To remove my name as an authorized user or not?

Anonymous · ‎08-12-2015

hello, I have just been made aware that my father added me as an authorized user on a credit card in 2002, when I was 9 years old. I am now 22. It was charged off in 2009, and shows on my equifax credit report as a charge off. My credit score is currently 689(equifax). I am looking to apply for a mortgage loan soon and want to know if this will negatively affect my ability to get a mortgage.. I'm also concerned that removing it will cause my length of credit history to go down. It is currently at 12 years 10 months. Without this card on my credit report I would only have 3-4 years of credit history of my own. I would just like to know if it would be better to get my name removed and lose the credit history or keep the history but have this charge off under authorized user. Any advice is appreciated!

CH-7-Mission-Accomplished · ‎08-12-2015

You would be better off with a shorter average age than have the chargeoff reporting. Just dispute the account as your being an authorized user and not responsible for the account. They should delete it.

takeshi74 · ‎08-13-2015

Consider the relative weights.

http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/whatsinyourscore.aspx

Derogs impact Payment History, 35%. Length of Credit History is only 15%.

If you have derogs we always advise doing what you can to address them as a priority as they tend to have a significant impact and hold one's scores down as long as they are reporting. Given that you're just an AU this should a relatively easy one to address.

@Anonymous wrote:
My credit score is currently 689(equifax). I am looking to apply for a mortgage loan soon

If that's a FICO 8 then keep in mind that mortgage lenders generally do not use that model. Your mortgage scores may be lower. Also consider that your mortgage scores with all 3 CRA's matter.