Authorized users

[danawess]

What is the name of your state?IL

Hi ok I have a credit card that I put my cousin on as an authorized user, at first it was for little things that she would ask me about buying and I said what ever to it was her bill she had to pay it, well as time went on I asked her to see about getting her own with the company I had it with, she called and checked they told her that they could drop me off as primary and put her on, I agreed no biggie right? well they took all her info told us we had to write a letter to the correspondance department ect... we did all that she got her first bill and it still had my name on it.. We called them again at this time they told me I had to drop the secondary user off my card add her as secondary and BAM BAM its done move her to primary we did this numerous amounts of times. In the time we both thought it was in her name she charged alot to the card alot alot could almost buy a house, any way my husband wants to file criminal charges on her for theft and unlawful use of a credit card, The states attorney says we can, I don't understand how that could be, she is an authorized user and the terms of use of the card plainly state I am resposable not her. The attorney Says that since we only gave her verbel permission on a few of the items that it is theft. It would be like her barrowing our car to go to the store down the street and she drove out of state then we could say she stole the card. I am affraid that if we file the charges she will go to jail. Is this right?

Please help me I am so confused and alone.

[Ladynred]

She probably wouldn't go to jail, no. However, I don't think the lawyer is correct in this at all. You DID put her on the account as an authorized user, that means she definitely HAD PERMISSION to use the card - how can that be theft ?? She didn't need your permission to USE the card, that was implied by her status as 'authorized user'.

The bank won't just remove the primary card holder and elevate the AU to primary, it just doesn't work that way. Whatever this CC bank was telling you was crap. The ONLY way to make her a primary would be for YOU to remove her as AU, close the account and then she would have to apply for her OWN card in HER name only.