I'm about to get a large check for work I did last year. I have about 60,000 in old credit bills that were supposedly paid by my exhusband, long story. I want these bills to go away, I think I'll have enough to pay them off. The question is HOW to pay them? I've read enough here to know that I shouldn't just randomly send money. They are, I assume, the lawyers/collection people for MBNA, AmEx, Chase and Citi and possibly CapitalOne. Anyway, here's what I think I should do: call the credit card people and find out who the debt went to, and get that in writing; write to the lawyers and ask for verification; make some kind of agreement; send checks. How do I know when and how to ask for a settlement? And, do I ask for something in the contract like "paid in full" or whatever? I feel incredibly clueless. Logic says "pay bills". But so many posts here say don't pay unless . . . and I want to do this the right way. Goal is to not have debt. ANY advice welcome. Thanks!
Were you jointly on the accounts? Are they showing on your credit reports? Were there any judgements, and were any judgements against you?
They're in my name, they are on the credit reports, and I don't know how to find out if there are judgments or not. Ex-husband took them out without my knowledge, when I found out he promised to pay (but hasn't), they are at my old address from 2 years ago and I've never heard from any of them. I assume the judgments would show on the credit report? I was too angry to look closely at it, but I will. If judgments don't show on credit report, how do I find them? And if so, what do I do to take care of them? Help, obviously. I'm lost.
Was he your ex-husband at the time he opened the accounts, or did he open them while he was still your husband? Did he open them in his name, in your name, or in both your names jointly, or do you even know? Did you benefit from the purchases he made with these accounts? Did he make any payments on the accounts, and has he opened any new ones since he agreed to pay the ones you discovered he had opened? How much time has elapsed since he opened them, and how long ago did you discover that they were opened? How many accounts are involved, opened over what period of time, and how much are the unpaid balances?
Was he living at the address from which they were opened when they were opened, while you were living at a different address? Can you show that you were legally separated or divorced, and living at an address different from the account billing address used to open the accounts, at the time the accounts were opened? Rent checks, dated and signed lease agreement, utility or phone bill in your name?
No, this dates from before the divorce, when we still had the same address. No way to prove that the bills were his. I just wanted to explain why it's gotten to this situation. I'm not happy about paying but I'm even less happy about it going on unattended. So, how do I pay them? Thanks!!
Basically, I was trying to determine if they were opened fraudulently, without benefit to you, and whether opening of fraudulent accounts was likely to continue if you took no action to prevent it.
Were the accounts opened in your name alone, or in both your names jointly, or in your husband's name with you as authorized user? Is their claim based on the names on the account, or on the fact that you were married, and in a community property state?
Thanks - the accounts are in my name. We always had separate bank accounts, credit cards, etc. All he did was check the little "yes" box in those credit card offers I used to get all the time, or write loan checks and scribble a non-name - in retrospect I should've paid more attention, but we can't go back in time and change things. I never suspected that he'd do that. However, I also never suspected that he had another woman on the side, either. I've been reading here now for a couple days, and I'm beginning to get the idea, I think. The first thing to try to deal with these would be to claim fraud, right? But, they are in my name, with my information, opened at my former address. My Ex paid some of them for a while. Actually paid a couple of them off, too. Then, he stopped paying. As far as I can tell it would be my word against his. (He still intends to pay, but I don't think I should wait for him!) Am I correct in assuming that claiming "fraud" probably won't accomplish anything under these circumstances? Shortof my ex confessing, it just looks like I opened new accounts or wrote checks on old ones, and now I'm trying to blame somebody else. I don't think I'm being over-generous by taking on the bills myself. They ARE in my name, and therefore are my business. In addition, my Ex provides health insurance for our kids, especially our youngest who is disabled and has 7-figure bills, and that insurance in unreplacable - especially at that level of expense. The credit mess is no fun, but at least it's "only" money and endless frustration. The health insurance and medical mess is about life and death, a whole different level of craziness. Anyway. I have these chargeoffs. I want to "take care of them". I see by my reading and research that "take care of them" is complex. My first thought was to contact each creditor (NOT the collector) and pay them off, but I gather that may not be the best idea? That will only mean that I still have "account charged off" on my credit, and that I have paid a lot of money? But, if I DON'T pay the money, I do still owe the money, and am likely to get sued at any time? And of course my credit is trashed. Help.
