ex took credit in my name

While I am a resident of NY State, my estranged wife is a resident of NJ. We have been seperated since 1997. After I left NJ and moved to NY, my estranged wife applied for a line of credit with my name and social security number, using our old NJ address and charged over $600.00 in my name. I originally received a collection notice in 2001. At that time, I filed a police report and sent a copy, along with proof that I was a resident of NY at the time the debt was incured, to the collection agency. I received a letter stating they were investigating the matter and heard no further. Recently, I received a letter from a different collection agency for the same debt. I was not even residing at that address when the application was made nor did I receive any benefit to the debt. My credit as of now is very good with consistant on-time payments to my debtors. I have since read that this would be a civil matter and i would have to personally go after her for the money and pay the debt myself. However, I know she would never pay. What is the best way to go about ending this matter once and for all?

This is a perfect example of the pitfalls of lengthy separations. Is there a reason you HAVENT divorced? In my state, you could be held liable for the debt since you are still married. What she did is not, in my opinion, criminal, but it certainly is civilly actionable. I would go to magistrates court in her jurisdiction and pay the filing fee ( usually less than a hundred dollars ) and take your proof to court. Represent yourself--it is a simple process. Ask for your expenses, court costs, etc. But be prepared for a judge to rule that part of the incurred debt is your responsibility.

Is a collection entered on your credit report now or in the past for this? If so, you will need to contact the original creditor AND the 3 main credit repositories in writing. You can also contact them online (I'll provide the links shortly via private message above) and file disputes with TransUnion, Equifax and Beacon. They are required by law to investigate consumer disputes and respond to you within a "timely manner," but it won't be a quick process. I'd suggest first and foremost sending written documentation directly to the credit card company; include a copy of that correspondence with your dispute directly to the repositories mentioned above. If you can prove the debt was never yours, the creditor is required by law to remove the account information, regardless of positive, negative or any type of rating. That's part of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and that is enforceable on a federal level.

Regardless of whether you are/were legally separated or even divorced is irrelevant in this matter. It appears as if your ex spouse lied on her application to obtain credit, and if she used your financial information (social security number, etc.), that is prosecutable as identity theft, plain and simple. Unless the credit company has your signature or acknowledgement on a credit application, you are not legally bound by a contract to repay. Period. Any credit information entered on your credit report pertaining to your credit report must be accurate..again, that is the law. There's no need for you to pay the collection .. accepting your post at face value, it has been entered onto your credit report IN ERROR. Creditors are required by law to investigate and correct in a timely manner.

You need to address your complaints directly to the credit card company and not collection agencies they hire on a regular basis to pursue you. They have the contract with the collection agencies; this will happen over and over again until you succeed in getting the "record" set straight with that original credit company. Even then, you need to remain vigilant when it comes to periodically checking your credit. It may surface yet again unless you can get your point across that the company is in clear violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

It's up to you whether or not you want to prosecute your ex spouse (or separated spouse, whichever) for identity theft. I can't begin to advise you on that one. What she did was just plain illegal (again, on a federal level) and you'd be well within your rights to pursue legal action, if you chose to. That's pretty serious stuff, but if it will stop this sort of thing from happening again, again only you can make that determination. A divorce decree or even legal separation agreement has nothing to do with the original contract that creditor entered into. Your marital status has nothing to do with whether or not you owe on this account .. if you didn't apply for credit, you don't owe them a thing. Make sense?

Hopefully this will help. Again, I'll forward the direct links to the main repositories via private message above. Good luck.