Disputing items on credit report. i was born on 07/26/1989 and just turned 18 last summer. however i somehow?

Question

have inquiries and negative items on my credit report. the inquiry is from 08/2006. which i would have been 17 however i didnt apply for the card it is saying i did. plus i wasnt 18! and then i have a negative item saying i owe some company 475$ from 05/07 . still would have been 17! so when disputing online with experian i told them i didnt make the charges and i wasnt even 18 when they were put on there. it says that they will investigate it. am i going to have to prove that i didnt apply for the card or charge that 475$? or is the fact that i wasnt even 18 at the time of the report going to be enough? what are the exact laws on credit and age... dont you have to be 18 to obtain credit?

Answer 1

You may have had some identity fraud going on a couple years ago that you didn't know about it.

Legally a minor cannot apply for credit anyway, so you have a pretty good case. The credit bureau has the obligation to investigate the matter and reply to you within 30 days. If they cannot prove that the applications were genuinely yours then they must remove the negative entries. The mere fact that you were under 18 should seal the deal.

I suggest you get subscribe to credit monitoring and have the credit bureau add a fraud alert to your file. You don't want any problems down the road.

Answer 2

you need to check all of your credit bureaus as these items may be on all of them. You may be asked to prove this fact and usually a copy of your ssn card and drivers license will work. Disputing an item can be a long process especially if it is something that does not belong to you. Sometimes items are placed on a credit bureau because of a name similarity. Keep all documentation that you receive from any credit bureau and a good record of when you began the dispute. Experian works quickly to resolve a dispute however trans union can be a tricky one to deal with. You must be 18 to acquire any credit card or other debt.

Answer 3

this happened to me as well my father applied for a credit card  and he  and i both have the same name so when he didnt make his payments on time and the account was turned over to collections it was put on my credit simply because of the same name and same address but things like that can easily be removed by the credit agencies with the correct proof so i would recomend that u dispute the items and let them investigate all the items you feel are on your report fradulantly

Answer 4

You have to be 18 to get a credit card.  SO all you have to do is prove that you were 17 when the debt originated.

http://creditcardwarehouseonline.om

Answer 5

Your age at the time is irrelevant to whether you owe money or not. Either you made the transaction or you didn't. If you were 17 at the time they may have trouble enforcing the contract but if you did make the deal then you should pay it. If you don't pay they have a right to leave the claim against you even if they can't force you to pay up. If you didn't make the deal it is up to the merchant to prove that you did.

If a credit card application was made in your name, and you didn't do it, order the company to produce a copy of the written application that has your signature on it. If they can't do that then they can't prove it was you. If they can, and the signature isn't yours, turn it over to the police and let them handle it. At the very least it is a forgery and may be the start of an identity theft.

Answer 6

In general, individuals must possess the requisite "legal capacity" to enter into a valid and binding contract. Contract law regards such legal capacity as the capability of understanding the nature and consequences of the transaction.

In most states, minors do not have capacity to enter into contracts until they reach the age of majority, usually 18 years of age or older. However, this does not mean that minors may not make contracts at all. Rather, the law is designed to protect minors by discouraging other parties from entering into contracts with them. Accordingly, contracts with minors may or may not be binding, depending on the circumstances.

In order to create an enforceable contract, both parties must have maturity and capacity. If one of those elements is lacking from the bargaining process, one consequence could be the invalidation of the entire contract. Minors, for example, do not possess the legal capacity to enter into contracts with other parties. This is generally because minors are not thought to possess the ability to perceive and process all of the necessary information to make an adequately rational decision. However, this does not mean that minors cannot make contracts, it just means that courts may not enforce the contracts that minors enter into.

So I am pretty sure the CRA's will remove the items from your credit report.  The CRA's will verify with the creditor whether or not the debt is a valid debt.

You might also want to place a fraud alert on your credit reports.  In case of identity theft.  A fraud alert stops any new accounts from being opened without first contacting you to verify the application is from you.

Hope this answers your question

LEGAL DISCLAIMER:  The advice contained herein is for informational purposes only.  It is not to be construed as Legal Counsel nor Legal Advice.

Answer 7

If you have a common name, it could be something as simple as an error on the part of the cc company or credit bureau. Unfortunately, the credit arena is very susceptible to human error.

Usually, you do have to be 18 to open a credit card; however, if you are underage and have a parent sign with you, you can have accounts in your name. (I had a store CC when I was 16 with my parents' permission). You might want to ask your parents if they applied for a card and used your name, with them acting as "co-signers" for the account.

The worst case scenario, is of course, identiity theft. Hopefully the bureaus will let you know that you're in the clear solely based on your age at the time the account in question was opened. If they believe that it's you, demand proof. As for a copy of a signature, the application, etc. They should have these things on file. (oh- you might have to ask for this proof from the original cc company...the bureaus probably won't have it). Check out this site for more information: www.consumer.gov/idtheft

Answer 8

It is probably identity theft.

You can use credit repair agency to fix it - for example this one - http://creditreport.undonet.com - They can clean lots of such bad stuff from your credit report - and do it much faster than yourself, so your credit will go up fast.

Answer 9

You may have a bigger problem -- identity theft

If it was not you, then someone got a card with your social security number and name.

Check first within your family if anyone used your name and number to obtain credit cards. You may have to file a police affidavit that these accounts were not obtained by you.

Read the FTC guide on identity theft and the steps you can pursue http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/id...