co-signer sonscredit card

[debbiekakeman]

s.c.
in 1996, i co-applied and recieved a credit card with my son to help him establish credit.after he married, i ask my name be removed and add his wife to the account(the co. claims they know nothing about that request) in sept. 2003.unknown to me, the payments got 10 months behind on a 6400. balance.i found this out when the credit card company called me after "going back and seeing my name/number on the original 1996 application''. i was told in jan. 05 the amt. was over 11,000.00 but would accept 6400.00 - the balance w/o late and over limit fees.i called my son and he said they were going to refinance their home and pay it off, but so far haven't seem to make any effort to do anything about this problem. my son says it wouldn't affect me and they can't 'do anything' but it on my credit report and has dropped MY credit rating drastically. the nasty daily calls to me telling me what a terrible person i am and many other slanderous comments are upsetting enough but they have even called MY 81 year old dad who has nothing whatsoever to do with this.exactly where do i stand legally?am i responsible for paying this? how can i put a stop to the endless harrassing calls? any help will be greatly appreciated.

[Ladynred]

When, exactly, did your son default on this account ???

Verbal abuse, threats and harrassment are against the law, a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). You should read it to learn your rights and their restrictions and make sure you let THEM KNOW that YOU know what your rights are. They are also NOT allowed to call 3rd parties (your father) if they already have your address and phone number, that too is in the FDCPA.

You can read the FDCPA here:
[url]http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm[/url]

Pay attention to Section 806 "Harassment or abuse"

If they start to get abusive, HANG UP ON THEM. If they can't keep a civil tongue in their heads ( and we all know they are incapable of this), then you do NOT have to stay on the phone. They are breaking the law and they darn well know it too !

Tell your son they CAN do something, they can sue YOU for the debt since you did co-sign on the card. Your son's negligence has already trashed YOUR credit and that black mark is going to stay there for 7-1/2 years !! Even if your son DOES manage to pay this off, the bad mark on YOUR credit will remain.

If you have caller ID, just don't pick up the phone. If you have an answering machine, just let them waste their breath talking to it, but do NOT talk to them if you can't do anything to pay them. As co-signer/joint account holder, you ARE just as liable for the debt as your son, and your son needs to understand that.

There is no law that says you have to talk to anyone, and you sure as heck don't have to listen to some pencil-neck brat being abusive to you- HANG UP !

Your son needs to get on the stick if he's going to re-fi, and if not, you need to hammer home that YOU are on the hot seat for HIS debts !

[debbiekakeman]

sc
they haven't made a payment since feb 04,when she was unable to pay bills and he didn't !this all came to light in dec when she was better and took over paying bills again, but the cc comp. wanted all of it including the late/over limit fees or to pay 6400.00 at one time.jane says if one dime is paid on it,they'd be accepting responsibility for the entire amt. including all the fees totaling 100.+ a month being added. since dec. they don't answer the phone(caller id) and just haven't done anything about it,except tell me what can/can't be done to me personally, and talk about needing to 'do' something.
thankx for the info.and the site to read my rights. i've had my machine on since jan. so i don't have to listen to the junk, but dad tries to tell them he has nothing to do w/this, regardless of me telling him to simply hang up, he's from a whole different era and won't be 'rude'. my son kept insisting they couldn't do anything to me since i'd ask my name be taken off the acc. ,but i realized different when i saw my credit report w/this on it at my bank yesterday.i had a call last nite saying i had till 4pm est today to contact them before legal actions begin.so much for what son/daughter-in-law "knows for a fact'' based on a friends info. that works for a finance company!!or working 30 yrs to keep a good credit rating... again, thankx for your help.

[Ladynred]

jane says if one dime is paid on it,they'd be accepting responsibility for the entire amt. including all the fees totaling 100.+ a month being added. since dec.

They're ALREADY responsible for ALL of it !! It really doesn't matter whether a dime is paid or not, unless they can prove its a FRAUDULENT account, they ARE liable for the whole enchilada. The credit card agreements are very specific about defaults and all the fees you are stuck with - no matter what.

just haven't done anything about it,except tell me what can/can't be done to me personally,

Well, their ideas of what a creditor can and can't do to a co-signer are DEAD WRONG ! The are ruining you, does that not make any difference to them ??

my son kept insisting they couldn't do anything to me since i'd ask my name be taken off the acc.

Well, he's wrong. He can "ask" until he's blue in the face and the credit card companies will NOT DO IT if there is any money owing on the account at all. If he 'asked' verbally, they just ignore you, they just won't remove a co-signer that way. An authorized user, yes, as long as the request is in writing.

.i had a call last nite saying i had till 4pm est today to contact them before legal actions begin.so much for what son/daughter-in-law "knows for a fact'' based on a friends info.

That's probably just a BS threat, its very typical of collectors to impose a bogus 'deadline'. They want to create that sense of urgency and the fear of 'legal action' if you don't make their stupid deadline. Threatening legal action they cannot or do not INTEND to take is a violation of the law too.

Your son and DIL need to wake up, or you're the one who will end up out of money or with a judgment against you. For sure, your credit will take a nasty hit in any case !