My Mother, Daughter, Friend, Son, Nephew, etc. used my Credit Card and never paid me back and now the Credit Card Company is suing me. Am I stuck with the bill? Or do I have any recourse?
Unfortunately, you are likely liable for the debt. You could file an affidavit with your credit card company in which you attest that you did not make the charges and that these charges were unauthorized. If you timely file such an affidavit, you may not be liable for those charges. However, this might cause criminal charges to be brought against the individual using your card.
As such, most people similarly situated will do nothing in the hopes their relative or friend will make prompt repayment. Few people ever want to think that their friend or family member would ever betray them. Unfortunately, this is simply not the case.
If this has happened to you, let us help you. The Attorneys of Garmo & Kiste, PLC are experienced Debt Collection Attorneys who now specialize in Debt Collection Defense and Bankruptcy Work. In the past we learned the trade working for Credit Card Companies and Debt Collection Agencies.
Yearly we handle hundreds of collections and collections defense cases. For more information about Debt Collection Defense and Bankruptcy Work or to retain Garmo & Kiste, PLC, call us at (248) 398-7100 for a free consultation or contact us with a private message.
One radio advertisement I heard over and over again during the holidays was for International Star Registry, a company that offers the ability to “name a star after someone” for a low fee of $54.00. In addition to having the star’s new name “registered at the US Copyright office,” you get a certificate, a star chart, and a map of your star circled in red. However, you cannot get a star named after you and claim copyright to it.
Names are not protected by copyright law. Publishers of publications such as a star registry copyright the text of a book containing the names the registry has assigned to stars but the registration does not extend protection to any of the individual star names appearing therein and does not confer any official or governmental status on any of the star names included.
The International Star Registry admits in its own fine print that “star naming is not recognized by the scientific community” and that “your star’s name is reserved in International Star Registry records only.” So for Valentine’s Day, don’t buy your loved one a star, your hard-earned money is better spent on a nice steak dinner or some flowers.
Founded in 1979, ISR has sold over 1 million of their full-color “Name A Star” parchment certificates. Since there are nearly one trillion stars in our galaxy alone, selling name is like a license to print money. For additional reading see http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-protect.html
