Cosigner Rights

**bill257** · 02-14-2008, 07:02 AM

This is in ohio

My girlfriend is apparantley a cosigner on a credit card at a jewelry store. It is her mom's card. I am pretty credit savvy but have no clue about cosigning since I will always stay away from it as a general rule. Anyway.

She received a note to call a number about collecting the money owed and is terribly upset. She has no clue about credit at all from what I've gathered.

Questions basically are.

1. As a cosigner can you demand to see the original credit application? She never signed it and we would like to see her signature on it and see if it is a forgery.

2. Jewelry stores are pushy about credit pushed through to make sales. If she did not sign the application and someone put her SS and other information without her permission is she absolved from the debt?

3. What kind of legal consequences are there for forging her signature? I don't think she wants to get her mom thrown in jail, but if I were her I would threaten it if she didn't immediately solve the issue.

4. What other rights do cosigners have?

5. They threatened to sue. From what I understand they don't really right away. They just try a lot of scare tactics to take advantage of clueless cosigners since they are more likely to just pay up.

6. Also wouldn't they sue the primary person first?

Anything else relevant I am looking for some advice.

Thanks in advance.

**LawResearcherMissy** · 02-17-2008, 08:46 AM

1) Yes. She should demand that the alleged debt be validated with a copy of the contract supposedly bearing her signature.

2) Yes. She'll have to prove it isn't hers, of course, which can be a righteous pain because it is time consuming, but it's ultimately worth her while.

3) Identity Theft is Serious Business. Depending on the amount fraudulently charged, it can be a 1st degree misdemeanor all the way through a second degree felony. Restitution and jail time are generally the order of the day.

The company will sue anyone whose name is on the account in an effort to recoup their losses. They may well have tried with the primary signer already, with no luck.

**aaron** · 02-17-2008, 09:01 AM

If she never signed the application, she should be stating that at the outset - seeing the contract won't change whether or not it is a forged signature. They can be compelled to give her a copy of the contract is within the context of court proceedings, but short of that they don't have to voluntarily give her a copy.