yerffej201

My friend recently added me as an AU on his AMEX Plat and now it shows up on my credit report as a new account. Not happy about that. Has anyone had success calling AMEX or disputing via credit bureau to get the their account taken off?

imnotalawyer

I don't pretend to know some of the more arcane details of credit reports (in this instance the differences between a primary account versus an authorized user account) but this site seems to suggest that AU accounts are reported on the AU's credit report as a matter of standard practice...

This Experian Blog also seems to suggest that AU accounts appear on the AUs report (provided that the card issuer reports this information).

You can of course try to dispute this with both Amex and that may solve the issue (credit bureaus can't report what isn't reported to them) and that may be successful. You can also challenge this with the credit bureaus themselves but I suspect there's even less of a chance of that happening and you'll have to deal with jumping through that hoop 3 times (and hopefully getting 3 consistent outcomes)

HNLbasedFlyer

Why not just ask the friend to remove you as an Authorized User?

yerffej201

because i want the card for centurion lounge access

garykung

Good luck with that.

The current mechanism is designed for inaccurate/incomplete information only, but not for something you are not happy about. As soon as the report is accurate and complete, neither AMEX or any credit bureau is obligated to remove the information.

You are welcome to waste whatever time you deem necessary trying to get the information removed. But your chance of success is practically nil unless the information is either inaccurate or incomplete.

Too late anyway.

Steve M

So, this was done at your request / with your permission? There would seem to be nothing to dispute, as the entry on your credit report is accurate. Whether you want it to be there is a separate matter.

jghassell

Contrary to the definitive assertions above, many creditors will remove the trade line if you dispute it and the additional card for the authorized user is closed. Citi and Amex both will.

garykung

While you may be right, it is entirely up to the issuer's discretion. Bottom line - you have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to compel a creditor to remove the trade line.

naumank

If you intend to keep the card, then it will appear on your credit report. There's no way around it.

mia

But yerffej201 wants the card to remain open.

Steve M

I think it's worth adding why the AU appears on your credit report: although the primary cardholder has responsibility for all charges on their card as well as all AU's on the account, the AU cardholder also has financial responsibility to Amex for all charges made on their AU card, should the primary cardholder not pay. It's a potential liability to the AU that's not very different than if the AU had their own primary Platinum card. The fact that the AU doesn't plan to actually make any charges on the card is irrelevant, in the same way that it would be for someone that gets a primary card but doesn't plan to use it.

Ilove2fly

It is a standard practice. Some might even consider this as positive. Years ago, when it was nearly impossible to get a credit card approved for a teen, I added my son as an AU to give him some credit history. By the time he graduated from college his credit score was 750+. As long as OP's friend pays the bills on time, OP's credit score might benefit from it. Of course, it can go the other way, too.

TravelForum

Folks, you can easily have the Authorized User connotation removed from your credit report, while leaving the card open. I've done this numerous times with my wife and me. We are both Authorized Users on all of each other's cards, but only have the primary show up on the report. You would just go to TransUnion, Equifax and Experian -- and advise them something along the lines of: "I'm an authorized user only on this account and not responsible for any charges. Only the primary account holder is responsible for this account. I did not authorize this account to be added to my credit report as an authorized user. Please remove it effective immediately and contact me in writing once it has been removed".

This is what I do and it has worked every single time. Meanwhile, the actual authorized user card remains open and alive.

b8b

how did you contact the credit agencies? Via fax?

I’ve found direct contact for a letter like this difficult. They usually have limitations within an automated form.

imnotalawyer

It actually isn't particularly difficult to dispute information (at least from a procedural standpoint). The Fair Credit Reporting Act governs this area and the Credit Reporting Agencies usually have direct lines for this purpose. Here is an example of the Equifax contact page, which provides a snail mail address, online form, and a phone line.

My pessimism above is more-so related to the time it takes for their investigation to run and the likelihood of success in having this information removed. It is accurate information. However, I don't have any direct experience with this ask and apparently TravelForum has had consistent success.