Money owed to parents...help credit score?

[Seeker]

This is both wrong and right.

Sept of '07 was when it was first said that authorized users would not be counted.

In July of '08 FICO reversed it, and put other methodology in place to prevent authorized users whom are "piggybacking" from having too much of an impact. Note the top revision to the article below.

Consumer Alert: FICO Scores Dropping Authorized User Accounts | Credit.com

[JoshuaHeckathorn]

Adding a child/spouse as an AU is completely different from buying/selling aged tradelines, otherwise known as "piggybacking".

In a press release last year, Fair Isaac announced the following: “FICO 08 helps lenders protect against authorized-user account ‘piggybacking’ by incorporating new patent-pending technology that materially reduces the potential score impact associated with the abuse of authorized user accounts. By considering authorized user accounts in score calculations, FICO 08 continues to support lenders’ abilities to comply with federal regulations.”

So, there you go. In their own words, FICO '08 continues to include authorized user accounts in score calculations. The ECOA (Equal Credit Opportunity Act) precludes the removal of authorized users, and it always will until the law itself is changed.