Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[JM]

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broker wrote:

Jim, you seem to know a lot about the Credit Cards authorized by BB.  My daughter went into Best Buy with her Fiance. He wanted to buy a couple big ticket items and opened up an account. The person behind the counter asked if she wanted to be added onto the acct.  She said she would but didn't want to be a joint user - just a "User"  (she didn't want it to affect her credit).  She signed the form where the BB person told her to.  She paid off the CC before the interest kicked in. About that same time the two of them split, she told him to remove her name on the card (since he was the primary) he said he would. 6 months later when she moved the apt complex did a credit check and her rating had dropped. It seems he charged up the BB account again and hadn't been making payments. Needless to say he never took her name off. When she called HSBC to see if she could get her name off they said she was a joint user she swore she was only an authorized user.  All they would do was let her close the account so he couldn't keep charging.... now she is getting threatening phone calls from HSBC because he isn't making payments on time.  She called HSBC again to ask for a copy of the agreement to verify if she signed under joint or authorized user and they said they no longer have the agreement since the account has been closed.  She still swears she is only an Authorized User she never gave them any information other than a signature, she never got a card with her name on it, she even has her own HSBC card..... any ideas???  P.S.. she is making the payments so as not to get a ding on her credit.

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So, here's the issues I see. Unfortunately, upon fully reading your post, I don't have the best of news for you, from what you've detailed in your post.

1, she signed something. An authorized user never signs anything for a card. It could be that your daughter's fiance put her info down as well, and then she signed for it. That means that she would be a joint owner of the account, and fully liable for any and all charges made to the account. That's the only thing possible to sign for when setting up a Best Buy card. There is not a place to sign to be an authorized user.

2, the retention period for contractual items depends from bank to bank. It's usually five to seven years. I know that, until switching to the entirely electronic system Best Buy sent its card application paperwork directly to HSBC for imaging and storage into their systems. HSBC likely has the application copy still in their system, but the front line representatives aren't intelligent enough to know that they do. No offense to HSBC, but they don't have strong customer service representatives.

3, if they allowed her to close the account, that means she is an official owner of the account, and not an authorized user. Authorized users are not allowed nor able to close accounts they are on, since they are just that - authorized to use it, but not make changes to it, including closing it.

4, this would affect her credit directly, and as you noted, it already has. Unfortunately, as a joint owner, as it seems she is, there is no way to remove this from her credit, nor make the debt disappear. If she signed at time of application, she is contractually liable for the debt. 

5, any payments made to the account further solidifies ownership of said debt. While if she was an authorized user, her payments would not make her liable for the debt. However, it seems the case that she is a joint holder of the account, and thus liable. If she did try to validate the debt, a combination of application and payment would be enough to enforce collection efforts.

So, unfortunately, from the information you provided, it sounds like your daughter is in fact a joint owner of said account, and thus liable for the debt that her ex fiance charged to the card.

[Pyrex]

Let's be clear on one point - payments by themselves DO NOT constitute liability. It would only be a combination of the payments and the collector producing the agreement, with the emphasis on the agreement in the validation. It's a long shot to go the validation route given what the above poster mentions about the scanned agreement, but an option nonetheless.

[broker]

So Basically what everyone is saying is... the idiot behind the counter lied or wasn't trained correctly when she told my daughter that by signing the form she was "JUST AN AUTHORIZED USER"!!!!  BEWARE OUT THERE--Let this be a lesson to all you young people.

[Yellowsubmarine]

Yes, and a very important one, Read what you sign.

[JM]

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broker wrote:

So Basically what everyone is saying is... the idiot behind the counter lied or wasn't trained correctly when she told my daughter that by signing the form she was "JUST AN AUTHORIZED USER"!!!!  BEWARE OUT THERE--Let this be a lesson to all you young people.

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While I do feel for your daughter in this unfortunate situation, I do have an opposing view, as well. As a banking/lending officer for one of the largest banks in the United States, I have say that it's also the customer's responsibility in completing their own due diligence if they are signing something. It says very clearly on the application "This is a joint application for credit. You will be responsible for all charges made to this account, etc, etc."

I never trust anyone when it comes to credit/financial products, and never take anyone at face value. Not saying the associate didn't make a mistake, simply saying the customer also should review the print where they're signing to make sure they're taking on the liability they want to.

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Pyrex wrote:
Let's be clear on one point - payments by themselves DO NOT constitute liability. It would only be a combination of the payments and the collector producing the agreement, with the emphasis on the agreement in the validation. It's a long shot to go the validation route given what the above poster mentions about the scanned agreement, but an option nonetheless.

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Not on their own, yes; hence why I noted that, while it does further solidify liable, it would only do so as a combination of payments and the signed agreements, in my prior post.

[Pyrex]

Broker - I'm sure you also know that your daughter probably has a cause of action against the ex.

I'm not trying to make any excuses for Best Buy and how the employee contributed to this mess - just trying to brainstorm some options for you.

[AaronE]

Oh and by the way under most fico models authorized user cards do report as ECOA: A (3) and do impact the credit score. So even if she had been an authorized user and even if she hadn't signed the application it would have still reported and even if she did get removed as an authorized user (ECOA: T (9)) it still would impact most FICO models.

That's why my kids will hate me; I won't cosign for anything and I won't be an auth user on anything. I have to fix this stuff far too often at my normal job

[JM]

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AaronE wrote:

Oh and by the way under most fico models authorized user cards do report as ECOA: A (3) and do impact the credit score. So even if she had been an authorized user and even if she hadn't signed the application it would have still reported and even if she did get removed as an authorized user (ECOA: T (9)) it still would impact most FICO models.

That's why my kids will hate me; I won't cosign for anything and I won't be an auth user on anything. I have to fix this stuff far too often at my normal job

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To a point, yes. Authorized user accounts sometimes report to the authorized user's credit. However, in the event the account goes sour, the authorized user can dispute the account through the credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion), and note that the account is not their liability and that they wish the authorized user account be removed from their history.

Quite easy.

Now, in the case of joint accounts, no. They won't remove it, since it's their account, specifically.

[cr_client]

I think the other lesson in all of this, and one that I rarely see people take to heart, is to not jointly sign up for an account with any person you're not related to or married to (and, as AaronE pointed out, even people you ARE related to sometimes). I hope for the best for my brother and his own fiancee on the house they bought together, with 4 months still to go before the wedding, but I've seen more negative fallout from joint account ownership prior to marriage than positive.

Also a lesson in having a good, solid discussion about financial situations prior to marriage, or even prior to engagement, and having a prenuptial agreement drawn up, even if all the prenup does is list assets and liabilities for each individual.