2

Can I dispute an accidental submission of a credit application?

I left some information out, and a family member submitted a credit card application with out my consent.

I was going to apply for a secured credit card and was filling out the application which I left open on my computer.

I'm not sure how, but the family member submitted the application for a different card all together and one I know I would not qualify for.

I'm not sure why the family member did this except the person is being tested for mental health issues, possible Alzheimers.

I don't want to report it as fraud, as it is a family member, at the same time I don't want the "hard pull" on my credit history.

What should I do to get this off my credit report?

Improve this question
1
  • Are you going to be applying for another credit card? If so, multiple hard pulls in a short period of time for the same purpose will generally be counted as a single pull for any credit scoring model.
    – Justin Cave
    May 31, 2019 at 23:36

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

Call the credit card company, and explain what happened, including the relative with dementia, and confess your momentary idiocy (sorry for this word, but even the most intelligent people have lapses) in leaving your application accessible.

Disputing it as a fraud is not only incorrect (and unkind), but will complicate getting it straightened out.

They will either fix it right away, or send you a form, or direct you to the right place on their website, or tell you who to contact. You can ask them how it will affect your credit rating, but my guess is that addressing this quickly will mitigate any adverse effects. Mistakes happen. However, I can't answer this part with any authority.

Improve this answer
4
  • Why is it not fraud? It sounds like a relative falsely applied for credit with the OP's information?
    – Vality
    May 31, 2019 at 23:59
  • 2
    If a person has dementia, he will do strange things with no or little understanding of what he is doing or why he is doing it. I'm not a lawyer, and it would depend on how demented the relative is, but the analogy is to a child. A five year can lie, but can he commit fraud?
    – ab2
    Jun 1, 2019 at 0:09
  • Good point, though the credit reporting agencies mostly dont specify malice in their criteria to dispute an entry, merely that you honestly state that it was not done by you and was without permission to count as "fraud". They generally wont actually go after the fraudster, merely remove the entry. My only concern about giving a more complex story is they may feel you gave the relative consent to do the application and therefore that it is legitimate.
    – Vality
    Jun 1, 2019 at 0:13
  • You could post this as an answer. I would edit my answer to incorporate your point (with your permission), but this point is beyond my personal knowledge, and I don't feel comfortable writing this point up.
    – ab2
    Jun 1, 2019 at 0:17

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.