Guaranteeing a credit card for a child about to go off to college is a fairly common occurrence, but it seldom generates as much trouble as it did for Dr. James H. Whitmore, a retired surgeon from Carson.
He has been through a seven-year drama that is not over yet.
When his son, Quentin Whitmore, entered Cal State Dominguez Hills in 1992, he wanted him to have a credit card. This is natural, since even if, as in this case, the child is going to be close to home, the parent knows he will be more on his own and may need emergency financial resources.
And so, after some exploring, Whitmore agreed to co-sign his son's application with MBNA of Wilmington, Del. "This I did with the stipulation that his credit limit be $500," he recalls.
At first, all went well. Quentin Whitmore was making small payments on the card out of the allowances his dad gave him.
But then, without ever notifying the guarantor, MBNA, which describes itself as "the largest independent credit card lender in the world with $59.6 billion in loans," repeatedly raised young Whitmore's credit limit. It finally reached $9,000.
By the end of 1996, the balance on the card, including late charges, reached $9,089, and MBNA declared the account delinquent. It informed Whitmore Sr. that he owed that amount as guarantor.
The doctor refused to pay. As MBNA put the sum out for collection and subsequently entered a bad credit report against both father and son, Whitmore insisted he had never authorized raising the limits and, therefore, was not responsible for the debts on the card above $500. He did send in $500.
I asked Whitmore whether he wasn't teed off at his son too.
"I remonstrated with my son and guess what happened?" he said. "His grades went from A's to nothing. One entire year was wasted."
Quentin Whitmore, now 24 and still a Dominguez Hills student, explained it this way:
"When I received the credit raises, I assumed [my father] had approved them. I never thought to call him, because at the outset MBNA had agreed not to raise the limits unless he gave his approval."
A Quicken survey taken last year revealed nearly half of college students bounce checks, 71% of those with cards fail to pay off balances monthly and a majority estimate that they will have $15,000 in debt before graduation. So young Whitmore's extravagance, or needs, may not be that unusual.
I asked MBNA whether it would acknowledge a mistake in raising young Whitmore's limit so high.
