My Husband's identity was stolen & his interest rates went up & can't get new credit cards (at all). The person was charged with 2 felony's & found guilty. Can we sue him for our current interest rates increasing?
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Turbo1
ANSWERS: 6
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Sounds like an excellent idea to me. I am no lawyer, but it seems he has a strong case to answer.
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Yes you can, if you can find an attorney to take this sort of case. You have to quantify your damages - show proof of what it has cost you financially. I'm curious whether you can also sue for defamation of character because I think that's also valid here. There are attorneys who specifically take cases of this sort. That being said, I doubt you can collect any actual money from someone who is going to be in jail for awhile, but a judgment against him/her may be possible. Have you documented the identity theft to your creditors and the credit rating services so that you might get a break on those higher rates you are being charged? You need to prove to the court that you did everything possible to mitigate the damages. Make sure the credit companies have copies of the criminal conviction too, maybe that will help clear your husband's name. I am generally opposed to suing for every perceived wrong, but these types of cases are becoming more frequent, and the prepetrators don't seem in the least bit deterred, so I think we need to hit them in the wallet - hard!
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As stated above, I would show the creditors the courts verdict, and see if they would not take that into consideration.
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You can sue for damages, absolutely. However, the credit reporting bureaus are obligated to report your husband's credit history accurately, and that should include his stolen identity. Make sure you send them an Identity Theft Affidavit (available at www.ic3.gov) and the court decision. Identity theft, while it can cause your credit to be damaged until the issue is resolved, should not have a lasting effect. If you do find out your husband's credit history is wrong (you can and should get your three credit reports for free at www.annualcreditreport.com), instruct the bureaus to fix it. If they fail to, report the issue to the Federal Trade Commission, which oversees the industry. Unfortunately, the effects of identity theft are often long-term and companies are many times too lazy to research the reason behind bad credit. Good luck.
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IANAL - Here in the U.S.A. you can file suit against anyone for any reason. The real question is whether you can win a lawsuit in this situation. Rather than file a lawsuit against the identity thief for the rise in your interest rates.... It makes more sense to me to: 1) Negotiate with the creditors and credit reporting agencies to restore your credit and interest rates. 2) Contact your state and federal representatives regarding the matter and suggest legislation to prevent credit damage (or require credit repair assistance) due to Identity Theft.
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Call the US Federal Trade Commission, ID theft hot line 877-438-4338 (http://www.ftc.gov/), they should have information on what to do, I think you can have the credit companies (emperian, equifax y transunion) clean your credit profile, you can also contact them directly Equifax 1-800 685-1111 Emperian 1 800 682-7654 TransUnion 1 800 916-8800 I guess you can sue him but does he have anything you can get? if he's a thief chances are he doesn't have anything worth to be taken and he'll end up working his way out by paying $50 a month. You have to take on account the distress and emotional toll this procedure will take on you and your husband. Think on what's best for you and your husband (I'm not saying suing him is not) and try to separate yourself from the need to punish this guy (which I totally understand). First things first and that is getting your life back into the normality lane. Good luck
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