Going to Court over credit card debt. Please help!?

With Capital One, you are going to be screwed. They are going to win, and in some ways, this is partly your fault. I know you trusted your father, as most daughters would, but, when you handed over the card and didn't think anything of him using it and saying he was paying it off and building your credit, he was obviously fibbing. When you first got this card, you WERE living at the address they probably were sending all the collection attempts to, so that doesn't fly as an excuse. That is the address they had on hand. It is your responsibility to keep an eye on your credit card (didn't you have online banking with Capital One to pay the payment.. I know your dad made the payment, but you should have made sure you had access so you could see what was going on) Since the card is in your name, they have every right to come after you even though you didn't charge these items or let it get so far behind. I hope you aren't being as blind financially with the hubby now too. You should have access to all your joint bank accounts (hopefully, they are joint) and know what he makes and where the money goes. Especially with 3 kids. The best thing you can do is show up to court in Aug if you don't have a lump sum to offer them right now. Tell the judge your side, and even though it was your father who charged the items, you are on the hook. They obviously cannot garnish your husbands wages since it isn't his debt, but they can and will try to get to your bank accounts. This means you might need to be taken off of them for awhile until you guys have the money to pay this judgment. The chances that they would swoop in and take money that is earmarked for rent or other things is pretty high. The bottom line is, you dropped the ball here and now it's going to be a valuable lesson. I would get a credit report and see what is on there.. who knows if your father opened other credit cards in your name and charged those up? Your credit report is free annually at: http://www.annualcreditreport.com

They are not going to arrest you. You are going to have to pay the full $1500 unless there is some other reason why not. It does not matter that you were unaware or that the bills were not being sent to you. By opening up a credit card account jointly with someone, you agree to pay for what the other person does with the account, whether or not you know about it, and that the credit card company only has to send the bills, etc., to one address, even though there are two account holders. Does anyone even "win"? Yes. But not for the reasons that you gave.

Quick note: My credit card company increases my credit limit sometimes as often as every 6 months. It's what credit cards do. Also, you never charge up the full amount of a credit card. That 100% destroys credit. You never want to use more than 30% of the limit. Ex: $300, he should have never touch more than $90. Surprising how little people know about credit. At least he was paying it in ful leach month so he didn't pay interest. Obviously your dad lied. He kept using the card. You are 100% responsible for the debt. Just take it out of any assets he left on his will or life insurance. They won't go after your husbands wages. But they will tap into any savings or checking accounts. About the twins- they get fun when they are about 4 years old

It's obvious to me that your dad was irresponsible. The reason you were never notified was that you did not notify Capital One of your new address. You didn't think you needed to because your dad needed to receive the bills to pay them (which as you now know he never did). Capital One is not obligated to track you down. All they are required to do is to send notices to the last known billing address. That's all they have to go on. I would request an audit of your account up to your dad's death to find out what the $300 balance consisted of (annual fee? interest on a non-existent balance? unpaid balance?). The extra fees are to cover expenses relating to locating you and serving papers, etc. I think $1200 is a cheap settlement. You won't be arrested. You'll probably be offered a payment plan ($300 / mo). They can't garnish your husband's wages, but they can attach any bank account with your name attached to it (like a joint checking or savings account).