Need help with a debt

[Kiddeokee]

Write ex a certified letter stating that because he was not authorized by you to charge the phone to your account, if he does not pay the $300 within 10 days, you report the phone as stolen to both Sprint and the Police. If he does not respond, call the police and report the theft (using non-emergency line). This should get your hubby off his lazy ****.

 

[clutter]

Write ex a certified letter stating that because he was not authorized by you to charge the phone to your account, if he does not pay the $300 within 10 days, you report the phone as stolen to both Sprint and the Police. If he does not respond, call the police and report the theft (using non-emergency line). This should get your hubby off his lazy ****.

...and sign the postnup, too!!!

 

[mrsklamc]

One $300 unpaid bill is not going to keep you from renting an apartment, getting a job or getting a credit card.

It very well might.

 

[Handbag Lady]

Can you sell something of his in the house that is worth $300?

 

[LoriKutchey]

I agree with the other posters, if he signed his OWN name on your account then sprint shouldn't have authorized it, even if he knew your pin. I would start barking up that tree and ask your lawyer if what sprint did was legal.

 

[pixiewings71]

Can you sell something of his in the house that is worth $300?

Ohhh, I'd be really careful doing something like this......

 

[dfchelbay]

Tell him he needs to give you something OF HIS worth $300, so you can hock it/sell it/or garage sale it for the money to pay for his debt.

As for the mortgage, I'm afraid that your credit will suffer too if he doesn't pay it every month. It's in both your names. The delinquency will appear on both your credit reports.

 

[dfchelbay]

You, or your attorney, really need to file a Motion to Show Cause. He'll have to appear before the Judge in your divorce case and explain to the Court why he is not honoring the written agreement. That should light a fire under him. The Judge will sign an Order giving him between 7 and 10 days to comply with the terms of your agreement, if he doesn't, then he will be in contempt of Court and the Judge could very well throw his a** in jail. Might help him think about strightening up his act and doing the right thing and what he already agreed to do.

 

[PinkJade]

I just hate to call my lawyer about it cause of the additional money it costs me per phone call. I took some of the debt and husband took some of the debt until house sells. I still owe lawyer but once I pay the bills I'm required, it leaves me with barely anything left over.

In the meantime, husband is out living the high life cause he isn't holding up his end of the bargain and paying the bills he took. I even had mortgage company calling me looking for the payment. Had to tell them that this was his responsibility until it sells. I'm paying the bills that I took so it doesn't hurt either of our credit. Whatever he is behind on will come out of his portion of the house proceeds, but it just sucks cause it damages my credit in the process. He doesn't even care about his own credit so there is no reason for him to care about mine.

I worked so hard to maintain good credit and it hurts knowing one person can ruin it all in a matter of months and there is nothing I can do about it.

If he isn't paying the mortgage and your name is on it, your credit is ruined anyway. I wouldn't spend any extra time worrying about the $300. When you get the money pay them and call the credit bureaus requesting that it be removed from your credit report.

I'm sorry about the situation, but it really sounds like there isn't much you can do until the house sells and the divorce is finalized. But you will be able to get through this and rebuild your credit.

 

[Mic]

Since the bill is in your name, pay it, then immediately ask Sprint to do an "ESN" switch. You deserve a new phone...it would have been nice if it had been one you picked out, but sometimes we have to make-do with what we have. Then, call your number, and let your husband know you'll be coming by to pick up your child support and your new phone that now has your number. And don't forget to leave him the phone you're using now...you will need to reach the man during visitation with your daughter.

 

[Planogirl]

Definitely call and work out a payment plan for now. Are you still on the mortgage? If so that will hurt if he isn't making the payments. Do you pay your lawyer every time you call him? Ouch.

 

[bumbershoot]

I think I am in the minority here. I wouldn't worry about my credit rating. One $300 unpaid bill is not going to keep you from renting an apartment, getting a job or getting a credit card. Plus. once your ex pays the bill you can have it noted your credit report.

I am still wondering how Sprint allowed him to purchase a new phone on your account without your knowledge or approval, even with the pin number. Dealing with bill collectors will be a PITB, but if you don't have the money now to pay it you don't have any choice than to deal with them. I would just take the stand that the phone purchase was not authorized.

I agree.

Seriously, a brand new debt for $300...drop in the bucket, and any apartment complex worth living in is going to hear what you say and rent to you anyway.


But I'd continue to talk to Sprint, going further and further up the chain, not being rude, just talking to other people...explaining the truth over and over and over.

 

[Belle1962]

Most creditors (utilities, mortgage, credit cards, etc.) don't care about divorce agreements, postnups, etc. All they care about is whose name is on the commitment documents (applications, loan papers, etc.). If your name is on any joint bill they will come after you and they will ding your credit. (My ex filed a chapter 13 one month before he moved out and so those creditors then came after me....even though he had agreed to pay them in his bankruptcy and our divorce papers.) You can write as many letters to them and the credit bureaus and it won't matter. Sometimes you can try disputing the credit with a credit bureau (rather than send a letter) and if the company in question doesn't meet the timeline or just doesn't bother, then the bureau will clean it off but that is rare.

If you are trying to rent an apartment, find the one you want, visit a few times and get to know the rental staff/management...explain your situation and write a letter for them to have or, it might be easier to rent a home from someone privately.

