Authorized User/Debt Collection Question

[Princess13NY]

What is the name of your state? New York


My boyfriend just quit his contruction job due to the company going out of business. He was an authorized user of the Corporate Amex Card. The owner of the company presently owes Amex $140,000+, which he cannot pay. Amex started calling OUR house, first asking for my boyfriends ex-boss, and then asking for my boyfriend. The debt collector states that my bf is responsible for paying that debt since they cannot get the money from his ex boss, and threatening all kinds of things. He was under the assumption that an authorized user is NOT liable for making payments. And all they things that the card was used for were business expenses, not personal expenses. Any help or advice would be great!!

Thanks

[LeeHarveyBlotto]

Does your boyfriend have a copy of the agreement he signed with Amex?

How much of the $140K is charges made by your boyfriend?

[Princess13NY]

He never signed anything, when he started working for the company, his boss just called up Amex and had them issue him a card, along with the three other Project Managers. ( I am an authorized user on one of my bf's Bank of America card and I never had to sign anything, although I guess it might be different for business cards)
My bf has reapeatedly asked the debt collector to fax him a copy of the agreement, but so far has not recieved anything. But yet the DC keeps calling. I am not sure of the exact amount, its not that much since the card was used by 5 different people.

[LeeHarveyBlotto]

If he's 100% sure he didn't sign anything, he can tell them to pound sand.

[Princess13NY]

He is 100% postive that he did not sign anything, he also asked the other employees if they did, and they all said no.

Why would AmEx come after him?

So I am assuming that he should ignore the calls? He doesn't want this to affect his credit since we are looking to get married and buy a house within the next few years.


Thanks for the help!!!

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

If your husband was only an authorized user:

Authorized User

A person allowed to charge goods and services on a credit card by the primary user of that card. Authorized users -- unlike users of a joint account -- are not legally responsible for payment.

http://www.equifax.com/credit-information/credit-glossary

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by Princess13NY

Why would AmEx come after him?

Because they want to be paid and they're hoping to find someone to pay.

[xylene]

Originally Posted by Princess13NY

and threatening all kinds of things.

What exactly do you mean 'threatening'?

Please be as specific as possible.

Were these violent threats?

Were these claims of legal action?

Did they state is you did not pay by a certain date you would be subject to a lawsuit?

Did they state is you did not pay by a certain date you would be criminally investigated?

What exactly was said?

[Texas Pooh]

American Express does not issue corporate cards. All "corporate cards" are actually issued by American Express to a person (typically one of the owners of the company) who then has additional cards issued to individuals. However, I've also seen cases where American Express cards were issued to employees based on their personal credit information. Thus, the motto is, with American Express, make sure you know what was signed before making any assumptions. AmEx is pretty good - your boyfriend should be able to call them directly, provide the account number, and get the documents.