Credit Card Debts.

[noddy77]

My Thai wife was living with me in my home country when her
Sister living here got into serious trouble gambling. The Sister claimed to be
my wife, (they look similar), and got a new ID issued with her photo but my
wife’s name. Then somehow got credit cards in my Wife’s name and maxed them all
out to pay her gambling debts. So now my wife owes bucket loads of money to the
banks for debts she knew nothing about until recently.

Does anyone know what the end result of this might be? Will
they bankrupt my Wife if she doesn’t pay the banks back? Could she be guilty of
any crime now that she knows about the Sister and has not reported her to the
Police of the Banks?

I am not paying this out for sure, absolutely not! So don’t
think they are trying to scam money out of me.

I just want to know what level of trouble my Wife is in. The
Sister I do not care about or care what happens to her. In my country she would
be in Jail.

[dean999]

You need to try harder TROLL.

If your not a troll, your an idiot. Read your first line and work it out for yourself. I'll give you a hint. Immigration stamp's in her passport.

[soi41]

If you are married it is your problem as well. Your wifes debts are yours to share.

Let your wife get in touch with the creditcard issuer, and expain to them, what has happend.

Better let them do the necessary policereport, can be a little sensitive with sister/sister.

But remember according to the Thai tourguides: In Thailand, family is the most important thing!

My ar*e !!

[noddy77]

You need to try harder TROLL.

If your not a troll, your an idiot. Read your first line and work it out for yourself. I'll give you a hint. Immigration stamp's in her passport.

I am not a troll so I must be an idiot. What does immigration stamps in her passport have anything to do with it?

[noddy77]

If you are married it is your problem as well. Your wifes debts are yours to share.

Let your wife get in touch with the creditcard issuer, and expain to them, what has happend.

Better let them do the necessary policereport, can be a little sensitive with sister/sister.

But remember according to the Thai tourguides: In Thailand, family is the most important thing!

My ar*e !!

Thanks for your input. We were married in my home country. Are you saying that I can be held liable for her debts here in Thailand?

[GooEng]

there might be some way to have the debts declared fraudulent and have them and the bad credit history removed from your wife's name by proving her sister obtained the cards using a false identity - i guess thai police reports are going to be required.

[MobileContent]

You need to try harder TROLL.

If your not a troll, your an idiot. Read your first line and work it out for yourself. I'll give you a hint. Immigration stamp's in her passport.

I am not a troll so I must be an idiot. What does immigration stamps in her passport have anything to do with it?

Your wife can prove that she wasn't in Thailand when her sister applied for the cc. If your wife is really serious about the issue, she should approach the Thai embassy and ask for advise.

I understand that the Thai embassy might not be interested in that case but she might any way not want to do that. Family relations are very strong and she must have guessed by applying credit cards on your wife's name she might get away with it because your sister will not file charges against her.

[rockderk]

You need to try harder TROLL.

If your not a troll, your an idiot. Read your first line and work it out for yourself. I'll give you a hint. Immigration stamp's in her passport.

I am not a troll so I must be an idiot. What does immigration stamps in her passport have anything to do with it?

If your wife was with you in your country when her sister committed credit card fraud in Thailand, your wife cannot possibly be held accountable. She needs to write and explain the circumstances to the bank concerned. She should also have a lawyer notify the police.

[FunFon]

Banks usually don't wipe the debt unless you're willing to file charges against the fraudster.

Touch choice for your wife, but if she doesn't you probably have to pay, and the sister can just do it again.

[NoshowJones]

A few years ago I got talking to some British Farangs in Pattaya and talk came round to credit card fraud. I was told of someone who gave you 3000GBPs for a cleared credit card, then I was to wait 24 hrs before I reported it missing to the police. I said no chance, I do not want to be led off the plane in handcuffs the next time I went to the UK. He told me it was nothing to do with the police as it was a civil and not a criminal matter.

[MegaRanter]

A few years ago I got talking to some British Farangs in Pattaya and talk came round to credit card fraud. I was told of someone who gave you 3000GBPs for a cleared credit card, then I was to wait 24 hrs before I reported it missing to the police. I said no chance, I do not want to be led off the plane in handcuffs the next time I went to the UK. He told me it was nothing to do with the police as it was a civil and not a criminal matter.

