what makes you an authorized user?

[smallfry]

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@LindaLu wrote:

her name is actually not the same as mine..for all they know she may not have even had the same address...the card came to my address but if she didn't have the same address the card was actually addressed to me and I could have just given it to her or for anyone for that fact ..I mean if I wanted to just give them a name..

so if I have her name removed by calling them does that account balance come off her report also and bring her utilization back down?

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It may.

[haulingthescoreup]

Generally when you call your bank to request that someone be removed as an AU, the bank will update to that person's credit reports on the next statement date, and the account will vanish from their reports.

Once that happens, the scores will improve, due to the removal of the high-util account.

Has she pulled her reports? Does she know for certain that the card is reporting on them? It certainly sounds like the most likely explanation.

Some cards stubbornly hang on and continue to report, such as American Express. This is bad if there is still a balance. If this happens, you need to call the bank again, and she'll probably have to dispute the account with the bureaus as "not mine." This can be a pain, so if you can get the bank to do it instead, that would be better.

[LindaLu]

I don't know that these accounts are on her report..I just assumed that when it said high utilization...she is only 19..just trying to rebuild credit..I can just try to pay down the balance..If these accounts are actually helping her credit then that is good. I gave her these cards in her name so when she needed something that I wanted to take care of paying for she could use them instead of her own..

Also another thought on that note about high utilization..could it also be student loans ? she has deferred payments..would the balances on those go against utilization and could be what is causing it?

[haulingthescoreup]

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LindaLu wrote:

I don't know that these accounts are on her report..I just assumed that when it said high utilization...she is only 19..just trying to rebuild credit..I can just try to pay down the balance..If these accounts are actually helping her credit then that is good. I gave her these cards in her name so when she needed something that I wanted to take care of paying for she could use them instead of her own..

Also another thought on that note about high utilization..could it also be student loans ? she has deferred payments..would the balances on those go against utilization and could be what is causing it?

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No, high util is referring to revolving, not student loans. Student loans are calculated separately as installment, not revolving.

IF your credit cards are on her reports then yes, she's getting dinged for the high util on them.

LindaLu, she really needs to pull her reports to see exactly what's going on. I doubt that she's ever pulled them before, so she can get all three free through annualcreditreport.com. It needs to be that site --have her use that link. Do NOT use freecreditreport-com, etc. They don't give you your full reports, and they're not free.

It would be best to pull all three at once, and then follow up by buying updated ones in a month or so. But for now, she might want to pull just the one that was accessed for her application. She needs to look at the denial and see which report they pulled --Equifax, TransUnion, or Experian. Denied applicants get a free credit report from the credit bureau that was hit. Call your CC's and request her removal, as described above, wait one month, and then have her pull her free reports, and see if they're gone. She might want to pull just one at a time. If there are still any AU accounts on there, try to get them off again, and then pull a different report. Ideally, she would pay to pull all three, if necessary, but most people don't want to pay for that.

[Anonymous]

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@LindaLu wrote:

I don't know that these accounts are on her report..I just assumed that when it said high utilization...she is only 19..just trying to rebuild credit..I can just try to pay down the balance..If these accounts are actually helping her credit then that is good. I gave her these cards in her name so when she needed something that I wanted to take care of paying for she could use them instead of her own..

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If the account is older than her own credit card account and has a higher CL, then yes, it would definitely help her credit report to have it there, if you paid it down/off. Probably, ideally have it report >9% utilization. At least when she is preparing to apply for new credit.

One of the problems when we are building/rebuilding credit is that no one wants to give us credit until we have credit. No one wants to be the first to give a decent CL either. We can help our children overcome this catch 22 by making them AUs on our older, better CL cards. If you can keep the utilization down on this card I would leave it on her reports.  

[LindaLu]

thanks ..everyone has been so helpful!  I don't think she would have gotten approved for the card she applied for anyway..but she got an offer for a discover student card..she only has 1 card in her name and it started at $200 in October and they increased it to $500 in April I think it was...It is through Chase..prime card..good for her!

We are going topull her credit report and check..so if I do pay it down to a low amount and leave her on it as AU will the previous high utilization hurt her any? also I didn't know anything could be placed on your credit report without your social security number dob etc..they don't have anything but her name..and for all they know she may have not even lived with me.

[Anonymous]

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@LindaLu wrote:

thanks ..everyone has been so helpful!  I don't think she would have gotten approved for the card she applied for anyway..but she got an offer for a discover student card..she only has 1 card in her name and it started at $200 in October and they increased it to $500 in April I think it was...It is through Chase..prime card..good for her!

We are going topull her credit report and check..so if I do pay it down to a low amount and leave her on it as AU will the previous high utilization hurt her any? also I didn't know anything could be placed on your credit report without your social security number dob etc..they don't have anything but her name..and for all they know she may have not even lived with me.

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I added my daughter to several of my accounts recently...all they asked was her name, one CCC asked for her address. All they need is a name and an address to access her credit reports. She doesn't live with me, but I had her use my address for something else before adding her as AU.

No, your past high utilization on that card will not hurt her credit score after it is paid off. 

[LindaLu]

question on the reverse of my original question. what if she adds ME as an authorized user on her card..? will my utilization on my cards in my name hurt her any? I am rebuilding and beings that she doesnt run a balance..(because well I am training her to not to do  that like I did and regret it).

If I do this also will it just start reporting from the day I am added or way back to last October when she got her card.?

[Anonymous]

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@LindaLu wrote:

question on the reverse of my original question. what if she adds ME as an authorized user on her card..? will my utilization on my cards in my name hurt her any? I am rebuilding and beings that she doesnt run a balance..(because well I am training her to not to do  that like I did and regret it).

If I do this also will it just start reporting from the day I am added or way back to last October when she got her card.?

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No, if she adds you as AU on her card that will in no way affect her crediit report. You would simply see her card's history and CL on your report. And yes, it should show full history...way back to October.

[jazz_collegegrad08]

My mom did the same thing when I was in high school. I remember seeing a CC in her purse with my name on it and she wouldn't give it to me. Well, I recently checked my reports this year and saw that I was AU on 2 CCs of her's. One was paid in full and closed but never late and in good standing while the other was charged off and settled. I disputed both and they were both deleted.