The wifes debt,am i responsible at all?

coys1000

I recently split up with my wife,and she has returned to hungary.i recently received a letter from egg in her name,stating she owes 4 grand on an egg card.

i had no idea she had this card,it is in her name,but registered to our home address,can anyone tell me where i stand on this.just wanted to know the score before i contact them.

i have tried to contact her in hungary but,surprise surprise there is no answeer,just to add i am currently not working ,and receiving incapacity benefit.am i reasponsible for any of this debt?

bryanb

It sounds as though you opened her mail. If it is not a joint debt you are not responsible

Scousebird_2

You are not responsible-HOWEVER, you need to check your credit file and make sure she is not classed as a financial associate (there is a section-for financial associates) and see is she's there.

The address issue-all you have to say is that you no longer live with her and you have no knowledge of her whereabouts, as long as you have not signed yourself onto the account or you are not a names cardholder then you can't be pursued for the debt as you have not signed an agreement. You idealy need to have her removed from you electoral register as well but this can only be done when the forms come out on October due to polling laws but right now, you must ring egg and tell them before they send the bailiffs in. Even then you are male......she is female....they can't touch you! Even if worst came and they tried to cease goods-they can only take what's hers and it's pretty hard for her to verify that a few hundred miles away-just don't worry, if it's sole credit (just her name) they can't touch you!

ShelfStacker_3

bryanb wrote: »

It sounds as though you opened her mail. If it is not a joint debt you are not responsible

Precisely. If the account is in her name only you're not liable, at all.

If you're really in the mood for revenge you could tell them where she lives now, but otherwise it's nothing to do with you and you shouldn't worry. If you're less in the mood for revenge and just want to smooth things over, just ring them up and explain the situation.

YorkshireBoy

Scousebird wrote: »

...as long as you have not signed yourself onto the account or you are not a names cardholder then you can't be pursued for the debt as you have not signed an agreement.

Credit card debt is the sole responsibility of the primary cardholder. Even if the OP is an additional cardholder, he is not responsible for the debt...even if he helped create it.

See section 13 of the Egg Card T&C's.

coys1000

bryanb wrote: »

It sounds as though you opened her mail. If it is not a joint debt you are not responsible

lucky i did open her mail,anyway thanks for the replys,thats a load off my mind,i shall call egg tomorrow:beer:

NickX

If your wife is the primary card holder then she is 100% resonsible for the debt. Her solicitor will try it on that you are liable, but you are not - the secondary card holder has no liablility for the debt. Hope this helps.

beer_tins

I would check my credit report anyway just to make sure there isn't anything unexpected on there. She have opened anything in your name (or joint names) and forged your signature and you wouldn't know about it until you get threatening letters! You can get a credit report for free as long as you remember to cancel it after your first report.

Also, it's against the law to open another person's mail without permission so I wouldn't go telling everyone how you came by the information. If prompted you could say you opened it "by accident" or she had opened it and filed it away before you found it.