In a previous article I talked about how to add someone as an authorized user on your credit card.

Authorized Users and Credit Cards

To become an authorized user the primary account holder must add you, you cannot do this yourself but what if you want to be removed as an authorized user? Maybe the card holder is experiencing financial difficulties and their credit rating is no longer up to par. Their poor credit will be reflected on your credit report as long as you are still an authorized user on their credit card. You may also want to remove yourself if you are ending your relationship with the account holder or if you were added without permission.

You would start by asking the card holder to contact their credit card company and remove you but in the case of a broken relationship they may refuse or cut off contact with you completely. You will then need to request the removal yourself.

Call the credit card company and asked to be removed from the account, most have policies in place that allow an authorized user to request the removal.

Once you have been removed you want to verify that the credit card activity is no longer reflected on your credit report.

It can take up to 30 days for changes to show up on your credit report, once you have been removed wait 30 days and request a copy of your credit report from Equifax, Transunion and Experian. You are entitled to a free copy of your credit report at all three agencies.

Go to annualcreditreport.com to request your reports. https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action

If after 30 days, the credit card activity is still showing up on your report contact each credit bureau and dispute the inaccuracies.

Removing yourself as an authorized user can have positive and negative effects.

Positive Effects

Your credit reports will no longer show the credit card activity.

If the primary account holder was delinquent, missing payments or had a low credit score that will no longer be reflected on your report.

Negative Effects

If the credit card account was your only source of credit, removing it can lower your score and make it more difficult for you to open an account of your own.

If the primary card holder had a positive credit rating and payment history their good credit will no longer be reflected on your report which can lower your credit score.