Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Massachusetts

is this leagal can i do anything about it

my brother applied for a credit card and put me down as an authorized user.for the purpose of helping me build my credit,which i found out it doesnt work that way.they never asked me for my soc. #. he owed them money. he got in trouble with the law and left the country. and knaw its on my credit report as if it was my credit card is this leagal and is their anything i can do about it. thank you for your time .


Asked on 3/26/03, 10:07 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
James Cook Cook & Ferreira

Re: is this leagal can i do anything about it

Hello. If you were simply an "authorized user" then you would not likely be liable for your brother's charges. However, because your name appears on the credit bureau report, I suspect that you are not simply an authorized user, but that you are a joint account holder-which means that you share liability with your brother. The company can only report you to a credit bureau if they have your ss#. You should contact the credit card company and request a copy of anything that contains your signature with them. If you never signed anything, then there can be no liability on your part. If you are simply an authorized user, then you would never have had to sign anything. It is your brother that would be liable for your charges and not the other way around. Best of luck. - James Cook

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Answered on 3/27/03, 4:37 pm


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