Could someone help me make a good excuse to get my bank card/credit card back?

[janix]

Background info: When I was 19/20 or so, my parents took me back to our home country and opened a bank account with citibank on my name for me to get some benefits (bank will give $$ to new customers). 

 

Unfortunately at the time, I knew little of how banks work and my parents forced their way and made me opened up an account. Least to say, the contracts were mostly written in Chinese which I could not read at the time and I don't believe there were English in the contract. Even if there were, I couldn't possibly understand the jargons involved in those papers

 

Now I will get straight to the point, right now I know NOTHING about that bank account. I don't know the bank account number, a pin (if it even has one), credit card number (if I even got one or not), and my bank card number.

 

I have asked my parents to give it back to me, but they refused with a terse and loud answer: "NO, stop asking for it". I am a little paranoid right now because their refusal and lack of explanation. My dad has a horrible credit history to top it off and a gambling addiction in the past (he's cleaned now). My mom has opened up 5 different bank accounts to reap one-time benefits to new customers and she is horrible with computers and securities. Her credit card have been misused at least 4 times in the past .

 

 

What I am most afraid of right now is that they might one day start using my account or my credit card on whim and put all the debt on me or even have her credit stolen and misused. I don't think citibank offers joint accounts, so I may still have some say if i have to force things through. 

 

 

 

 

Additional info: I already have another separate bank account of my own with another bank, so asking "I need my OWN card to do this and that..." isn't going to work. Also, telling my mom that it is better that I keep the cards since you have a poor history of credit card issues isn't going to work either since I don't think she even uses citibank as her primarily banking. 

 

And I certainly don't want to tell them "please don't use my credit card for yourself" to give them ideas.

 

Thanks for reading.

[Cookie]

That story of yours is incredible. Maybe all you need is better communication with your parents? I don't know if gradcafe peers can help you with that... (no sarcasm)

[Eigen]

Just go to Citibank and close the account. I doubt there will be any notice given to your parents, and it will solve any future problems. 

[Lifesaver]

Close your account. It's yours. You're entitled to do that. And yes, they're probably using it and messing up your credit. Happened to a good friend of mine. So, close it sooner rather than later.

[seeingeyeduck]

Yeah, if it's in your name, where's the barrier? Do you need some sort of card or account number? If you need a card and they won't give it to you, just report if stolen, because if someone has your card and won't return it it is in fact essentially stolen.

Check your credit!

[VulpesZerda]

Check your credit!

I second this. If you haven't already, pull your credit report (free at https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action). My SO's dad has terrible credit, and the same name as my SO. As you can imagine, this has caused issues. The sooner you catch them the better!

[juilletmercredi]

You said when you were 19-20 or so, so I'm assuming that you are older than 20.  You're an adult.  Your parents cannot hold your financial information hostage from you.  My mom has bad credit too and there's no way in hell I would trust her to "hold" a debit card while refusing to give me the information about the bank account.

Call the bank or walk into a branch and close the account.  If there's money in it, just cancel the debit card that your parents have, withdraw the money and then close it.  Even if you don't have the account number, your SSN with some ID should be enough to close it, since it's in your name.

 

I agree with the advice to check your credit.

[themmases]

Juilletmercredi is right-- proving your identity should be enough for you to close the account. If you don't know the answers to any security questions your parents might have set, go in person and bring photo ID.

 

My only worry would be that the account is overdrawn. If that's the case, you can at least cancel the debit card associated with that account or take your name off the account completely, leaving only your parents.

[danieleWrites]

You've already talked with your parents so you know that they're keeping the card and not telling you anything. If they aren't already forthcoming, you can tell them, quite plainly, that either they send you the card and all documents (contract, statements, etc.) for the account that they might have within 10 days or you will contact Citibank and get it all from them, instead, when you report the card lost.

The laws regarding credit are different in different countries. Checking your US credit report is a good idea (if you're in the US), but it might not show what Citibank has on you. You signed a contract with the bank that you clearly did not understand and you don't have any way of understanding. You don't mention if your parents signed it, as well. You may have a joint account with them, or they may just have kept your card/account and are using it. Citibank totally offers joint accounts. Pretty much every bank does. Many banks won't offer first-time accounts to teenagers without a parent. I suspect that it's a revolving credit (credit card) account because the bank gave you money. Checking/savings accounts don't do that. It is illegal for banks in the US to offer credit cards to people under the age of 21, which is likely why they took you to China to do it.

Contact Citibank immediately. Explain to the customer service representative that your parents had you open the account in China (I'm assuming, since it was in Chinese) when you were 19, but you've never received the debit/credit card nor used the account, and that didn't know anything about banking and are just now learning. Explain that you want to deal with it here because you do not read Chinese and you don't even know what kind of an account it is. You want to verify that the account is inactive or closed. If it is not, then you want to report the card stolen and have all account numbers changed to prevent further fraud or theft. You should also make sure that there are no authorized users on the account except for you. If there are, you should ask that either they be removed from the account, or that you be removed from it. If there has been no activity on the account, close it. If there has been activity, you likely won't be able to close it. Make sure to give the customer service person your corrected address and to have any online access IDs and passwords changed. If the account has had activity, request that they send you statements for the life of the account, in English, since you don't read Chinese. This way, you can see what has been going on with the account. If your parents won't give you access to your account and all of the information involved with it, the bank will. If you can, go to a Citibank branch in person. Because of the nature of your problem, an in-person discussion will likely work out much better for you than otherwise.

I would strongly suggest that you contact a lawyer that specializes in international identity theft and fraud. If your parents have used the card with your name on it in any way, then yes, your parents have committed fraud and, depending on the laws involved, possibly identity theft. If you're attending a university that has a law school attached, they often have free or cheap legal counseling their law students do. This won't really help you personally, but you can get a referral to a professor who can help you or to a practicing lawyer that can help you. Since you were an adult who signed for the account and you know that your parents have access to the account and to the card, there's likely not much identity theft laws can do for you. However, you should find out if they have used your name to open other accounts. In some cases, all it takes is the debit card/credit card to do it.

Since your credit is important to living (you can't rent an apartment without one these days, it seems, and various insurances figure your credit score into your rates, and so on), it's very important that you keep on top it. In any event, I would also strongly suggest that you find a way to educate yourself on financial matters, including budgeting, financial planning, retirement, insurance, banking, credit, and so on. Most cities have adult education classes, some universities have extensions that do the same thing (often free), then there are more books than you shake a rubber chicken at, available at the library. Before you go randomly selecting books (because there are about as many books on taking care of your finances as there are books on how to lose weight), sit down and figure out your goals. Do you want to own a home? Where? What kind of job do you foresee? Travel? When do you want to retire? Where? Think about what kind of money person you are. Do you save? Spend? Do you have loans? A lot? Do you run out of money before your next paycheck comes in? If an emergency came up, say you had to fly to another city in order to be with a sick family member, do you have the money to pay for a ticket? Knowing more about yourself as a money person can help you find a financial education program that fits you best.

Lastly, I would also suggest that you speak with the campus counselor to help you work through how to deal with your parents now that you've left the nest and have become an adult on your own terms.