@ Justice:

"HOw can they also then hold my friend responsible? "

My guess, based on what you've written, is that your friend is probably a "Joint" cardholder, not simply a Secondary cardholder on the account. Hence, why he is obligated to cover the balance now that the primary cardholder has defaulted.

O.C.

The primary card holder is responsible for all debts.

A good friend of mine has a similiar problem going on. A secondary card holder on an RBC visa, has never recived a statement, made a purchase using this card etc and had his accounts frozen by the RBC until he took out a line of credit with them to pay them out. I called visa personally to find out my obligations should I decide to be a cardholder of a visa card with some1 else and they told me that if I were a secondary cardholder that it would never affect my credit rating and that would not be responsible for the repayment.
The primary cardholder claimed bankruptcy in this particuliar case and made a proposal to the rbc visa company which they accepted. HOw can they also then hold my friend responsible?

Unfortunately you have one of two options... pay it or lose your credit rating.

You could go in and talk to RBC to see if they have a hardship program that will allow you to pay this off at a reduced interest rate or with no interest rate, but with joint cards the bank can hold either party liable for the entire amount without regard to who actually incurred the bill. Joint credit cards are a bad thing.

Your other option, if your credit is good, is to open an unsecured line of credit that will require you to pay only the interest and the interest is considerably lower. You can then pay the debt off as you can afford it or after the estate is settled.

If she has assets she can also consider a reverse mortgage which does not have to paid until she sells the house or in settlement of her estate, or line of credit which can be automatically settled with the estate, but she will have to make payments on it.

Short of that I can't think of a solution for this that would not damage your credit.

I have been a joint card holder with my mother for 20 years. We both have spotless credit. She is very ill and has accumulated $25,000 in visa debt. I can't afford to pay this in full and she has no assets to cover the costs. RBC Visa is looking to me for the debt and I don't know what to do?. If I were to settle for a smaller amount and pay this off now will it ruin my credit?....I've worked to hard to jeopardize my own credit. I don't want to mess with my own families credit. She may not live much longer and I don't know what to do. I can't pay it either and can't borrow to make them go away.I really need some help here.

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