British pattaya farangs? a new race.

[a99az]

You need to try harder TROLL.

If your not a troll, your an idiot. Read your first line and work it out for yourself. I'll give you a hint. Immigration stamp's in her passport.

I must be very slow today, his wife is with him outside Thailand. His wife's sister used his wife's ID to get credit card (very bad ).

Well it's a bit of a mess but can be sorted out. Just start at the start and work through it slowly. First report this to the police, then present the report to the bank. Have I missed something?

[manly100]

Your wife need not volunteer her sister is involved. (how did you know it was her sister?) This is simple identity theft. Let the bank know and let the bank take the hit. Your wife will take a credit check hit but that will pass. Never volunteer information. Stick to the facts. You and your wife shouldn't know who stole your wife's identity. If you do know, than your saying you’re in on it. Her location (if outside of Thailand) proves the theft.
Very simple case if you skip the nonsense about your wife’s sister.

[dean999]

You need to try harder TROLL.

If your not a troll, your an idiot. Read your first line and work it out for yourself. I'll give you a hint. Immigration stamp's in her passport.

I am not a troll so I must be an idiot. What does immigration stamps in her passport have anything to do with it?

If your wife was with you in your country when her sister committed credit card fraud in Thailand, your wife cannot possibly be held accountable. She needs to write and explain the circumstances to the bank concerned. She should also have a lawyer notify the police.

This is what i was talking about. Thank you rockderk. I was on lunch so couldn't reply myself.

[noddy77]

You need to try harder TROLL.

If your not a troll, your an idiot. Read your first line and work it out for yourself. I'll give you a hint. Immigration stamp's in her passport.

I am not a troll so I must be an idiot. What does immigration stamps in her passport have anything to do with it?

If your wife was with you in your country when her sister committed credit card fraud in Thailand, your wife cannot possibly be held accountable. She needs to write and explain the circumstances to the bank concerned. She should also have a lawyer notify the police.

This is what i was talking about. Thank you rockderk. I was on lunch so couldn't reply myself.

My wife will never put her Sister in trouble for this.

Surely you can understand this.

My question was this....

Does anyone know what the end result of this might be? Will

they bankrupt my Wife if she doesn’t pay the banks back? Could she be guilty of

any crime now that she knows about the Sister and has not reported her to the

Police of the Banks?

[Suradit69]

My wife will never put her Sister in trouble for this.

Surely you can understand this.

My question was this....

Does anyone know what the end result of this might be? Will

they bankrupt my Wife if she doesn’t pay the banks back? Could she be guilty of

any crime now that she knows about the Sister and has not reported her to the

Police of the Banks?

You really do need to talk to a lawyer. Are you and your wife in or out of Thailand now?

If she knows about the charges on the credit card and doesn't inform the credit card company or bank that she didn't apply for the cards or make the charges, then she is accepting responsibility for them by remaining silent.

She either denies responsibility for the whole thing, which will be the same as accusing her sister of fraud or she keeps quiet and accepts responsibility, which means she'll have to pay the debts.

If she isn't resident in Thailand, does she have assets here? Cash in the banks, property, etc? The bank may go to court to seize anything of value she had to pay the debts and her ability in future to maintain bank accounts or get loans will probably be impaired.

[overherebc]

If this real I can't wait to see where it goes. Could be a very good lesson for many of the newly arrived and quite a few of the elderly in Thailand. If genuine then I hope it gets sorted for the OP but I'm not going to bet money on it.

[USNret]

You need to be willing to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law, reporting the fraudulent criminal act to the bank and the police. The fact that it is your sister-in-law is neither here nor there; in fact, most identity theft is committed by family members exactly as you described.

If you wife doesn't see things this way, then she needs to be viewed as complicit in the crime & considered a disposable asset. Sorry to seem so harsh, but if you don't take firm action now, be prepared for this to continue until you are entirely ruined & destitute.

To your SIL's face, your wife can blame it all on your for taking such a hard-nosed approach (to help her save face with her family) but in fact, she needs to be behind you 100% in the criminal and/or civil prosecution of this.

