Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Illinois

My wife used my infomation to open avenue credit card account in my name without my authorization/knowldge. She had spent about $700 on this credit card before I was aware of what was going on and I immediately closed the account. The issuer of the credit card (Comenity bank) is holding me responsible and wants me to pay the bill after disputing the charges. What does Illinois law say about this type of case and what can I do?


Asked on 5/14/13, 5:21 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas Moens Moens Law Offices, Chartered

I would suggest thinking through this carefully. If you plan to pursue this, you will essentially be throwing your wife under the bus. In order for you to argue that you are not responsible for the charges, you will need to claim that your wife committed a crime. This may subject her to criminal prosecution. And I can assure you, it will cost far more than $700 to defend her. So unless you plan to change the beginning of your question to, "My convicted criminal and soon to be ex-wife . . . ." the two of you will need to figure out how to pay this and have a discussion on how to prevent this from happening in the future.

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Answered on 5/14/13, 5:43 am


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