R 9 on Credit Report from a Joint Account

[alleykatt592]

I was just wondering if anyone ever had experience of how to remove a debt that belongs to an ex, but has resulted in a R9 rating on my credit score.

My ex and I split up in January of 2010. He walked out with no warning, no communication, and no child support. We had a joint bank account but my first line of business was to open a new account and have my direct deposits and automatic withdrawls come from there. I tried to get out of the account but without his signature, the bank said no.

Fast forward a few months and I start getting calls from collection agencies. Apparently he had not put any money into the account and for every attemped automatic payment, a $40 charge was applied to the account. The amount ended up being over $1500, which the bank rolled into a loan. I contacted the bank and argued that this was not my debt but to no avail. I even contacted the ombudsman who "kindly" took $400 off of the debt, leaving me with "only" $1100 left to pay.

As a single mother with two kids and no child support (until 2 months ago) I was not in any position to attempt to pay off this debt, even in small amounts. Is there any way to get rid of this off my credit report or am I stuck for life?????

[save_girl]

You need to contact the credit bureau and dispute the R9 as incurred by a former spouse (add this as a statement on the tradeline, at least). It is hard to remove it, as a joint account does have joint responsibility.

However, many institutions do not consider R9s with this note attached when coming to a credit decision, it depends on their exact credit policy (this isn't something their front line staff will likely know anyway). So at least going forward with other institutions this may help you out.

Try starting here:
http://www.consumer.equifax.ca/dispu..._process/en_ca

[MortgageQueen]

Can you at least have your name removed from the account? Surely, they can't hold you hostage?

[stuey87]

Can you at least have your name removed from the account? Surely, they can't hold you hostage?

Nope, thats the whole idea of a "joint" account....if one person defaults, its the other party's responsibility....same goes with Leases/Renting....if you have a roommate and they suddenly move out on you, you are still responsible for 100% of the rent payment.....you could refuse, but that would affect both yours and their credit reports

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[lovelikewinter3]

I just wanted to share in the pain here. I had a similar thing happen to me with my ex, except it was with a car loan for 11k. Do what you can, explain to the bank everything, and hopefully they will help you out. I lucked out and got an extension on paying back the arrears so it didn't go to collection, but I had to talk to A LOT of people. Best of luck, and just keep doing little things that will help boost your credit rating

[brunt]

I would like to make a suggestion that I hope that you will consider.

See a lawyer. I dislike the legal profession as much as many, but there are some cases where things go so much smoother with a lawyer.

Your problem might very well be that you are not talking to the right person, or saying the right thing at the bank. In the mean time, the very real possibility of having further debts piled on you continues.

It is very possible that people at the bank really are not aware of how you can terminate your relationship with a joint account - it is not something that they encounter every day. I very highly doubt that there is no way to get out of it. The trick is how to do it.

What you need is someone with the knowledge, and forceful presence to make the bank sit up and take notice. You see, when you come in, you ask politely, and the kind people in the bank don't really know how to help you, and things just drag on. Bring in a lawyer, and you will have formal legal documents - along with a dated paper trail of your efforts - that will in all likelihood make a bank not ignore you.

Make an appointment with a lawyer, be polite, state that you don't have a lot of money, state your case, and ask for help. It is possible that it can be sorted out as easily as having him send off a few standard letters at minimal expense to you. Even a threatening letter to your ex may end the matter immediately.

It may be expensive up front, but letting this drag on endlessly will be very expensive in the long term.

I am not in the legal profession, so I really cannot tell you how well this will work in reality. But I fear by not addressing it aggressively will make you sorry that you did not try this route.

I honestly wish you the best of luck!

[theweave]

I know this is an old post but thought I would post anyhow. Hope this helps..

When Chris got into his accident in February, we had to close down our online business. Our business account at TD cost $10 per month and it was a joint account. In order to avoid more fees, we needed to close the account asap.

Chris phoned TD from his hospital room and explained his situation to the girl. She said that only one of the account holders had to be there to close the account. So I went out the next day and closed out the account and withdrew the balance.

So I would check with the bank to see if you can get your name off the account, and as noted above, consult a lawyer as well!

Good luck to you.

[shopeasy]

I know this is an old post but thought I would post anyhow. Hope this helps..

When Chris got into his accident in February, we had to close down our online business. Our business account at TD cost $10 per month and it was a joint account. In order to avoid more fees, we needed to close the account asap.

Chris phoned TD from his hospital room and explained his situation to the girl. She said that only one of the account holders had to be there to close the account. So I went out the next day and closed out the account and withdrew the balance.

So I would check with the bank to see if you can get your name off the account, and as noted above, consult a lawyer as well!

Good luck to you.

i believe theweave is correct. as far as i know, you can close an account without your ex's consent, but only if the account was 'Joint with right of survivorship'. if it is joint with right of survivorship (JTWROS), then either party can make changes to the account. one way you can tell if it is JTWROS is the names on the account usually say and/or, i.e., john smith and/or lisa jones.

i'm not sure about removing your name from a joint account though. it will require opening a new account in your ex's name and i don't think you can do that without his consent.

if it is 'Joint tenants in common', then both parties must consent to any change to the account.

[durwinwilson]

Obviously, he did not put any money account and automatic payment for each attemped, $ 40 account. As the amount of more than 1,500 yuan, the bank introduced loans. I contacted the bank, and that this is not my debt, but to no avail. I even contact "kindly" 400 dollars in debt, leaving "only" paid $ 1,100 Ombudsman.

[Brynhilde]

I'm in a similar boat.. except the credit was in my name but spouse at the time was responsible for making payments. It's now stuck on my credit report until I can pay it off.. definitely no way of getting out a situation where you are a joint account holder. It goes for almost anything else that you have with someone else's name on it. To my knowledge, even if you have paid even half of the total debt of a joint account to a creditor, the creditor can legally still come after you until they receive the full balance.