Sally Herigstad is a certified public accountant and the author of "Help! I Can't Pay My Bills: Surviving a Financial Crisis" (St. Martin's Press, 2006).
Dear To Her Credit,
My husband and I have not lived
together since 2003, yet we never became legally separated. We tried to divorce
several times. Well, I tried, but with money problems, family problems, health
issues, and so on, we never completed the process. We went to a hearing to get
legally separated, but the lawyer was so bad, we had to drop the whole thing.
The other day he told me he had to
use my personal information to buy some equipment he needed for work because
his credit is worse than mine. He says he never intends to have me pay a dime,
even though the card has only my name on it. He just signs as Mr. Headley instead
of Mrs. whenever he uses it! I saw for myself that he has already paid half or
three-quarters of the balance. He says it is with a major hardware chain and no
interest will be charged until next year.
I am upset and do not know if he
broke a law or whether I should file charges or even if I could since we are
still married. In Georgia,
I know identity theft is a big deal and a felony. It is about time he got what
he deserved. -- Morgan
Dear Morgan,
Yes, it's possible he broke the law and he could
be in big trouble. The question now is what you want to do about it. Wayne
Sanford of Your Credit Specialist deals
with clients in similar situations regularly. He says, "Whether you have kids
is usually the determining factor on whether you put the screws on him."
If you decide to go forward pursuing
him for identity theft, take these steps:
Get the names of every credit card company
that gave him cards under your name or both your names without your
permission. Because the credit is in your name, that information should be
on your credit reports. You can obtain your credit reports from each of
the main three credit reporting bureaus from the website www.annualcreditreport.com. "She's
not the victim, the credit card companies are," says Sanford. "That means
she has to get the listing of all the credit card companies and the complete
account number. She may have to call the banks and have statements sent to
her house."
Request a copy of the original application.
"She needs this because she is going to claim this is identity theft and
is not her," says Sanford.
Go to the police and file an identity theft
report.
Contact credit card company fraud
departments. "Take the police report and contact creditors. Get a hold of the
fraud department and say, ‘This isn't mine. Send me the paperwork. I've
never authorized this or written a check on this and I'm in the process of
filing charges.'" If the creditor tells you tough luck, you have to pay it
anyway, don't take their word for it. Keep pursuing justice!
If you're worried about your husband trying
this again, sign up for a 90-day fraud alert at the credit bureaus. I recommend that -- after all, if he did it
before, he could do it again. With the fraud alert in place, the creditor
has to call you at a number you provide. If you provide the credit bureaus with
a police report, they will place an extended fraud alert for seven years
so no one can open any account, not even utilities, in your name without
contacting you by phone. (Goodbye, impulse purchases!)
Placing a fraud alert -- also known
as a "credit freeze" -- has become easier in recent years. You can
place one by calling just one of the three major credit reporting agencies. The
agency you call will notify the other two, and all three will place fraud
alerts. The numbers and websites you can use to set up a fraud alert are:
The consequences to your husband if
you report him can be severe. If you decide not to take legal action against
him -- because, for instance you have
children together or if he convinces you he can pay it off within a month or
two -- you should still take measures to protect yourself. (He might find a way
to pay this off very fast if he knows you could file a police report!) Let your
husband know that he cannot pull this trick again under any circumstances!
Then, I suggest a 90-day fraud alert
placed on your accounts at the credit bureaus, renewed at least until after your
divorce is final.
Sally Herigstad answers questions about credit every week for CreditCards.com. Herigstad is a certified public accountant, author and speaker. She also writes regularly for MSN Money, Interest.com, Bankrate.com and RedPlum.com, and has been a guest on Martha Stewart radio and other programs. You can read more about personal finance and download free budgeting worksheets at her website: www.sallyherigstad.com
To Her Credit answers a question about a debt or credit issue from a CreditCards.com reader each week.
Send your question to Sally.
Published: September 26, 2009
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