[puyaidon]

Over a year ago, I used a Thai credit card here in Thailand for a set of hotel rooms to the tune of 6000 baht. A month later, I checked my balance online and there was an additional 98,000 baht set of charges on my account. The charges were from England, New York, and Miami, Fl when I was here in Thailand and had not left for the US since 1999. I sent in dispute letters along with copies of my passport showing that I had not left Thailand for a number of years. As it was an overseas charge, the investigation took almost six months compared with three months for false charges made here in Thailand. The charges were cancelled after the bank's investigation.

The dispute letters are available from the card issuer which along with the copies of her passport showing she has not left England for the time of the charges should get the investigation started. After that, it will have to be the card issuer's responsibility to look for receipts and whatever else may be involved. Let them find the culprit so your wife stays out of the picture. In this case, the card issuer will probably contact the police for further investigation.

Edited April 17, 2013 by puyaidon

[Ticketmaster]

It's a very sad but very common story here. Your wife needs to report it and her sister needs to be thrown in jail. If she wants to protect her sister, then she has to pay the debt. It's really quite simple.

[varun]

I think what the OP is actually trying to ask is:

Is it ok for the farang to foot the bill?

Even though the wife's sister is a low-life fraud, the wife will not do a thing because:

i) Sister is family ii) Lose face.

So, easy solution is that the farang clears the debts, since he has to take care of the family anyways.

I really do think you're caught between a rock and a hard place.

It all comes down to whether you can make your wife see sense, so that she can take appropriate action against the sister for committing fraud.

Other than that, don't think you have any options other than to bail out your wife, as taking any direct action against the sister on your part would be futile.

[noddy77]

I think what the OP is actually trying to ask is:

Is it ok for the farang to foot the bill?

Even though the wife's sister is a low-life fraud, the wife will not do a thing because:

i) Sister is family ii) Lose face.

So, easy solution is that the farang clears the debts, since he has to take care of the family anyways.

I really do think you're caught between a rock and a hard place.

It all comes down to whether you can make your wife see sense, so that she can take appropriate action against the sister for committing fraud.

Other than that, don't think you have any options other than to bail out your wife, as taking any direct action against the sister on your part would be futile.

Firstly, for the non believers this post is very genuine.

We now live in Bangkok.

I seriously doubt I will ever clear the bill.

I don't care if they bankrupt my wife.

But do banks ever do that in Thailand?

What else can they do to her other than bankruptcy?

My wife will never dob in her sister for what she has done.

The sister has done the same with her own cards so the pair of them are up a creek.

[cardholder]

I am not a troll so I must be an idiot. What does immigration stamps in her passport have anything to do with it?

You need to try harder TROLL.

If your not a troll, your an idiot. Read your first line and work it out for yourself. I'll give you a hint. Immigration stamp's in her passport.

If your wife was with you in your country when her sister committed credit card fraud in Thailand, your wife cannot possibly be held accountable. She needs to write and explain the circumstances to the bank concerned. She should also have a lawyer notify the police.

This is what i was talking about. Thank you rockderk. I was on lunch so couldn't reply myself.

My wife will never put her Sister in trouble for this.

Surely you can understand this.

My question was this....

Does anyone know what the end result of this might be? Will

they bankrupt my Wife if she doesn’t pay the banks back? Could she be guilty of

any crime now that she knows about the Sister and has not reported her to the

Police of the Banks?

If your wife/you have not got the balls to report this then I hope you are liable for your wife's debts.

If your wife wishes to be complicit in the offence by not reporting then she must face the consequences as if she was the perpetrator (which of course she is if she does not file a report).

dean999 was correct with his troll/idiot comment. Your wife simply has to report the offence and show she was out of Thailand at the time - she does not have to cite her sister as the culprit.

Come on, get a grip !

[bangkokburning]

This sort of happened to me.

Years ago in states, Khmer gf's sister would sign up for cc's that came in the mail to my former gf (gf name). She maxxed them out and ruined her credit. Oh, I felt so sorry for her she was so lovely and so conservative and prudent with money.

I demanded that she clear the debt before I would marry her.

Required going to police and obviously serious problems for her thief sister who was driving an Audi A― model.

I had to leave her and it broke both our hearts.

Go to a lawyer with evidence

Talk to wife and see how far she is wiling to take it

Be willing to leave the country

When sis realizes wife isnt going to do a anything, she may go full tilt.

