Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

I currently reside in Georgia but before then my husband and I were in Puerto Rico trying to rent an apartment in the United States we applied for an apartment in July of 2011 in Florida we both sent checks in the amount of 100.00 dollars his was an application fee,mines was a holding fee on the 22nd of that month the checks were charged to my account and my husbands. Almost three months later after these checks were charged we check our accounts and we were charged again for the same checks only with different signatures on the back of the checks our bank went about our situation differently for each of us with my husband they were able to get the check adjusted but because i only had 50.00 dollars in my account they charged me an overdraft fee and when i called my bank they told me I had to look into it as a fraud.What has to be done in this case and could they have also used our personal info?


Asked on 10/17/11, 4:33 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Kaiden Kaiden & Kaiden, LLC

I�d like to know if it�s a national bank, i.e. Bank of America or Wells Fargo Bank. There should be a customer ombudsman at the bank that can advocate for you. If you go on their website you may be able to find them. Also, you need to go into a branch of the bank and sit down with the branch manager and explain the situation. Since this is an unauthorized check that caused the overdraft, the bank should make you whole, and credit your account for any such fees.

The bank is correct when they said that you should treat this matter as a check fraud. Absolutely make a fraud complaint; and in addition, file a police report. Also, you need to go to Equifax.com and pull a 3-in-1 credit report (have your husband do the same) and scrutinize it for any new account activity that you don�t recognize or inaccuracies (wrong address, social security number, age, etc.). Don�t forget to look at the �Inquiries� into your credit history; these are the companies that have been taking a peak. Do all of this immediately, because you may be a victim of identity theft! If you see any fraudulent activity on your credit history, you have the right to put a FRAUD ALERT on your report. Placing a fraud alert on your credit history will cause a new creditor to obtain confirmation from you that you are opening a new account. You also have the right to demand a full investigation into the fraudulent account from the creditor under the CARD Act.

I�ve given you some homework; it�s the necessary first step to uncover the extent of the fraud that�s been perpetrated on you and your husband. It may be only these two checks or it could be a whole lot worse. In the meantime, if you should have any questions, please visit our website: kaidenlaw.com, and please feel free to contact me directly. I am a Georgia consumer lawyer.

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Answered on 10/24/11, 4:55 pm


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