Granny's got a habit...of spending too much.

January 31, 2006 10:29 PM

Help me keep a compulsive shopper from getting more credit cards.

I need to prevent a doddering relative from applying for and receiving credit cards. We have seized her current cards but need to prevent her from getting any more. Is there somewhere we can send a note saying "do not offer this woman credit under any circumstances"? How can we prevent her from taking on more debt?

posted by cosmicbandito to Work & Money (10 answers total)

Would said relative consent to sending a fraud alert to the credit bureaus? She'd have to be in on it, though.
posted by acoutu at 10:44 PM on January 31, 2006

Response by poster: it's a little late for that. We just want her to NOT be able to get anymore cards.
posted by cosmicbandito at 10:49 PM on January 31, 2006

I think you can tell the credit bureaus to stop providing information for unsolicited credit offers, which should eliminate a lot of the offers-by-mail. It would not stop her from finding out about offers in other ways, though.
posted by babar at 10:53 PM on January 31, 2006

Previously how to stop credit card offers from coming.
posted by borkencode at 11:37 PM on January 31, 2006

Does "doddering" mean "completely mentally unable to take care of herself, so we (the family) are acting as her legal guardian", or something to that effect?

Because otherwise I would say she has every right to spend her money as she sees fit. Others may not like it, and may wish to prevent her from doing so, but that doesn't make it legal / fair / reasonable to interfere with her rights.

Advising, warning, attempting to convince, these are things that seem within the realm of what is appropriate to get an adult (of competent mental functioning) to do what you'd like (to me, anyway). But outright interference? That crosses the line, imho.
posted by beth at 1:31 AM on February 1, 2006

Sorry, I don't have any suggestions other than feeling that you need a more personal solution beyond just stopping her from getting more cards. Does she have any understanding of the problems she's getting herself into? It seems like a real addictive behaviour that might warrant some intervention. I apologise for this comment, as it doesn't really answer your question of how to stop her getting cards. However - how do the cards keep getting approved? I assume she's in a lot of debt that she can't pay off, and I know the hoops I have had to jump through to get loans and credit - is there any chance that at some point her credit applications are simply going to be denied? Do you know what her credit rating is like? Would she be adversely affected in the long term if she developed a bad one, through the non-payment of the debts of cards you've siezed? That would be a (admittedly non-ideal and uncaring) way of making sure she doesn't get offered any further credit.
posted by Jimbob at 1:42 AM on February 1, 2006

It is certainly possible to have a court declare the relative incompetent to manage her finances and have a trustee appointed to do so. The LA Times recently ran a series on how easy this is to do in California; apparently complete strangers are making an EXCELLENT living by finding rich old people, going secretly to a court and taking away control of their money (the target is often not even notified by the court!), and then using management fees to relieve the target of most of their money.
posted by jellicle at 7:40 AM on February 1, 2006

I would set up a creditwatch account at Equifax. It will send you an alert whenever there is a credit check, or change in credit. It may not be prevention, but it will at least allow you to monitor the situation closely.
posted by frykitty at 10:07 AM on February 1, 2006

I doubt that the big three credit agencies are going to be a lot of help. The OP isn't the relative. I doubt that they'll deal with someone that's just a 'concerned family member.' They have no reason to. Hell, I can't even get Trans Union to correct my birthdate on my credit report.

The fraud alerts/etc are *re*active. This person needs something *pro*active. you can try to opt her out of the credit card solicitations, or.. heck, just let her wreck her credit. Then nobody will send credit card offers. *shrug*
posted by drstein at 11:01 AM on February 1, 2006

It would probably be a violation of federal law if you just intercepted all her incoming mail and threw out the credit card offers. But if you had her permission to do so, it would be an effective way to help her avoid temptation.

If her debt is already heavy, how would she feel about declaring bankruptcy, since her credit is already in ruins? That's something you could help her with.
posted by wryly at 3:32 PM on February 1, 2006