are minors responsible for a credit card in there name if recived when under 18 ?

Question

I recently found out my daughter has 2 credit cards both in her name she was only 17 when she recieved them and they are not cosigned by me or any other adult, is she responsible or is the company at fault ?

Answer 1

Most credit card companies require you to be 18 before they will provide a credit card. This means that she would have had to lie about her age or birthdate, or she told the truth and they gave one anyway. BE CAREFUL! Although she cannot be held liable for the charges she made, she can still be charged with wire fraud. That means that if she did lie to obtain the credit card, she could be charged, tried as an adult (if they see fit), and covicted; therefore, gaining a criminal record, possibly feloneous. You may want to make her get a job and pay the bills, or risk wire fraud charges.

Wire fraud is a legal concept in the United States Code which provides for enhanced penalty of any criminally fraudulent activity if it is determined that the activity involved electronic communications of any sort, at any phase of the event. As in the case of mail fraud, this statute is often used as a basis for a separate federal prosecution of what would otherwise have been only a violation of a state law.

The legal definition of wire fraud in the US is:

TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 63 > § 1343. Fraud by wire, radio, or television 2004-08-06
Whoever, having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate or foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. If the violation affects a financial institution, such person shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.
In one important case (United States v. LaMacchia -- text at eff.org), an MIT student was charged with wire fraud when he could not be charged with criminal copyright infringement (having not personally profited from the online distribution of millions of dollars worth of illegally copied software). The United States District Court, District of Massachusetts, dismissed the charges, noting they were an attempt to find a broad federal crime where the more narrowly defined one had not occurred. Congress promptly amended the copyright law to limit further use of this loophole.

Answer 2

Minors cannot legally enter into a contract, EXCEPT for necessities (food, clothing, shelter and the like). Legally, banks are prohibited from issuing credit cards to minors.

In the event that your daughter is unable to pay the credit cards, it would be wise to notify the credit card company that a legally binding contract cannot exist and therefore, they cannot report a default which has negative credit rating implications that would follow your daughter for many years. The credit card companies might argue that once your daughter turns 18 that she accepts responsibility for purchases made when she was 17 by making payment on those balances (unknown how this argument might fare).

Answer 3

I am not a lawyer, but It is likely that any charges made after the age of 18 yrs would imply consent to the terms of the card by usage.

If she is not yet 17, and no guardian co-signed, then while the company is at fault (since no contract can be signed by a minor), if neither she, nor you intend to pay it, you will probably need to talk to a lawyer to make sure that no criminal charges can be filed (fraud, theft, etc).

Basically, I would use this as a lesson in responsibility. Tell her that she charged it, she pays it! She needs to beat feet and get a j. o. b! Any other lesson will just make her less responsible, not more.

Answer 4

Actually, the company is at fault. She would've been considered liable, but because of her age at the time of the credit card, she is not. Legally, no person under the age of 18 could bind in a contract of repayment. Furthermore, signing off on a credit card is a contract between your daughter and the credit card department stating that she will repay all debts due in full.

Answer 5

No. Minors cannot legally enter into a contract. The credit card companies are responsible if they grant credit to a minor. Of course if you were a co-signer then YOU are totally responsible for ALL of thei rincurred debts.

Answer 6

the parents are liable for all debts under the age of 18. since she got the cards under the legal age as every credit application states you must be 18 or older. if they gave them to her, she would be liable since she aquired them under false information which is a serious felony. falsifying information to obtain credit is a criminal offense and federal offense. also since she is under age the the contact would be void, but as she is under age, they could come after you as your liable as a parent for any childs actions until 18.

Answer 7

Remember her credit score follows her social security number. Whether she is responsible or not, she obviously had them and used them. To keep from hurting her credit future, I would pay them off.

Answer 8

No but then again they are trying more and more teens as adults these days so there could be some kind of fraudulance going on like maybe she lied about her age to get them. yeah what ever is going on needs to be settled quickly

Answer 9

If she signed for them she could be liable for fraud. But I agree, the CC companies need to know who they're selling their products to.

Answer 10

she is but she needed a co sighner ask her who sighed it but no u cant get out of paying