About John Hall Expertise Law school graduate, Juris Doctorate (J.D.) Degree; Over 25 years of
experience throughout the United States in bankruptcy law matters (Chapters 7, 11, and
13 of the United States Bankruptcy Code) primarily representing individual
debtors with consumer debt or small businesses; Experience has included all
aspects of debtor/creditor relations.
Experience FREE BANKRUPTCY HELP. If you are being sued, if your home is being foreclosed, or if you are being harassed by bill collectors, filing for bankruptcy may be a quick and inexpensive solution.. The mere filing of a bankruptcy will operate as a federal court order (it is called an automatic stay) to stop all bill collection efforts, including lawsuits that are pending or ongoing. Bankruptcy is a legitimate way to meet your problems with debt head-on. The bankruptcy law is designed to give you a second chance to make a new start without the psychological and financial burden of pressing debts that you are unable to pay. Depending on what state you live in and what your assets are, it is very unlikely that you are going to have to lose anything if you file for bankruptcy, and this is something that you can do immediately without having to pay the $500 to $1,500 attorney fees that most attorneys charge. Also, you might be surprised that you can file for bankruptcy and that it will not have the devastating effect on your credit that most bill collectors describe. Life is too short to have all this anxiety over losing your car through repossession, getting evicted from your home, or losing your home through foreclosure. Bankruptcy law was designed to give you a second chance. I will not charge you just to talk on the phone. Call me at 432 853-5711, or send me an email at j_h14@hotmail.com with your telephone number, and I will call you back.
Question My father is receiving collections calls for $12,000 in debt that his ex-wife has occurred on a credit card, which has his name on it as well, after the divorce that was over 3 years ago. On his credit statement, under the credit card's liability section it has “not responsible” while his other cards say either individual or joint. The credit card company has threatened to garnish his wages and/or put a lean on the house (he lives in PA). In his divorce papers it states that he is not responsible for any debt occurred by the other party after the divorce.
We would great appreciate any advice on the matter. What does “not responsible” under liability mean? Is he responsible for this debt? Is the credit card company violating laws by making these threats? Thank you for any help you can give us.
Answer Hi Katie:
Any ruling by the divorce court transferring the liability away from your father is between him and his ex. That, by itself, has no bearing on his liability to the company.
What does it mean if it says “not responsible” as compared to joint or primary holder? If he is an authorized card user only, this would be the typical designation, but the system is not all that meticulous when it comes to paying attention to detail and it is very possible that even though he is only an “authorized card user” and does not have primary responsibility, the credit card collection people may think they can still get some money out of him - they would not necessarily let the facts confuse their goal of collecting.
What does he do? Depends on facts you don't state, he may have different options. This would be a lot easier to talk about on the telephone. At the very least I could explain how you could shut down the collection people from bothering him and I wouldn't even charge you. I doubt that they will be suing him, despite their threats (and yes, threatening criminal action may very well be illegal). Call me if you like at your convenience. My number is 214 321-1687 or at my call 661 492-2673. I look forward to hearing from you.
