Elan Financial Services Company Trying to make me liable for expenses I did not incur! Fargo, North Dakota
I was partners in a company in Colorado Springs, CO. I had the credit, the partners did not. I got a credit card for us to use with a limit of $6,200 per card. My first mistake. My mother became sick, so I gave my portion of the company to my partner who said that he would assume the assets and liabilities of the company. I moved to Texas in June 2009.
I noticed on the web site of the credit card, that my name was still associated with the card in November of 2009. I notified the credit card company that I was no longer associated with the company in question - that I was in another state and no longer responsible for the debts accrued on the card. They said there was a form that my partner needed to sign to become the responsible party. I sent it to him and asked him to take care of it - which he said he did.
I checked the web site again in February 2010 and noticed that I was still on the card. I contacted my partner, sent him the form again, asked him to sign it and mail a copy to ELAN and a copy to me. Once I received the copy, I also mailed a copy to ELAN. I checked again in May and they said they had not received it. I mailed another copy to ELAN in May. In September - It still had not been changed. I mailed a copy and faxed a copy as well. I finally got a notice that the partner would not qualify and I was responsible. What is so frustrating is that my partners credit was stellar in 2009 and the first quarter of 2010. It went downhill from there.
In the meantime, they allowed my former partner to charge 2 times the limit on the card (without my knowlege or consent). They allowed him to change the address of the statements to go to his house and they accepted checks from him to make the payments - in essence allowing him to act as the responsible party.
Now that he is behind, I am beginning to get the collection calls. I have worked extremely hard to maintain a high credit score - in spite of a terrible year financially, and I am concerned about having to make payments on debts that I did not create and cannot afford to make. I have spoken to the collections department, and have made numerous emails to no avail. A lawsuit, I am afraid would cost more than the balance on the card. A lawsuit against the formaer partner is out of the question, because he is already on the verge of bankruptcy and would not accomplish anything.
What is so frustrating is that because they continued to allow my former partner to charge, there was no incentive for him to make the change. Now that his credit is shot, I am responsible? I would think there should be some liability on their behalf?
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Css hater
Camarillo,California,
U.S.A.
You made you liable, and you should have closed the account
#2Consumer Suggestion
Sun, November 18, 2012
With every credit card, not just Elan, once you open an account when your credit, and let anyone else in the world use the account, even once, you make yourself liable for all their use, for as long as the account stays open. The bank did not make you liable. You did, by letting your partner use the account.
If you did not want to be responsible for the account, then you should have closed it, completely, so that neither he nor anyone else in the world could use it.
It is not correct to say that you were "no longer responsible for the debts accrued on the card". Even if you are in another state or country, you remain responsible for the debts, because you are the person who opened the account and agreed to be liable. You can't force the bank to let you out of this, or to accept someone else in place of you. If you don't like it, then your recourse is to close the account, so that the person can't use it.