Question: My spouse filed bankruptcy in the middle of 2004. He was discharged in August 2005..I was sent an authourized credit card application soley in my name in November 2005 and put him down as a co applicant with his social insurance #…Not even thinking that I was going to recieve a credit card on my income, I was issued one along with one for my husband. I was told since he could not get one with out being a secured card I was soley responsible for the account and this card was issued to myself and him.
Now the question… I had to file for bankruptcy due to a business venture gone bad last year(2007)…they have been harrassing me and calling for my husband to pay this balance on the card wich is $2200, can they do this?…and if I was soley responsible for this card and he could not get one on his own…would they not look at his social insurance number on my application and deny him one and issue me one alone. I called them and asked about this and they told me that they would issue me a card and him one but since his bankruptcy, I was soley responsible to pay my account…..Please Please help.
Answer: If your spouse never signed for the card, and never used the card, then they are not responsible for the card. However, if your spouse did use the card, it is harder to make the case that he is not responsible. He has a few different choices.
First, he could ask for proof from the credit card company that he is responsible for the card. If they can’t prove it, then presumably they can’t take him to court and attempt to get a judgement against him.
Alternatively, he could offer to make payment arrangements.
Ultimately if they sue him it would be up to a judge to decide whether or not he is liable, and that will depend on the specific facts of his case.