05.19.09
By John Ulzheimer
You probably already know the drill. You try on the new shirt, walk up to the register, and whip out your store credit card. Showing off that you already have the store’s credit card saves you the hassle of having to say "No thanks" twelve times when the cashier asks if you want to
open a new credit card account and save 20 percent on your purchase.
But what happens when the cashier asks if you want to add someone to your card as an authorized user? This happened to me for the first time ever over the weekend. This practice seems to be a new strategy for retail credit card issuers to acquire new cardholders: the unauthorized authorized user. Her offer intrigued me, so I started asking questions. Here is an account of how the interrogation... er... conversation... went:
Q: So I can add someone to my account as an authorized user here at the register?
A: Yes, I just need their personal information.
Q: Don’t they have to be here?
A: Oh, no.
Q: What if they don’t want to be added to my account?
A: It’s okay.
Q: Wow, can I add someone that I’m not related to?
A: If you want.
Q: Wow, I didn’t know that. Is this new?
A: Kind of.
Q: I’ve never been asked if I wanted to add someone to my XYZ card at the register.
A: Are you sure you don’t want to add someone?
Q: I’m sure, but thanks for bringing it up…. (End of conversation.)
So it seems as if, even in the middle of “credit card Armageddon,” there’s something to be said for
retail store credit cards and their newest method – new to me, anyway – of acquiring new cardholders. What I find especially problematic is the issue of adding people without their consent or knowledge. And while, as the primary account holder, you’re still the one liable for the payment (or non-payment), clearly I’d rather not have someone add me as an authorized user on his or her credit card without my permission... and you shouldn’t either.
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