The main reason tradelines are used is to calculate the total credit score of an individual. To assess your credit worthiness, money lenders do not simply depend on a credit score and would also look into tradelines to know your actual credit worth.
The tradelines are also referred to by the lenders when they notice you are not making timely payments on your existing accounts to see how long a certain account has been open and delinquent. If you have a high usage on your card compared to the existing balance, you may be declared a credit risk. There are many websites which help find more personal tradelines that you could add to your accounts.
If you are existing on someone’s account as an authorized user and for some reason, your name gets removed from their card, this could potentially put a red flag on your credit report since now you will not have the benefit of a healthy credit score.
However, you also have the option to remove tradelines that you do not need or you believe they weren’t issued with your willingness or consent. By staying vigilant and looking into your credit report from time to time, you could save yourself a lot of trouble by removing a bad tradeline which could have been impacting your bad credit for a while without your knowledge. It is a decision that needs proper consideration and planning. You do not wish to get yourself involved in a scam or to have your credit score go from bad to worse by getting involved with an un-reputed non-genuine lender.
You could ask your credit bureau to provide one free credit report that you are eligible for per year. This report would give you a detailed look at your existing accounts and the pertaining tradelines.