I didn’t realize till now my credit card was used unauthorized by my now ex boyfriend to make purchases. Is it too late to file charges? It happened two weeks ago but I just recently found out now. Can anyone help me with this please? Thax
Yes, your credit card company can. Call them.
Reported for forum change.
What does that mean? Reported for forum change?
This forum is for questions about the message board itself. I reported it so a mod can move it to a forum where you’ll most likely to get answers.
Most likely IMHO. Or maybe General Questions.
Some or most of the posters here only look in specific forums and wouldn’t see your post.
Mod speaketh: Yes, I’ve moved this from ATMB to GQ, hoping you’ll get factual answers.
Poster speaketh: I agree, call your credit card company. DON’T tell them that it’s your ex-boyfriend, tell them that it’s unauthorized use.
In the good old days of credit card charges, when they did impressions and you signed the little carbon copy - the requirement for the merchant to avoid chargebacks (i.e. this charge is not valid, i’s your problem) was that the card had to be present, unexpired, and the signature on the card matched the slip. People who “lend” their card to a spouse or child for a shopping spree, the merchant runs the risk of having all charges denied if the signature does not match. (IF it’s PIN-based and you told him your PIN, you may be SOL). (A charge can also be reversed - usually - if the merchandise was not delivered as promised.)
If he stole your card (permanently) then report it stolen and cancel it. If he “borrowed” it, just say you did not make those charges. Then it’s up to the merchant and credit company to decide who pays. They can charge him if you say you did not authorize the charges. He’ll argue you allowed him (who wouldn’t?) - which means he may or may not be convicted of theft, but the merchant may have to eat the costs and then sue him for the loss. Hope he has a job and can pay, but I doubt it if he’s pulling this trick.
Regardless, not your problem. You owe for charges you authorized.
For credit reporting purposes, you will need a police report (which means you explain to the police your account was used fraudulently).
If there is a problem with your credit report (your credit dispute with the bank might drag on), the credit reporting agencies must accept a police report and delete the negative info.
Legal advice is best suited to IMHO, so I’m going to move it on over there.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Just to be clear:
[ol]
[li]Report the unauthorized transaction to the credit card company. Under federal law, the most you could be held liable is $50.00.[/li][li]Report the unauthorized transaction to the police. Yeah, it’s a crime to use a credit card like that.[/li][li]Use the police report to authorize a credit freeze on all three credit reporting companies.[/li][/ol]
The last one is just as important as the first two. That’s because you only know at the moment that one credit card was used fraudulently. You need to protect your identity just in case your credit name and identity could have been compromised in other ways.
Finally, if you think this process is a bit over the top (“He is just mt ex boyfriend.”), think again. IIRC, cleaning up identity theft can take seven to ten years of your life if it’s an average case. So nip in the bud as fast as you can.
^^^ Duckster +1
Also, once you have registered the disputed amount, I am pretty sure you should not pay that amount while it is in dispute. (If you do, I think the credit card company decides you are acknowledging it was an authorized charge and you lose your right to dispute it.) They won’t charge you interest on an amount that is in dispute, if you have followed their required procedure.
Above all, talk to the credit card company about the correct procedure (including confirming what I said above about paying the disputed amount) that you need to follow in order to maintain your rights. They will probably require something in writing in order to put the charge in official dispute status, even if you call them.
They are usually very helpful about these things, in my experience.