Well not a credit card, but a store charge card.
It was the other person who was paying the balance…until recently when he got sick and has been out of work. Now, I am stuck to pay it. I cannot afford this at all. I asked the store, and the clerk said she didn’t know.
A (store) credit card is simply a contract/loan process. In order to cancel the contract, you have to meet your end of the bargain; pay off the balance. The store doesn’t care how it gets paid as long as it gets paid. The contract is in your name. The legal obligation belongs to you. How you meet your legal obligation is solely yours.
Can you pay minimum balance (and pay through the nose)?
Can you secure a bank or credit union loan so as to pay a lower interest rate?
No…
This is a very unfortunate situation. I somehow signed up for this card when I turned 18…I didn’t even know what I was doing, and what the consequences were. The other card holder wanted me to do it because he couldn’t get one on his own.
You can, of course, cancel the card now, and prevent yourself from liability for any more debt on the card. The co-holder will of course lose the benefit of the card, but I don’t imagine he wants a card that he can’t pay off. You’ll still be on the hook for the debt incurred up to now and, in terms of minimising your liablity and avoiding damage to your credit rating, the sooner you pay, the better. Talk to your friend about when, how and over what period he will reimburse you.
You can, if you want, try to escape liablity on the card by arguing misrepresentation, non-disclosure, etc at the time you signed up. How successful this might be depends on the facts, the evidence you can muster and the law of the place where you made the contract. But my guess is, being of full age and having signed an applicatiion for a store card, you’d be fighting an uphill battle.
It’s called a life lesson and unfortunately, you appear to be learning it the hard way. Unless some Sugar Daddy/Mommy comes along, it’s your obligation to meet. I suggest you contact the store card’s finance department (read the back of the card or your monthly bill) and ask them for assistance. Good luck.
Your unfortunate situation is a classic example why schools be required to teach basic real life economics to students.