I was given a Credit Card at 16 years old....

fabforty

strugglingbigtime wrote: »

right i see there's a lot of people giving me a 'hard time' for lying etc.. and fair enough thats rightly so..

but.. not that it actually matters to anyone.. i was homeless at the time and living in hostels.. my parents wanted nothing to do with me and i had no family who cared.

so when someone says "hey fancy a credit card" and you stand there thinking "hmm maybe i could afford to eat this week then" you kinda go along with it and see what happens. desperation makes people do desperate things, and in this case that's what happened.

I had no regular credits (wages etc.) and I was only receiving benefits at £45 odd a week. So to all those who are saying "serves you right for being stupid" - fair enough, but no need to kick someone when they are down!

In my opinion, it is the banks responsibility to ensure that not only am I eligible to apply for credit, but to also ensure that I can afford repayments - both of which they did not do. regardless of wether or not i lied on an application form, the bank could and should of checked all the details.

as i previously said: I already had an account with the bank, and the card was applied for in connection with the account, so it would not of been difficult for them to check my application.

i really appreciate everyone's opinion and comments, but could do with less of a kicking!

People are only saying what the banks/police will say if the matter comes to light.
Credit agreements with minors are (I believe) unenforceable, so you might be able to avoid repaying what you owe (although I can't say for certain). But the flip side is that you might face criminal charges of fraud/deception, and your age is no protection against that. The fact that you have used the cards for 7 years- 5 years as an adult, is significant as it makes the 'young, stupid and didn't know what I was doing' argument harder to swallow. After 7 years, most (if not all) of the debt will have been incurred after your 18th birthday.
What does 'technically I lied' mean? What did you do/say/write to obtain the card?

cos_2

Hi OP,

Firstly, I don't think the law says that you can't (or should be prevented from) obtain(ing) credit when under 18 - in fact, I'm sure you can if you are over 14, with some restrictions. You can also be found liable for debts at any age.

In my view, your best bet would be to ask the bank if they broke their own rules when they chose to accept your application to become a debtor. If they admit that they did, then you should ask them to consider waiving your debt. If not, I think you're stuck with it, mate.

strugglingbigtime

cos wrote: »

Hi OP,

Firstly, I don't think the law says that you can't (or should be prevented from) obtain(ing) credit when under 18 - in fact, I'm sure you can if you are over 14, with some restrictions. You can also be found liable for debts at any age.

In my view, your best bet would be to ask the bank if they broke their own rules when they chose to accept your application to become a debtor. If they admit that they did, then you should ask them to consider waiving your debt. If not, I think you're stuck with it, mate.

thank you very much for your reply... you make a lot of sense and actually answered my question... i will think about asking my bank what their position is, if and when i cant afford to make repayments.. but at the moment I can just afford to make repayments and would be much happier paying it off rather than resorting to asking the banks to waive it. i was just asking the question for a worse case scenario.

thanks again!

LilacPixie

OP how on earth did you manage to obtain a card while on benefits. I am presuming as well as providing an incorrect DOB you also provided ficticious employment details as you have stated at the time you were on benefits? I never actually knew you could get benefits at 16/17 unless you have a child.

Anyway as you were under 18 at time of signing i believe the agreement is very likely to be void however that will not make the debt disappear or be written off it just means they cannot pursue you through the courts.

If you are struggling with your debt payments i suggest you pop over to the DFW board for assistence. it may be that there are savings to be made in your expenditure or it may be that you need to enter a debt managment plan

Out of interest have you ever needed to call the telephone number to service your card?? If so do you provide the iffy DOB when doing so?

