@Anonymous wrote:A few months ago, my landlady said that I could apply for a credit card through her credit rating which is above 800. She promised it would help mine immensely. I applied for the card using my information. I have no recollection of her entering any information. However, a few weeks later two new capital one walmart cards came for both of us.My credit has gone up, but I have asked her for statements and she refuses to give anything to me. The card came under my name and I used it to pay for I rental car. She insisted that I pay her back the entire amount which I did when I got back from my trip.I never understood what she did. I didn't like the fact that the card was in my name, under my social security number and I never saw the envelope it came in. I ran a credit report and it was under my name. The balance wasn't zero so I knew she had been lying. She hadn't used the money I gave her to pay the whole bill as she'd agreed to do. Worse still, she claimed that her 'boyfriend' had accidentally used the card.When I confronted her she cussed me out and told me she was going to cancel it which she did so I was unable to investigate any further because it had been passed on to a debt collector.She claimed that she had 'removed me' from her cards, but I don't understand how. When she made the offer it seemed too good to be true. She was being too nice. Is this a case of fraud or was it possible for her to put me under her a credit as she claimed. It doesn't make sense because it's also on my report. The most ridiculous thing is that she refused to let me use it so I didn't see how it was benefiting me at all
You've described the scenario of an authorized user credit card, which is perfectly legal. If this is the case, then it means you are not legally responsible for paying the debt. Your landlady, as the primary account holder, can add or remove you from authorized user status or close the credit card account at her own discretion. As the primary account holder, she's not required to give you the authorized user credit card with your name on it, nor allow you to use it, nor show you the monthly statements. However, look at your CRs in the "Account Info" or "Account Details" section to see if it shows "Authorized User" for the CC account's "Responsibility" or "Owner" item to be sure you really are an authorized user.
On the other hand, if the CC account's "Responsibility" or "Owner" item lists "Individual" or "Joint" on your CR, then you are legally responsible for paying the debt, and the collection will be listed in the public record or collections section of your CRs. If this is the case, contact an attorney to find out what your rights are and whether or not you can report your landlady to the police for fraud. If this is deemed fraud, then you can give a copy of the police report to the CBs and request the credit account and collection be removed from your CRs. Once the issue is resolved and the CC account and collection removed, these will no longer hold down your credit scores.
looks like you were added as an authorized user on the account, that's why she received the envelope and not you. Sometimes lenders ask for SS to add AU. That's not your debt, have you checked your reports after that? You can contact the lender or open a claim with Fico if it's negatively reporting.
