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

never-in-doubt

~Brock~ wrote: »

On the other hand I have also witnessed a lot of older people who are an insult to the word stupid.

Eh? What do you mean mate? I'm confused......


hehe :rotfl::rotfl:

never-in-doubt

strugglingbigtime wrote: »

Hi all,

Am I the only one that sees the obvious, and somewhat basic, errors being admitted here....? See below for the most obvious...

strugglingbigtime wrote: »

I'm new to the forum, however have been using MSE for a couple of years now, getting tips and advice from existing forums.

You joined yesterday

strugglingbigtime wrote: »

ok, in theory I did 'lie'... but neither banks actually asked for any proof of age or anything. in fact i already had an account with the bank (with my real DOB) and they offered the card to me.. so they could of checked easily.

and yes i have spent on the cards since turning 18, my question is if the original credit agreement is void.

No, they did check - banks don't make mistakes like this, usually (albeit they can and do at times), you've lied about more than one thing! Obviously!

strugglingbigtime wrote: »

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.

You wouldn't have got one delivered to a hostel, you wouldn't have got one on £45 benefits a week.....

I think there is more to this than meets the eye - few basic errors in the post for definitely the OP has lied several times in order to get this alleged account, i'd go as far to suggest they lied not only about their age, their status but also their address!

i.e. you will not pass credit scoring - an unemployed young person, not showing on electoral register, living in a hostel in receipt of benefits.... See the problem, not really much of a sales pitch is it...?

However, the OP is not liable for repayment, no matter how much he lied because the banks should have done their checks and as this would be a regulated agreement, he'd have to be 18 to accept and agree to the terms of said agreement.

However for the sake of being done for fraud or repaying the debt - I know what i'd be doing (working to pay it off!)....

ElkyElky

Wouldn't the whole false DOB trigger a CIFAS? If he has applied for further credit using his true details, they'll see his false DOB on that credit card account and wonder why his DOB isn't matching?

euronorris

Slightly off topic: Given the obvious issues with checking someone's identity (as this thread has highlighted), and aslo taking into consideration the amount of identity theft occurring now, is it not about time the banks requested proof of ID, address and earnings when applying for credit? ie, passport, utility bill and payslip.

I know it would be a pain in the @ss but it would certainly make errors and identity theft more difficult.

Just a thought.

never-in-doubt

ElkyElky wrote: »

Wouldn't the whole false DOB trigger a CIFAS? If he has applied for further credit using his true details, they'll see his false DOB on that credit card account and wonder why his DOB isn't matching?

Exactly - there are too many irregularities to make this genuine The OP is telling too many lies making the whole story even more unbelievable....

never-in-doubt

euronorris wrote: »

Slightly off topic: Given the obvious issues with checking someone's identity (as this thread has highlighted), and aslo taking into consideration the amount of identity theft occurring now, is it not about time the banks requested proof of ID, address and earnings when applying for credit? ie, passport, utility bill and payslip.

I know it would be a pain in the @ss but it would certainly make errors and identity theft more difficult.

Just a thought.

They do mate unless you pass electronic verification with the CRA's; thus my claim that there is more to this than meets the eye :D

Didn't OP say he got 2 cards - makes it even more 'fishy'

A_little_stressed!!

I don't think anyone here has ever been a 16 year old estranged from parents and in a hostel. I have. You are BROKE, its terrible. Trying to study at the same time to give yourself a future. All your friends going out to college parties, days out and your always staying in. It's not our fault our parents don't care about us, whereas most 16 year olds have a nice home to go to, food to eat and support, being stuck in a hostel with lowlifes, who are mostly into some form of crime to make money, selling drugs to kids etc.

I do not think that the OP should get away with it, because I never got to rack up bills and not be responsible for it, I would have loved to!
But I think that the bank should have picked up on the age, so I think the debt between 16 & 18 should be written off, including interest. But the OP is fully liable for the 18+ spending.

I was lucky at the time to have a boyfriend who lent me a bit of money till my next benefits, who bought me a takeaway when I seriously had NO food, and gave me the support through exams that parents should have done. But without him would I have broke the law to survive? I don't know

euronorris

never-in-doubt wrote: »

They do mate unless you pass electronic verification with the CRA's; thus my claim that there is more to this than meets the eye :D

Didn't OP say he got 2 cards - makes it even more 'fishy'

Ah, OK. Fair enough.

NID - It's nearly Christmas and it's snowing. My flight is no longer cancelled (was with BA). Wahoooooo! I am excited beyond words and driving my colleagues crazy! haha

Jakg

strugglingbigtime wrote: »

In my opinion, it is the banks responsibility [...] but to also ensure that I can afford repayments

No, the age of credit is 18 so that you are an adult, and so can think for yourself. The bank are a business not your Mum fgs.

ElkyElky wrote: »

But if he did, he would have to obtain a fake birth certificate but surely the bank would recognise the difference between a fake and real one?

I have never had to show my birth certificate to get a credit card...

euronorris wrote: »

Aren't they supposed to do credit checks etc? Surely something would've flagged up to them at that point? ie, details don't match, namely DOB.

Not really - when I was 17 I bought something from next and they opened a credit account without telling me - I never selected a credit option and paid it in full by card, so I have no idea how or why the opened one but I still got £300 credit...

I have no idea if I put my correct or false DOB in (for some odd reason a lot of companies put in a "you must be over 18 to buy from us" clause in which is very annoying when you are trying to buy slippers for example) but still they managed to look me up regardless.

ElkyElky wrote: »

Wouldn't the whole false DOB trigger a CIFAS? If he has applied for further credit using his true details, they'll see his false DOB on that credit card account and wonder why his DOB isn't matching?

After Next I had no problem getting a phone, 2 credit cards and a student account (although the same bank for the student account then refused to give me a current account... :rolleyes:)




Either way, yes you should pay the damn money back. Money doesn't grow on trees, and while yes the bank are partially responsible, it's not like they can pay you back from their own money - that will come (eventually) from people like me...

ElkyElky

I had to present my birth certificate when I was 15, opening a childs account.. and again at 18 when upgrading to a full account.

When I applied for a credit card in branch, my bank didn't need to ask me any details because it was already on the computer and verified when I opened my bank account. They just wanted to see my driving licence to make sure it was me sitting there.

He must have lied about his age on his bank account also. There is no way a bank will give you a credit card without at least checking how healthy the current account is. The banks own system surely would flag up any inconsistencies on personal information between the current account department and the credit card department.