u/ElectronicClassic250

Last September, I began the process of having myself removed as an Authorized User on three accounts. I've been reporting my experiences. It is commonly believed that once you are removed as an AU, all trace of that account and it's history will be deleted from your credit reports. I've found that it isn't quite that simple. Equifax behaves as expected, Transunion will remove the account, but they require a dispute (which is instantly confirmed) to do so. Experian, however, has been a challenge.

This post is to report the latest development with respect to my terminated Amex AU account, as reported by Experian.

The primary cardholder removed me from an Amex account in September, and this was reported to Experian in Oct 2025. Experian updated my report in a way that seemed odd to me. Here's how it appeared on the CMS version of my report between October and two days ago:

https://preview.redd.it/2zb9apv94xzg1.jpg?width=1878&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=93863b96613d97bd7d706fe2fcd299f2edaff949

Notice that the account is presented as being Open and Authorized User. The only visible change to the record is that several elements were altered to show a dash rather that a specific value.

I disputed this, three times, as it does not appear to correctly present the state of this account. I had received information from American Express that they could see that Experian had recorded the correct ECOA value for a terminated AU account. So it appears to be a presentation issue at Experian. Experian closed all three disputes saying that Amex had confirmed the information on my report and that my report would not be changed. The last dispute was officially closed yesterday (although I had received email from them that seemed to be telling me to stop disputing this, a couple a weeks ago).

Despite telling me, formally, that my report would not be changed, they did, in fact, change the presentation of this account. As of today it shows this:

https://preview.redd.it/n42kmlh26xzg1.jpg?width=1860&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e80ce42ea507ecd843a5a82c613efebddbfaec2

The Status element now shows the account as Closed. Although it does not appear in this presentation, the official ACR version also contains "On Record Until Oct 2030".

Some comments:

• This is the third time, for me, that Experian has closed a dispute denying the requested remedy and then gone ahead and "fixed" the problem anyway.
• Notice that this entry will remain on my report for 5 years from the last status update. Where did that time come from ? Are they making stuff up as they go along ?
• Do you think that they've done this just to stop me from disputing - or is there some method behind the madness ?
• My suspicion is that there are some humans behind the scenes who will fix things, but that they are unable to communicate any information that would appear to confirm that Experian was at fault.
• I still have one other former AU account, a Citibank card, that is in the same zombie state as the Amex card was. Should I keep disputing in the hope that they'll do it again ?
• I'm unable to get the printed versions of my report via 877-FACTACT, but all the oddities reported are consistent across the different versions of the report found on the Experian CMS, and the version provided by annualcreditreport.com (except for the deletion date, which only appears in the ACR version).

This is a modified version of a comment I made earlier today on a post in r/CRedit.

I've been through the process of having AU cards terminated three times over the past six months. I found that the process is not as simple as one might expect. And, I have some concern about the possible effects on Experian based FICO scores.

The cards in question were issued by American Express, Capital One and Citibank. The effects of terminating the AU cards on my credit reports varied depending on both the issuer and the credit bureau.

Equifax was mostly straightforward. As soon as the next statement was issued on each account, Equifax immediately removed the tradeline, and all its history, as if it were never there.

When Transunion received the updates, the only thing they did automatically was to change the 'Responsibility' element on each account from 'Authorized User' to 'Terminated' - reflecting the change in the ECOA attribute in the underlying data. However, in each case I followed u/soonersoldier33's advice and opened a 'not my account' dispute. The reaction was instant in all three cases. Transunion's dispute processing system immediately removed the tradelines and all their history.

But I noticed something while dealing with the most recent removal at Transunion. My TU8 score increased by about 14 points when the dispute was processed. That suggests to me that TU8 may continue to assess the AU AZ penalty on Terminated accounts until they are fully removed. This could be relevant to the EX8 discussion below.

My experiences with Experian were much more complicated. With all three accounts, Experian's initial reaction was to update the data on my credit report, but it a strange way. Here's what the Amex account looked like after Experian received the update (only the account number has been altered by me).

https://preview.redd.it/fd3shvw8zwxg1.png?width=1878&format=png&auto=webp&s=667ad543b78fef44fb3f3ac4c8d918465eaaab36

All three of the accounts received this treatment. Observe that the account is reported as 'Open' and still shows a Responsibility of 'Authorized user'. In all three cases, I created 'not my account' disputes with Experian.

For the Capital One account, the dispute took several days to process. Eventually, the dispute was closed saying that the information was verified by the furnisher and the report would not be changed. But, nevertheless, the C1 account was removed from my reports (and has not re-appeared).

For the Amex card, the dispute took longer, and came back ultimately with the same response, but this time they were telling the truth and the Amex account was not removed, or updated. I've been in touch with the Credit Bureau Unit at American Express, twice. They have access to the contents of Experian's database (or some part of it) and they have confirmed that the account is marked with an ECOA code of 'T' (Terminated). I have submitted two more disputes, one for 'incorrect information' and one 'other' including a written statement from Amex, but Experian has also denied those disputes. In fact, I recently received an email from Experian noting that I had disputed this account several times already and that I should submit a consumer statement instead.

I have reported my experiences with the Amex account in some earlier posts here. It has been suggested here and elsewhere that Amex is special, and that this effect could be unique to them. Alas, that's not true. I've had the same experience with the Citibank account.

As of now, the Amex and Citibank accounts remain on my Experian report in this zombie state.

Does it matter ? It's hard to say. Experian has two different presentations of summary data for my report on their CMS. The summary shows the number of accounts, some average ages, the total credit limit and other stats. In one place this summary includes the two terminated accounts and in another the summary excludes them. (They are included on the pretty version of my report that's intended for printing).

Are my FICO scores affected ? EQ8 = 752 TU8 = 750 but EX8 = 730.

EQ and TU both have zero scoreable inquiries, but there are three on my EX profile. I'd expect the inquiries to pull down the EX8 number (it's a young profile with a new revolver) but the AU AZ penalty might also be in effect if FICO reads these zombie accounts as open. The Experian CMS shows only two negative reason codes: Short account history, and Lack of recent non-mortgage loan information. So, that's not very helpful.

Can we infer anything from the 20 point score difference ? Do the inquiries account for it fully, or is there a chance that the AU AZ penalty is actually being applied to these accounts as well ?

I want to believe that FICO is ignoring these zombie tradelines, but the effect on TU8 that I noted above casts a shadow of doubt.

And just because it seems necessary to say this, I'm not concerned about the scores, per se. They're all fine as far as I'm concerned. This post is about the way Experian is presenting these terminated accounts, and the effect that it might have on FICO scoring. I have not yet found any other reference to this odd presentation anywhere on the web.