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Am I liable if my husband took over the company? It was an s-corp.
Initially i owned the company till i wanted nothing to do with it and had my husband call to put the card solely on his name. Which they cancelled my cards, provided him a card and no card for me. Only his name was on the statement.
since he had a family illness, his business failed and had no money to pay the card. He called the credit card company and let them know he could not pay. They said someone would contact him. They sent it straight to collections.
Now the company is looking to make me liable b/c i was once the owner and I'm his wife. I tried making a payment for good faith till he was able to see how to resolve it. Not only I am without the money, but also I received a call from the manager of the agency saying it wasn't enough and threaten to put a law suit on me.
Can you tell me what I should do? Am I liable? Have I hurt us (me) by giving a payment? My husband had some credit cards through me in which i cancelled them the day after the threat. I own a house, i have no money right now and I'm afraid I'll loose the little I've struggled for.
Can you guide me?
Vanessa,
Even though your name is no longer on the cards, since you are his spouse, the creditor and the collection agencies can go after you for the payments. Also, any debt you both incur together or separately when you are married will be reflected on both of your credit reports.
Once you make a good faith payment, you do set a precedence and should try to pay as much as you can each month. If the company tells you that it is not enough, that is really just to bad, it is what you can pay or nothing. I would continue to pay what you can, that way if they do take you to court it shows you have been making payments and will reflect good on you and your credit. If you are making payments of what you can and a collection agency is calling you saying it is not enough, I would send them a "cease and desist" letter and just continue to make your payments. This way they cannot call you or send you letters to try and collect and you can pay as much as possible without having those types of calls.
Yes, you would be liable.
If you do not have any money to pay you might want to check out a non-profit credit counseling service or an attorney to find out what your options on such as bankruptcy.
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Answers by Expert:
Michelle Dunn
Expertise
As one of the Top 5 Women in Collections, one of the Top 50 Collection Professionals, and winner of the Business Excellence award, I can answer any questions about debt, debt collection, improving business credit, creating a credit policy, enforcing a credit policy and collecting on past due accounts. I can also answer questions in regards to starting a debt collection agency since I have been a bill collector for over 24 years, started and ran my own collection agency for 8 years, and maintain my 12 year old Credit & Collections Association for members of the credit & debt collection industry. I am also the author of the popular and award winning book "Starting a Collection Agency, how to make money collecting money" now on it's 3rd edition. This book has won a the Writers Digest self published award as well as the New York Book Festival Award. I am a repeat contributor to the Wall Street Journal, and have been featured on NPR, CNN, as well as many other national radio and television programs. I have also been featured in national publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Smart Money, MSNBC and much more. I have 17 published books to my name and am an accomplished speaker and consultant. I currently write 9 columns for newspapers, magazines and online portals worldwide.
Experience
I have over 24 years experience in debt collection, I started and ran my own collection agency for 8 years and I am the founder & owner of my Credit & Collections Association that I founded in 1998. www.credit-and-collections.com
Organizations
My Credit & Collections Association, I was also a member of the American Collectors Association and Plymouth Chamber of Commerce for 11 years. I am a member of many writing groups as well as my local Women Inspiring Women chapter. I am a member of Know More Media as an expert for their blog on business credit.
Publications
Business NH Magazine, Smart Money Magazine, MSNBC, CNN, Forbes.com, The Wall Street Journal, Home Business Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine and website, many books, newspapers and television programs as well.
Education/Credentials
I have written 17 books in my collecting money series and one for Entrepreneur Press called the Ultimate Credit and Collections Handbook. My newest book is being published by John Wiley & Sons in May titled, The Guide to Getting Paid, how to weed out bad paying customers, collect on past due balances and avoid bad debt. This book is also being sold to many colleges as a text book.
Awards and Honors
My book Starting a Collection Agency, how to make money collecting money won an award from Writers Digest and the 2007 New York Book Festival in the "How to" category. I have won 2 awards from Dun & Bradstreet and Governor Jean Shaheen. I was nominated as one of the Top 5 Women in Collections twice as well as having been selected as one of Collection Advisor's Top 50 Collection Professionals by my peers.
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