fraud charges on credit card?

Question

I desperately need some advice.
before my husband and i got married, he had a credit card which was paid off by the time we got married. (this was 10 years ago!!). he never closed the account though because somebody told him it was always good to have credit open for good credit scores. last week he gets a letter that he needs to go to a superior court. we have no idea what it's for, so he contacts his friend which is a lawyer. apparently, there was a 6000 charge on that open account FROM YEARS AGO. we moved a couple of times so supposedely they tried to contact my husband but was nowhere to be found. now he is expected to pay this 6000 for something we never bought!!! the lawyer will call the credit card company today to see if they will take less. but my point is WHY do WE have to pay for a fraud?? anybody been in this situation before? they did verify with my husband it is his name and ss#.. what can we do?? please help with any useful advice.. thank you!! :(

Answer 1

You should have received statements from the credit card company showing this charge. If statements were sent to an old address, you should have put in change of address notices with your PO.

If you have a good lawyer, you probably won't have to pay. But the judge will want to know why you didn't notify the credit card company of your change of address or, if you did, why you ignored statements showing the fraudulent charge.

You should also be concerned that whoever made that charge MAY have used your husband's name and SS#. Unless additional charges have come through, it might be a mistake on the part of the credit reporting agency (Experian, Equifax) and they should be notified immediately of the situation.

It's ALWAYS a good idea to check your own credit report at least once a year... just to make sure that the debts being shown are legitimate. You can get a free credit report annually, but even if there is a small fee, it certainly would have been worth it in this case.

It seems odd to me that you have not been aware of this fraudulent charge from so long ago. Any loans you've made since then would have shown the debt and a loan officer would have probably remarked about it.

Answer 2

I would seek the advice of another attorney. If the charges are in fact fraudulent then you and/or your husband are not responsible for the entire balance.

It may have changed somewhat but I believe you are responsible for approximately $50.00 of the charges.

Has your husband not had a credit report pulled in the last few years?? I recommend obtaining one every six months in order to keep an eye on your accounts and fraud activity.

Also, close the credit card account immediately if you have not done so already. Your husbands credit score might also be damaged. He has the right to add a few sentences to the bottom of his credit report explaining which account is fraudulent. The trade line should also include a line (added by the credit card company) that says 'card reported lost or stolen' or 'fraudulent account'. In the grand scheme of things this won't improve his credit score or rate a lot but it might make the difference when/if you apply for any loans.

After thinking about it I am afraid that I am having a hard time believing this story. It is possible that it could have happened but the fact that it went so many years before anybody knowing ANYTHING about the situation is hard to swallow. Lots would have to go wrong for you, your husband, or the credit card company to not notice.

Answer 3

You are not responsible for fraud. get another atty to represent you in court. get copies of all signed transactions and have a handwriting expert testify on your husbands behalf that the charges are not his. Then counter complain for your cost involved

Answer 4

YOU SHOULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT YOUR HUSBAND IS SAYING.... iT IS REALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO USE THE CREDIT CARD# HIS SOCIAL SECURITY # AND KNOW HIS FULL NAME WITHOUT IT NOT BEING HIM. aSK YOURSELF THIS WHERE IS THE CREDIT CARD?eVEN IF SOMEONE GETS THERE HANDS ON IT WHERE DID THEY GET HIS SOCIAL# FROM AND EVERY CARD HAS AN EXPERATION DATE, THE CARD WOULD HAVE BEEN INACTIVE AFTER THAT DATE, AND THEN YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO GET ANOTHER ONE.