MrsTinks

Ok I think you need to realise there is a difference between lying and committing fraud... in this case BY lying you COMMITTED fraud... As others have pointed out a credit search would probably turned up nothing about you being 16 - very few 18 year olds are on the electoral roll, just as few have previous checkable history so the bank probably had very little evidence to suggest you were not 18 as you claimed...
By giving false details you committed fraud - the fact you were 16 at the time does not make you less liable for this crime. I would be EXTREEMLY careful about approaching the bank and telling them this... I would pay that account off ASAP, open a new account with a new bank with your CORRECT details and hope by jove that they don't link the records because if they do then chances are that they will mark your files as you having given false details in the past... I'll leave you to guess on what effect that will have on you getting credit in future... (oh and IF the bank decide to take legal action against you for fraud... woudl this affect you in your chosen career? It would prevent you from holding a large number of jobs in future...)

Constructive advice?

Post your SOA on the DFW forum, work out how you can repay this as soon as possible and close the account!

strugglingbigtime

LilacPixie wrote: »

OP how on earth did you manage to obtain a card while on benefits. I am presuming as well as providing an incorrect DOB you also provided ficticious employment details as you have stated at the time you were on benefits? I never actually knew you could get benefits at 16/17 unless you have a child.

Anyway as you were under 18 at time of signing i believe the agreement is very likely to be void however that will not make the debt disappear or be written off it just means they cannot pursue you through the courts.

If you are struggling with your debt payments i suggest you pop over to the DFW board for assistence. it may be that there are savings to be made in your expenditure or it may be that you need to enter a debt managment plan

Out of interest have you ever needed to call the telephone number to service your card?? If so do you provide the iffy DOB when doing so?

thank you for your reply.. to answer one of your questions: if you are 'estranged' from your parents and homeless (as with my case at the time) you are entitled to income support or JSA dependent on circumstances. On recollection I have never needed to phone my bank, as I do most things in branch (all i've ever done really is change address) and have therefore not needed to provide my DOB.

It is not my intention to go down this route, and would rather pay the debt off myself.. i was only asking a question in case I could no longer afford to repay.

I have taken on what you have said about the DFW, and have already taken steps to address and pay off my debts. once again this was a 'worse case scenario'

thanks again

strugglingbigtime

MrsTine wrote: »

Ok I think you need to realise there is a difference between lying and committing fraud... in this case BY lying you COMMITTED fraud... As others have pointed out a credit search would probably turned up nothing about you being 16 - very few 18 year olds are on the electoral roll, just as few have previous checkable history so the bank probably had very little evidence to suggest you were not 18 as you claimed...
By giving false details you committed fraud - the fact you were 16 at the time does not make you less liable for this crime. I would be EXTREEMLY careful about approaching the bank and telling them this... I would pay that account off ASAP, open a new account with a new bank with your CORRECT details and hope by jove that they don't link the records because if they do then chances are that they will mark your files as you having given false details in the past... I'll leave you to guess on what effect that will have on you getting credit in future... (oh and IF the bank decide to take legal action against you for fraud... woudl this affect you in your chosen career? It would prevent you from holding a large number of jobs in future...)

Constructive advice?

Post your SOA on the DFW forum, work out how you can repay this as soon as possible and close the account!

thanks for your reply.
constructive advice? - yes

(as above)

i am paying the debt off ASAP.. although as it stands im probably about 2 years away from that point! and the accounts have already/always been linked on my credit file (although surprisingly not to my detriment thus far).

i never said i didn't want to/wasn't going to pay off my debt.. i was just asking a question.

i have noted what you have said about posting my SOA on the DFW, although im not to sure what your abbreviations.. im sure i will work it out.

thanks again

dfh

OP-I dont know what your credit rating is now but if you are paying a high rate of interest on the card, you could do a 0 percent balance transfer which should cut the amount of interest you are paying.

duggie1982

People at the age of 16 can have debt for example, rent! As we can all rent a house and not pay for them. Dont think the local council reports this but it is of sorts of credit (well it was for me). But most likely you can get out of it but may face charges too!!

ElkyElky

duggie1982 wrote: »

People at the age of 16 can have debt for example, rent! As we can all rent a house and not pay for them. Dont think the local council reports this but it is of sorts of credit (well it was for me). But most likely you can get out of it but may face charges too!!

Private landlords want you to pay in advanced so technically they're in debt to the tenants and should pay them interest! :T