Cut your losses.

You simply must get legal assistance to stop this.

If sis does not repay gambling debts she is as good as dead. People get beaten for next to notbing here to keep debtors in line.

[noddy77]

This sort of happened to me.

Years ago in states, Khmer gf's sister would sign up for cc's that came in the mail to my former gf (gf name). She maxxed them out and ruined her credit. Oh, I felt so sorry for her she was so lovely and so conservative and prudent with money.

I demanded that she clear the debt before I would marry her.

Required going to police and obviously serious problems for her thief sister who was driving an Audi A― model.

I had to leave her and it broke both our hearts.

Go to a lawyer with evidence

Talk to wife and see how far she is wiling to take it

Be willing to leave the country

When sis realizes wife isnt going to do a anything, she may go full tilt.

Cut your losses.

You simply must get legal assistance to stop this.

If sis does not repay gambling debts she is as good as dead. People get beaten for next to notbing here to keep debtors in line.

The sister is in trouble, thats for sure.

I am seeking legal advice though.

I want to make sure I am not held in any way accountable for her debts.

If it means my wife can never hold assets here or money in her bank account then so be it,

I am not prepared to start bailiing out the family financially because if I start it will never end.

Just need to make sure my arse is covered.

[jbrain]

The sister is in trouble, thats for sure.

I am seeking legal advice though.

I want to make sure I am not held in any way accountable for her debts.

If it means my wife can never hold assets here or money in her bank account then so be it,

I am not prepared to start bailiing out the family financially because if I start it will never end.

Just need to make sure my arse is covered.

The way you post it the sister is in no trouble at all, your wife is.

You would sacrifice all this to save the sister in law ?

Are you sure there actually is a sister in this story and you're not just seeking advice if you can be held responsible for paying your wifes gambing debts ?

Edited April 19, 2013 by jbrain

[noddy77]

The sister is in trouble, thats for sure.

I am seeking legal advice though.

I want to make sure I am not held in any way accountable for her debts.

If it means my wife can never hold assets here or money in her bank account then so be it,

I am not prepared to start bailiing out the family financially because if I start it will never end.

Just need to make sure my arse is covered.

The way you post it the sister is in no trouble at all, your wife is.

You would sacrifice all this to save the sister in law ?

Are you sure there actually is a sister in this story and you're not just seeking advice if you can be held responsible for paying your wifes gambing debts ?

I am not sacrificing anything.

I never said anything about saving the SIL. Don't care about her at all.

I would never be married to someone with a gambling problem. Sorry if it sounds cold but I would be long gone. I never gamble myself as there can only be one winner.

If you read the original post I asked 3 questions. Thats all I cared about until a poster said I could be held liable.

[jbrain]

The sister is in trouble, thats for sure.

I am seeking legal advice though.

I want to make sure I am not held in any way accountable for her debts.

If it means my wife can never hold assets here or money in her bank account then so be it,

I am not prepared to start bailiing out the family financially because if I start it will never end.

Just need to make sure my arse is covered.

The way you post it the sister is in no trouble at all, your wife is.

You would sacrifice all this to save the sister in law ?

Are you sure there actually is a sister in this story and you're not just seeking advice if you can be held responsible for paying your wifes gambing debts ?

I am not sacrificing anything.

I never said anything about saving the SIL. Don't care about her at all.

I would never be married to someone with a gambling problem. Sorry if it sounds cold but I would be long gone. I never gamble myself as there can only be one winner.

If you read the original post I asked 3 questions. Thats all I cared about until a poster said I could be held liable.

I should have said, you're sacrificing your wife.

The SIL did identity theft, that isn't a minor crime

Do you really understand what it means to be declared bankrupt? It's not something that will go away, especially not in Thailand.

Your wife can not own any assets anymore, EVER, which means her heritage will go to the cc company. If they find out she owns anything they will come get it. I think cc companies also can come after her abroad to collect her debt.

Another thing is that cc companies sell their debt claims at one point in the future. I'm sure you realise that this is a third world country where debt collectors use brute force when collecting money.

If your claims are genuine, than do your duty and put the SIL where she belongs. In the Bangkok hilton.