovered the "new" address matched one of the employees. She confessed when confronted by the police. They charged her with theft and fraud and all kinds of great things, and as far as I know she's still on probation. We would've preferred jail, and my uncle offered to take her out back and help her see the error of her ways ... but the police declined his assistance lol
My aunt has a physical card in her own name though. I am working on getting cr's for my grandmother now
Is it possible that your grandparents in their poor health asked your aunt to help manage their account for them since they may have not been able to do it themselves?
Yes that is what I am thinking might have happened. My grandfather always had flawless credit and never carried a balance. We just viewed his report, the usage started 11/2013 with a $190 balance and has climbed by an average of $1,000 per month to the 4/2016 balance of $12,774
I think they may have allowed her to "help" them possibly close accounts because several accounts were closed around that time. They would never give her free reign of their account because they know her history. I have a feeling they think the account is closed and is instead just being sent to the new address. I am going to take this information to my grandmother so we can call discover