Minors and credit cards......can they have one?
 

My 17 year old son obtained a credit card against my wishes about 6 mos ago.

The clerk at the bank told him to change his bdate by one year, making him eligible, then verified his ID to process the application. Apparently, she liked him and made the suggestion.

Is he liable for any charges?

I'm trying to see if perhaps we can avoid all the late fees he has and just pay the original charges he made. It's not that much(350.00) but since I may get stuck paying for it(on loan) I'd like to minimize the damage if possible.

Other that that, he'll be stuck with a bad credit report till he's 25.

Thanks

I'd certainly bring it up to the bank manager and have the clerk explain it.

Other than that, leave him be. So what if he has a bad credit score.

I'd check it out with others to make sure that YOU don't get the bad score but let him sink or swim as he wishes.

According to Judge Judy, minors cannot enter into binding contracts. I suspect your son is not liable. I also think the bank clerk would be in serious trouble for knowingly encouraging the falsification of a credit application.

Having had bad credit in my earlier years, I am trying to avoid him suffering the same fate.

He is willing to pay as he has a job. I'm just trying to help him out a bit.

I will be going to the branch tomorrow with his card and DL to prove he is not of age and try to negotiate a settlement that is acceptable to all.

37% interest is a motherfocker!:behead:

Why? It is an education for him. Whoever said education was free? He did it by himself so let him learn himself how difficult it is to get out of the situation. If I were you, I'd go to the bank on my own to see how I can be affected. If not, let him suffer and learn. You bail him out and you have just enabled him. So far, what has he learnt? Dad said no to a CC, I went behind his back, lied and now I am in the hole. Dad will fix all for me.

Didn't we go back and forth on this once before? Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you the one who said he will never have kids? If so, you won't understand.

All I will be doing is talking for him, I will not be paying up anything. It does not cost me anything to talk.

You cannot expect a 17 year old to understand the reprecussion for making a mistake with your credit.

If I can avoid him that anguish by wasting 15 minutes I will gladly do so.

Yes, I am not interested in having kids. What's to understand? At 15, I went and threw stones at a neighbors floodlight. Dad could have given him a few bucks and made it all go away. Dad stood by and made sure I would fix the problem. I had to go borrow the money from him and with terms of repayment and interest, go make the calls to find the correct parts and then go fix it myself. Well, lets see. What did I learn. Well, firstly, don't go breaking stuff unless you are willing to fix it. I also learnt how difficult it was to have to go take a bus and skirt from place to place to find the right stuff, make phone calls to try narrow it down. Did Dad have a car? Yep. Was he willing to drive me around? Nope. Had to get a taxi so I could get all the stuff home. Who paid for it? Guess. Who got cut from the broken glass and learnt how difficult it is to undo mistakes? That would be me. In short, I learnt a few valuable lessons. Much more than if Dad had gone to fix it all for me. Think I like being marched to the neighbors house and apologize to the guy? Think I like calling around for the parts and do the chasing around? Think I liked borrowing money to fix my mistakes? No. Think I don't get irritated by my neighbors today? Sure I do. Think I go break their stuff even tho the thought does come to my mind? No. What was that lesson worth, in your opinion? Yes, my Dad spanked me, punished me and even made me pay for my mistakes. At the time, he was the biggest SOB that ever lived. Even cursed him from time to time. When I think back today, I realized that if he didn't love me enough to teach me a lesson or two back then, I'd probably be worse off than I am today. Yes, the punishments were harsh then to me. Often I asked why he didn't just pay the few bucks and make it go away. Today, I understand.

True.

Maybe not. But you can certainly expect that this 17 yo will be respectful of your wishes since you are being responsible for him financially.

Yes, if you put it that way, you are correct. However, my question is what is the lesson you are imparting? You screw up and Dad will fix it?

Your Dad loaned you money to get out of a jam.

I will not be lending him any money, only trying to lessen the blow a little bit.

Wasn't that what your dad did?(that sounds funny :) ) when he helped you out of that Jam?

He will be paying for it, every cent, as is his intention. I made it perfectly clear when he obtained it, that I would not be helping him pay for it.

Eve if I helped him pay for it to settle this and avoid problems, he would have to pay me back, but that's not in the plan as I type.

I had to beg him for it literally. And that was a real loan with very high interests too. I was marched to the guys house and when I couldn't pay, it was me begging Dad for a loan ON MY KNEES in public with the other guy there. So yes, you could say that he loaned me the money. I paid him back and then some. With interest, by the time I paid it off, I actually paid him at least triple what I borrowed. Lets not forget about the public humiliation. It was that or DAD would have made the call for the cops personally and the other guy was none too pleased with me too. Lets see, triple in 3 months. How much interest was that? Not 37%, I can tell you.

Also, don't forget that I had to chase around to get the parts and fix it myself so I could save some money otherwise that bill would be way higher.

I may not have kids nor do I want them. However, that lesson still is with me and when I want to do something bad, I still think of whether I am willing to pay the price because Dad cared enough to teach me that lesson. That much I understand.

19


NEVER had a credit card.



I only use debit. Money that I've already earned. I took a loan to establish credit (car loan for my 300D)

Credit cards are not a bad thing. Sometimes they are very handy. I use them all the time. Returns are way easier especially with American Express. Now, if you don't have cash and you are in an emergency, well, you could be screwed without a CC. Just have to be disciplined is all.

Overheard
 

Two gays conversing (San Francisco)

"He may dress like a lumberjack, but you should see what he can do with a Credit Card":D

21

NEVER had a credit card.

I only used debit. Now I have $435 in overdraft fees owed to the bank because of their misleading paycheck cashing policies. They will not get it and they have only recently stopped sending me collections calls after two years.

I only use cash now.

I should get a credit card, start building some credit.

My kid racked up hundreds of dollars of overdraft charges on his debit card. One time he charged a candy bar on his card, causing a $35 overdraft fee. I hope he savored every bite. The bank is shameless that way, happily piling on fees instead of just blocking the card. All they do is send a little note in the mail which you get about a week after the fact.