Dar: You make a lot of good points but the family member in question actually has good credit and the means to pay off the account. I wasn’t making a fool hearty assumption while stating that (we’re obviously close enough where I know their information as well as they know mine). You should note that I also mentioned in the post that I actually would have been willing to open the joint account with them had they simply asked. In either case, none of these excuse their action.

If you hadn’t discovered this on your own, when were you expecting Joe/Jane Relative to tell you? Why are you confident this person is going to pay off the balance, when they obviously didn’t have the credit rating to get the account on their own or have enough confidence that you would co-sign if asked?

Not only has this person deceived you, but they’ve also put you on the spot where you risk looking vindictive and mean if you take legal action against a family member, however if you do nothing and accept it, you’re at risk for liability *and* you’ve encouraged that person to do it again!

Personally, I’d rather risk looking vindictive and mean by letting this person and the rest of the family know that my love and affection for my family is not to be used as leverage against me now or ever.

A few years ago my father opened an account and listed my sister as an authorized user, not joint owner, on the account without her knowledge. She obviously never signed anything accepting responsibility for the account, nor was it required in this situation. When my dad quit paying on the account, the delinquency was reported on my sister’s credit report and ruined her credit, causing all of her legitimate credit card interest rates to go up.

Once she found out what had happened, she disputed the account, claimed fraud, etc. The credit card company was less than willing to admit that she was an innocent party. It finally took her making a local police report, contacting the CA AG’s office, CA Consmer Affairs office, and the federal agency responsible for oversight of credit card companies before they removed the account from her credit report. Fortunately, it was resolved in two to three weeks b/c of her persistence and the helpful info on identify theft from the CA state websites.

However, none of her other credit card companies lowered the interest rates they had raised even when informed of what had happened. So hopefully you’re right and your family member doesn’t screw you over and ruin your credit!

It’s too easy to do what they did!

And I re-read this twice: “(plus I love and care about them)”

Unfortunately, your family member doesn’t seem to have the same level of respect for you.

I’m impressed with your level of calm with this. I woulda gone ballistic, level 11.

Thanks for the comments though guys. I’m pretty pissed off but again, there’s obviously a reason why I’m taking it rather well (in the posting anyway hah). I would write more about it if I could but yeah…

This isn’t to say my reaction means this is a non-issue. Ggrrl makes a good point that as joint account holder, you’re legally responsible for the debt in question (hence my frequent mentions of avoiding applying for loans etc. as a cosigner).

Thanks for pointing it out and I’m aware of the possible repercussion if I choose to not dispute this account. I haven’t made up my mind completely yet on how I’ll handle this, as I’m playing out different type of scenarios — but for other people reading, if you ever encounter a situation like this, its in your own best interest to protect yourself.

Again, I want to stress that I’m taking it fairly well because I have a firm grasp of my own finances, and I have good idea on why this happened along with why the family member may have decided to take this action. Again, I wish I can elaborate further but yeah, that’s life for you!

I understand that you love this person, but their actions are reprehensible. The old adage of burn me once it’s your fault, burn me twice it’s mine may apply here. They were willing to open a credit card in your name – which is a federal offense. There is no reason to believe that they haven’t done other things or won’t in the future – like walking away from their debt and leaving you holding the bag.

That’s what it’s all about in today’s world… KNOWING. Glad Quizzle could help you out!

Quizzle has been following your blog for a long time and we love the real, honest, practical financial advice you provide.

Keep up the great work!

I would be fuming if I were you. I don’t care if that person will repay that debt in time. What they did is identity theft pure and simple.

Ok, my over-reaction moment is over and I really hope you work it out with them. But, still, don’t take this so lightly.

Give them time to fix it, and if they don’t I’d prosecute, otherwise they might try it on others not so studious about checking their accounts.

Good Luck!