Am I legally responsible to pay the debt even though I was under age?

Full question:

When I was 17 I was shopping in a department store when a sales associate asked if I would like to sign up for their credit card. I said I wish and that I'm only seventeen so I can't. She told me we could try anyway. She entered my information and I was declined. The sales associate then decided to change my birth year by one year so I would be 18. Two months after I received and started using the card, the credit company called my house and spoke with my mother about my missed payment. My mother told them I was not 18 and couldn't have a credit card. They told my mother to fax a copy of my birth certificate and drivers license to them. Once she did that they told me I was legally not responsible for the debt and the contract was void. Then a couple months later I turned 18 and the credit card companies had debt collectors calling me about the debt. They are now claiming that I have to pay the debt. I only used the card for a little over two months and didn't use it at all once I was 18. So am I legally responsible to pay the debt? And if not, what steps would I have to take to clear the situation up?

• Category: Debts and Credit
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: New Jersey

Answer:

Sometimes, a contract with a minor may not be fully enforced, meaning, the adult who made the contract with the minor may not be able to force the minor to do all that the minor promised, or the adult may not be able to make the minor pay all the money that the adult would otherwise be entitled to if the contract had been made with an adult.

A person who was under eighteen when he/she made the contract may not undo the contract if he/she has already ratified it after he/she reached eighteen. A person ratifies a contract when he/she acts in a way that shows that he/she wants to keep the contract.(73)

The minor may disavow the contract within a reasonable time after turning 18. Simply waiting to disavow a contract is not enough by itself to show that the defendant ratified the contract. Plaintiff has the burden to show that the defendant ratified the contract.

The defendant has the burden to show that when defendant made the contract, defendant was under the age of eighteen. If the defendant gives back any benefits defendant received, then defendant may undo the contract, even though defendant misrepresented defendant’s age when he or she made the contract.