Authorized User

[mjkim]

I am an authorized user on my wife's card, why is it showing up on my credit report? Does this mean that I am liable for this debt? How do I remove this from my credit report? What if it is in collections?

[DocDon]

The answers to your questions can be found by doing a search of the site. You'll find a lot more detail than I can fit into one page.

[c m chase]

I am an authorized user on my wife's card, why is it showing up on my credit report?

You just answered your own question. It's showing up on your report because you're an authorized user.

Some companys list their tradelines on authorized users' files....some don't. You can do a search on this site if you want to find out more specific info on each company.

Does this mean that I am liable for this debt?

No. You need to make sure you're an AUTHORIZED USER on the account and not a JOINT USER. This is a big difference. If you're joint, however, then YES, you're liable. Sometimes, when an account goes bad and there's an authorized user listed, they will try and go after you for the debt too. (Some companies will try anything to get their $ back). There's nothing they can legally do against you, though, because you, as an authorized user, are in no way responsible for the debt.

How do I remove this from my credit report?

Most of the time, this is very easily done. Write up a dispute to the credit reporting agencies and say something like "I was only listed as an authorized user on this account and am not responsible for the debt. Please remove this from my credit file."

It usually takes care of it. If it doesn't, contact the company (or have your wife do so) and have them remove your name as authorized user. If it doesn't disappear from your reports soon, dispute again.