What you should know about joint credit card accounts
For those who are on a joint credit card account and owe a balance that is delinquent, the credit card issuer can pursue all cardholders on the account. All persons on a joint account are liable for the payments. The credit reports of all persons on a joint account will be affected from any reports card issuers report to credit bureaus whether good or bad.
Joint accounts can be used to give a person a credit card simply by signing them on as a "joint user". It may not matter whether the person has bad credit. If the account gets good payment habits reported, it can help raise bad credit scores for the person with bad credit. This can be a good plan to help someone rebuild bad credit scores if the account is managed well.
Some consumers enter into joint accounts to make their life or business easier to manage when it comes to paying bills. For example, a married couple, or a non married couple who are living together and who are sharing bills may be able to share a joint credit card account and not have any problems. Businesses may sometimes have joint accounts and sign on their partners as joint users to make business purchases. Another example is that a person wants a credit card with good interest rates but does not qualify for such a card because they have bad credit. A friend may add the person on as a "user" so they can have a card with good interest rates.
Joint account holders can face big problems when relationships end and there is a huge balance that must be paid. Credit card companies can sue or garnish wages when cardholders do not pay their debts. It does not matter if a divorce takes place, all persons on the account are responsible for payment. It does not matter if some of the users don't contribute anything toward the bill, all are still involved and the credit of everyone on the account is affected.
Managing a joint account when relationships have dissolved can be a difficult thing to do. The first response may be to close the account but the account would have to be paid in full before it could be closed. Many times one cardholder decides to pay the debts just to be able to salvage their credit and close the account. Suppose thousands of dollars had been charged and some users are long gone and don't plan on paying the bill and they don't care if it affects their credit. The worst case could be if a user has nothing to loose and charges thousands on the card before they split just to get revenge in some way.
Joint credit card accounts should never be entered into in haste as someone may get burned with outstanding debts. Joint users would need to be trusted to follow the guidelines of how the account would be used and managed. There would need to be a person who could be trusted to manage the account, monitor charges, and pay the bill.
More information about joint spouse debt and credit accounts
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