Was this ever possible?

[emilochka]

No so much sucky as just odd...

The other day a woman came into my store and asked for a credit card application. Yay! We're expected to open a certain number of new cards per shift and I haven't met my goal since...2010. Early 2010.

(My managers and fellow associates don't have much more luck. It's a cash and carry community. Around here people often pay for cars with cash.)

Anyway, I was happy and led her to the register. Our application is processed on our cash register and takes about 90 seconds. She goes all catbuttface and asks if we have a paper application she can fill in now. We don't, but if she doesn't want to use the register we can do it over the phone. No, she says, that won't work.

It turned out that she wanted to open a credit card in her mother's name and, presumably, social security number. When I explained that her mother had to be present, she groused that her mother is elderly and disabled. I suggested applying through our website or our customer service number. She groused about how everything is online now and no one uses paper anymore and left.

The weird thing was, she wasn't going to take the application to her mom and then bring it back. She just wanted to fill it in using her mom's info and then turn it back in, apparently signing her mom's name.

We were pretty sure it was a scam somehow, either the SS# was stolen or the mom wasn't aware she was using her info. I guess she wanted to get the one-time discount we offer for applying for a new card but either already had a card or didn't want to risk her credit rating. Or maybe she wanted to avoid the online or phone application recognizing her scam and thought she could buy a few days with a paper application.

My question is, was it ever possible to legally open a card in another person's name? Even before credit agreements became 80 pages long? I'm 26 and I've never had a customer ask for something like this. The only reasonable situation I can think of is maybe if someone had legal guardianship over an adult but even then I don't know. The whole encounter confused me.

[Caractacus_Potts]

My question is, was it ever possible to legally open a card in another person's name?

I don't think so. You can open an account in your own name and then add someone else to it but I don't think it has ever been legal to open an account using another persons SSN and info but with your signature. Are you sure she wasn't looking for a paper app so she could bring it back to her mother?

When I was about 12 I found out I could sign up to get ten free books from the SciFi book club and all I had to do was buy two more at regular price (a little inflated but still a good deal when averaged out over 12 books). I sent in my application. Then I sent in another in my mothers name, another in my fathers name and another in my sisters name!

Mom and Dad were a little mad when forty books were delivered to the house and they found out what I had done but I had been saving my paper route money and when they realized I had already picked the (8) books I wanted to buy to complete the contracts, had the money to buy them and planned on cancelling the extra contracts in everyone elses names as soon as I had fulfilled my obligation they actually seemed proud of me.

Still pretty sure what I did wasn't legal though!

[Nurian]

If you have power of attorney, then yes, you can at least in the US. It's actually made for situations where a person isn't able to do things so they have someone else (usually a family member).

The situation you experienced, however, sounded really fishy.

[Tama]

And then wouldn't you need some legal statement about being the POA?

[chainedbarista]

i think so; you actually would need some sort of proof that you were actually given poa before you can apply for anything in another's name.

[ServantofthePeople]

Yea, its against contract law to apply for something in someone elses name, unless as stated above you had POA. But to be honest, I still don't think I would accept it. Documents like those can be easily forged.

PLUS why would someone that is disabled and cant leave the house be applying for a credit card, No work = no money, No money = cant pay for the credit card.

[Catwoman2965]

Sadly, many stores, including my own, simply take your word for it that you are who you say you are on the application.

We get them to fill it out, but do not ask for any type of ID whatsoever. So I could go in, as long as I know my mom, sister, best friend etc's SS#, and other pertinent info, fill it out, and gt a card (if approved).

Pretty sure THAT's no illegal, but not good business practice. Same as the one we have where if customer returns without a receipt, we must ask to see ID. But that's it. We don't DO anything with it, so I don't see the point of asking to see it!

[bainsidhe]

I'll give her props for being honest that it wasn't her own name, but that's about it. I agree it's fishy and my hackles raise at the thought she might be taking financial advantage of her elderly mother. Not all forms of elder abuse are physical.

And about the POA thing, does that give you rights to open up new lines of credit? I know it gives control over existing accounts, but the idea new accounts can be created makes me uneasy.

[Stryker One]

Hate the Game not the Player.

When I was about 12 I found out I could sign up to get ten free books from the SciFi book club and all I had to do was buy two more at regular price (a little inflated but still a good deal when averaged out over 12 books). I sent in my application. Then I sent in another in my mothers name, another in my fathers name and another in my sisters name!

Mom and Dad were a little mad when forty books were delivered to the house and they found out what I had done but I had been saving my paper route money and when they realized I had already picked the (8) books I wanted to buy to complete the contracts, had the money to buy them and planned on cancelling the extra contracts in everyone elses names as soon as I had fulfilled my obligation they actually seemed proud of me.

Still pretty sure what I did wasn't legal though!

I believe that's what they call "Working the System".

[fireheart]

I am thankful that our store requires a 100 point ID check in most cases.

[emilochka]

Our store requires ID, a social security number and, if they're doing instant credit on the register rather than over the phone, a Visa or MasterCard. When the register runs the SSN and credit card a screen pops up with the customer's name to confirm. Between those three things we can usually tell if they're who they say they are and have never had a problem with fraud (at least at our store). This experience was just odd. I still haven't figured it out.

[bankworking]

I'll give her props for being honest that it wasn't her own name, but that's about it. I agree it's fishy and my hackles raise at the thought she might be taking financial advantage of her elderly mother. Not all forms of elder abuse are physical.

And about the POA thing, does that give you rights to open up new lines of credit? I know it gives control over existing accounts, but the idea new accounts can be created makes me uneasy.

General Power of Attorney gives you the right to do just about anything in the other person's name. Access current accounts, open new ones. Open loans. Buy cars. About the only thing it DOESN'T do is allow you to make yourself joint on an account or assign beneficiaries... both because power of attorney goes away at death and if you were joint on an account, you would then effectively own it if the other passed away, while if you set beneficiaries, you are again setting ownership up for after your POA authority has expired.

This is why, if you ever have need to give someone POA over your affairs, you should take a look at whether or not LIMITED power of attorney will do. Or at least do a POA with an expiration date. General POA is a thing of great trust, not to be handed out lightly.

[persephone]

PLUS why would someone that is disabled and cant leave the house be applying for a credit card, No work = no money, No money = cant pay for the credit card.

While I agree that someone not able to leave the house generally wouldn't need a credit card if someone else was helping them obtain the necessities, I just want to point out that no work does NOT always equal no money. There might be disability payments, pensions, retirement, savings, dividends from stocks, ect. There are multiple possibilities.

Just because someone doesn't work doesn't mean they don't have money.

[Yarnil]

Maybe a CC for online shoppings?

[AccountingDrone]

I'll give her props for being honest that it wasn't her own name, but that's about it. I agree it's fishy and my hackles raise at the thought she might be taking financial advantage of her elderly mother. Not all forms of elder abuse are physical.

And about the POA thing, does that give you rights to open up new lines of credit? I know it gives control over existing accounts, but the idea new accounts can be created makes me uneasy.

Oh hell yes it does, my husbands ex GF had a power of atty for him when he was deployed and she got both a mastercard and a visa, and maxed them out taking herself and a friend to Florida for a month long vacation. He checked, he couldn't do anything about it except pay it off. Took him almost 5 years of making the regular payments and adding extra money on top of the base payments as our finances allowed. He did get to take the car she bought on his identity as she was dumb enough to keep it in his name.