 

[luvsJack]

From dniece's experience, just because they go after you does not mean you have to pay. When her divorce went to court, the judge determined that any of the accounts her ex created or ran up would be the responsibility of the ex and a copy of the order was sent to the creditors and most changed the name on the account. They had set up accounts or let him charge things to accounts that were in her name-she knew nothing about it (even credit card offers sent to her name, he just accepted the offer by mail and checked the little box for the extra card). Yes, when he didn't pay they still called her; she just reminded them that by court order she was not responsible for the accounts. They quit calling and she never paid a dime of any of it. Her credit is fine.

You should not have to pay for something that is not yours and you did not create. You have to support you and your child and provide a place to live, you should not have to concern yourself with bills he is creating.

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

I would be calling Sprint and talking to everyone up the chain of command. I used to work at a Sprint store. There are policies in place, one of them being the primary account holder is the only one that can make changes/purchaes, it doenst matter if the other person has your pin and they were in the wrong for letting him do it. I also agree with paying the charge and switching the ESN to your number. It is after all your account and the phone is actually yours, not his.

 

[Chicago526]

While on the topic...OP you should pull a copy your credit reports from all three credit agencies, and make sure he hasn't opened any NEW accounts in your name that you don't know about. My co-workers ex did that to her, ran up a ton of new charges in her name and she had to pay it all, though I think she forced him to pay her back thru her divorce lawyer.

Once you get a copy of your reports, put a fraud alert on them, that way if anyone tries to open a new account in your name, you get notified and you have to give your okay before the merchant/landloard/whoever can proceed with opening the account.

Also, do the same for your daughter. I've heard of parents opening accounts in their minor children's names when their own credit is too bad, or to hid accounts from their ex. The accounts aren't discovered until the child applies for college loans!

Also, for any current accounts that you have in your name only that he may have access to...close those down and open new accounts with new account numbers. As you can see with you situation with Sprint, trying to sort out who owes what to who after the fact is very difficult. If he's done it once, he'll do it again, if he hasn't already.

 

[T. Lynn]

I no longer use Sprint. I switched my phone 2 years ago and kept husband on my Sprint plan cause he didn't want to switch. Now that we were getting divorced, back on July 8th, he asked me to transfer the account into his name so he didn't have to get a new phone number and I didn't have to pay an early termination fee. I was nice and did that but I was unaware that on July 6th, he purchased a new cell phone thru a store by his work and the charge was placed on account while it was still in my name.

He could have asked me to switch the account before he purchased the phone. They gave him a brand new account number so he has a clean slate, while the purchase shows up under my account.

I just won't be able to pay it and next time my lawyer calls, I'll find out what else can be done. Thanks for everyones help and I'll still keep all these suggestions in mind incase a financial windfall comes my way (haha).

As for any other accounts, they are all closed. Some were closed years ago and I've just been paying down debt and the rest I closed when I knew I was going to be filing for divorce.

 

[Chicago526]

I no longer use Sprint. I switched my phone 2 years ago and kept husband on my Sprint plan cause he didn't want to switch. Now that we were getting divorced, back on July 8th, he asked me to transfer the account into his name so he didn't have to get a new phone number and I didn't have to pay an early termination fee. I was nice and did that but I was unaware that on July 6th, he purchased a new cell phone thru a store by his work and the charge was placed on account while it was still in my name.

He could have asked me to switch the account before he purchased the phone. They gave him a brand new account number so he has a clean slate, while the purchase shows up under my account.

I just won't be able to pay it and next time my lawyer calls, I'll find out what else can be done. Thanks for everyones help and I'll still keep all these suggestions in mind incase a financial windfall comes my way (haha).

As for any other accounts, they are all closed. Some were closed years ago and I've just been paying down debt and the rest I closed when I knew I was going to be filing for divorce.

I'm glad you don't have any other open accounts he can access, but you should still pull the credit reports for you and your daughter to make sure he hasn't opened any new ones in either of your names. The time to catch this sort of stuff is now, when it's easier to fix and hasn't (hopefully) ruined your credit. And put the fraud alerts on them so you don't need to worry about any future activity on his part.

You can get one copy of each of your reports free once a year at annualcreditreport.com, so it won't even cost you anything. You can have all three of your reports on your computer in less than 30 minutes.

 

[cinderelladreams27]

I would pay it if I could but right now the lawyer bills are killing me. They won't file all the divorce paperwork until they are paid in full.

I want my child support automatically deducted from his paychecks because right now I get it whenever he makes the time to get payment to me. I don't like being late with my bills and rely on this income to stay responsible.

Guess I will see what I can do...

Pay what you can now. Maybe they'll work out a plan with you. They'd rather have their money in installments than not at all. My sister's ex sounds like your's. I'm sorry to hear it. Just put one foot in front of the other and pay what you can. But pay the lawyers first. You want to be clear of your husband asap as he seems to not care. MAKE SURE YOU CALL EVERY COMPANY YOU'VE EVER SEEN A BILL FROM. My sister just found out her name wasn't taken off two of her ex's accounts and now they've contacted her since he hasn't paid in 6 months. And their divorce was final in March! They're not giving her a break, yet anyway. Plus she had to pay $70 to get it out of collections. Best wishes!

 

[cinderelladreams27]

Forgot to mention pulling your credit reports so I'm glad someone else did! This would have clued my sister in. Love her but what a stupid mistake.