Parent opens credit in kid's name, then chargeoff. What can be done?

[katkramer]

My fiancee's daughter pulled her credit report this week and found that she had a $5,500 credit card chargeoff from Chase. I think with fees it was over $6,600.

She is 22, and the card was opened in 2005, so she was 18 at the time. The account was used over a couple of years, when it finally went delinquent in 2007. The daughter is financially responsible, and says that she knows nothing about this.

My fiancee's ex has a history of maxing out credit cards and running up huge amounts of debt, and our suspicion is that she might have opened an account in the daughter's name. Spending money is an addiction for her...

From what I've found on the internet, it looks like the daughter has two options...file a police report for fraud, and the credit card company will take it off her record, or pay the balance. She is a full-time student, so the latter is not an option.

Has anyone ever had experience with this? Is there any way to get this off the daughter's credit without filing charges against the mom?

(This would be the same mom who drained the son's bank account with his life savings as well...it was styled as a "minor" account, and she was the only one with access...she admitted to taking that money and refused to return it...what a witch!)

[Racer X]

file a police report. Mom doesn't care about her relationship with her family if she does crap like this.

[katkramer]

I would love to see her mom get in trouble over this. What parent would do this to their kid?

[space-time]

police

[Black]

Saw this scenario on one of those judge shows.
I think your first step is to contact Chase and see what they advise.

[Sam3]

Racer X wrote:
file a police report. Mom doesn't care about her relationship with her family if she does crap like this.

:agree:

If she's already done it to one kid, she doesn't care about any of her kids and would do it again, even if the daughter paid it off.

[Paul F.]

Of those two, I'd go with filing the police report.

The other option is making an offer for settlement in full (and GET THAT IN WRITING!) for some amount less than the total due.
It's unlikely they'd take (for example) $2000 as full settlement... but if she can scrape together that much, it might be worth it to make the offer.

I'd STILL go with the police report and fileing it as fraud, but if she doesn't want to put her mom up on charges of fraud, then offering to settle the debt would be the second choice.

[space-time]

I don't understand why it is so easy to steal someone's ID here in the US.

When you apply for a loan or credit, you need to sign an application form. if it's not your signature there, then why does that crap end up on your credit report???

[onthedownlow]

I say it's about time this person pays a little debt to society, herself and not with someone else's dime.

File a police report.

Just recently a similar situation happened to the mother of a childhood friend. She opened up accounts in her oldest son's name to further her gambling habit. The son didn't know until years later when he, and his wife, were turned down for a mortgage/loan and inquired about it.

Over a quarter of a million she was charged with (though it was much more). She faced 30 years in prison and luckily got off with 3-years probation and restitution.

[katkramer]

Yeah, as a student, that's a semester's tuition. Plus, she doesn't have it, and neither do we.

Did I mention that I got in a tiff with their mom in the front yard over draining the son's account? Rrrreeoooowwww! Kat fight!!

The kids claim I went after her with a weedeater, but I was using the noise to drown out her yelling of obscenities in our front yard! I was just minding my own business...doing yardwork. Defending my turf. :turbo: