Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Texas

I co-signed for furniture at Rooms-to-go a few years ago. This was for my sister, and I never thought about it again. Today I checked my credit report and find that she has been delinquent to the point that the account has been closed. When I checked the balance, I find that she bought additional furniture that was added to the balance.

#1 I did not sign for the second set of charges - but it was added to my debt balance.

#2 I was never contacted to let me know payments were not being made.

This is the ONLY bad mark I have on my credit, but it is really draging my score down. Is there any way I can have it removed from my credit and just show up on hers?


Asked on 1/16/14, 11:13 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Mark Dunn Mark D. Dunn

We have a question: Was there anything in the agreement (it may have been a "revolving credit" situation rather than a one-time purchase) that would make you liable for subsequent purchases?

This will make a difference in whether or not you are liable for the more recent charges.

The bottom line is: this creditor has no incentive to let one of two debtors off the hook. A debt with TWO people liable for it is at least twice as collectible as a debt with only ONE person liable.

There is no such thing as "having bad credit items removed" from a credit bureau report. The reason that creditors pay to belong to a credit reporting service is that the credit reporting service will tell them the truth - what has been paid and what hasn't been paid, and who hasn't paid.

When you signed on as a co-borrower (ALWAYS a bad idea), you took on this debt.

A suggestion: Contact the creditor, tell them what you told me, and see if they will give you a break - maybe let you pay 60 cents on the dollar, cash, with the agreement that they will cancel this revolving credit account.

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Answered on 1/17/14, 9:56 am


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