Friend's ex-girlfriend opens a credit account in his name...

[PsycoChihuahua]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Tennessee

A little backstory: I live in Hawaii, soon to move back to Tennessee, but before this happens, I am getting married in Brazil. One of my best friends was supposed to go to the wedding, but is now unsure of his financial situation, and may not be able to go. This is one of the reasons, and I am asking if there is anything that he can do above and beyond what he is already doing:

His ex-girlfriend opened a credit account after they broke up, and opened it in his name. She used the card to pay for her rent in her apartment, and maxed the card out. Sadly he had co-signed for the apartment when they were together, and when they broke up, he never asked to be removed from the lease, assuming it would be something that she would take care of. After receiving a collection notice from the credit company, he contacted them, and is in the process of trying to remove the charges, since he was not the one who even created the account, authorized the card, or signed for any of the charges.

He has been told that they will look into it, but they doubt they will be able to do anything for him, considering the fact that he is on the lease of the apartment, and the card was used to pay for that.

I understand where the credit card company is coming from, if I was to dispute a charge to an account in my name, from a credit card in my name it seems a little ridiculous.

However since he was not the one who opened the account, there has to be something he can do. My fiancee suggested he file a police report and take her to court. I agree, but am looking for some advice for him, to try and direct him to do the best. After reading a few threads here, I figured I would ask what you all would do in this situation, to try and minimize the financial impact on my buddy.

Thanks for the help,

PsycoChihuahuaWhat is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

[JustAPal00]

Yes! He needs to call the police. He needs to have charges brought against the ex and do what ever they say to help them prosecute. Then he will be able to prove to the CC company that he had nothing to do with the charges. That's really his only option, unless he just wants to pay the money back to the CC company.

[PsycoChihuahua]

Thanks for the help! That's what I thought he should do, but I wanted to make sure.