Boss used credit card. It has my name on it.

[slog]

On the former, I'm pretty sure you're not liable (the company is generally ultimately liable for those debts) and I don't think that card will show up on your reports.

Employees are liable for business credit cards if the company fails to pay.  A corporate card requires that the employee has good credit and therefore they do run a check of your SSN as well when the card is issued in your name.

I believe that if you never signed then you are not liable, since you are a victim of Fraud.

[Nevermore]

And if you make the mistake of signing up for their shield service just to get your free credit report, they will charge you for the service for months even after you cancel it. You can go to https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp instead. That's the official site for that sort of thing.

Thanks for that link.  This is one of those things that I know I should have been doing but never did.  It was painless and it's nice to see there's nothing on there that shouldn't be.  Although it doesn't fill me with great confidence in these credit report companies when TransUnion lists my previous job as 'Boaters Books & Music'.  I guess they thought I worked for some mutant offshoot of Borders that only sells nautical charts and sea shanty cds.

[Morat20]

I believe that if you never signed then you are not liable, since you are a victim of Fraud.

Yeah, that never seems to actually STOP the fuckers from shitting on your credit rating and hassling you with collectors.

Freeze your credit report, if that card shows up call them, tell them you NEVER authorized it, you don't know who the fuck did, you've never even SEEN that card. If you're lucky, the billing address won't be your home address, which will help.

Then contact the cops. Act very surprised when it turns out your boss is behind it.

Also, find a new job.

[Signe]

Well, the accountant already knows he knows so he doesn't want to call the police, FBI, HR, his boss' boss, etc. and tell a fib.  He should still tell his aunt, though.  And find that nice new job.  Of course, if he gets his uncle fired he might not be invited to Christmas dinner at Granny's house.

[WayAbvPar]

I guess they thought I worked for some mutant offshoot of Borders that only sells nautical charts and sea shanty cds.

 

[squirrel]

I believe that if you never signed then you are not liable, since you are a victim of Fraud.

Yeah, that never seems to actually STOP the fuckers from shitting on your credit rating and hassling you with collectors.

Freeze your credit report, if that card shows up call them, tell them you NEVER authorized it, you don't know who the fuck did, you've never even SEEN that card. If you're lucky, the billing address won't be your home address, which will help.

Then contact the cops. Act very surprised when it turns out your boss is behind it.

Also, find a new job.

Yeah - while you're not liable and it will eventually get cleared up it's a MAJOR time-sink and PITA. The system - while improving - is not designed to make life easier for you. Shit like this is always a pain.

[rk47]

Also sounds like the accountant might be in on it and as stated previously it could just be him cooking the company books and not be directly related to your identity or credit.

Can't really blame the accountant, she's only been with the company for 2 months while the regular one is on maternity leave. I asked her to check if there's any more billing under my name claimed by my uncle, but so far she said this is the only one. Taking medical leave off work today. Need time to settle this shit.

[Oban]

Err, can I suggest a change of your avatar?

[Paelos]

A staff accountant isn't going to notice that kind of thing, typically. They aren't trained auditors, they have no CPA, and they aren't being paid to notice possible fraud. They are paid to make entries into the GL based on documented information or management estimations. There are several things you should do in this situation.

1 - Gather evidence of the bills in your name, and any documents that indicate who created the accounts. Try to nail down how much money has been spent on those accounts

2 - Check your credit reports to make sure you can challenge anything.

3 - Notify upper level management of the issue. If your boss is the owner of the company, notify legal counsel. They will give you a direction to follow.

[UnSub]

For all the talk of legal action, rk might actually like his uncle. Which is why I'll suggest that when he's got the evidence you need to protect himself, he goes and sees his uncle, stands there while he cuts up the card and calls the bank to close it right there and then or face fraud charges.

And then goes and finds another job. You won't be able to trust him again, so you won't be able to work with him. Or he might get pissed and give you jobs designed to make you quit anyway.

[rk47]

hm went to a credit report company, gave them my ID & passport number ,showed up nothing on local bank accounts. (i'm not in USA btw)
I'm not sure where to go now. My options seem to walk into his office and ask him about it tomorrow. Or police.

THe company did warn me that the bank may not have submitted the information to them if the card is very recently created.

[Trippy]

Ask to see a cancelled reimbursement check made out to you and get the bank information from there.

[eldaec]

hm went to a credit report company, gave them my ID & passport number ,showed up nothing on local bank accounts. (i'm not in USA btw)
I'm not sure where to go now. My options seem to walk into his office and ask him about it tomorrow. Or police.

THe company did warn me that the bank may not have submitted the information to them if the card is very recently created.

Normally this means he hasn't used your home address and as a result the credit agencies won't have recognised the credit card applicant as you, just as another person with the same name. He might have applied with the office address for example (which is common for corporate cards even if the employee is jointly liable).

I'd chat with the boss about it and then if he doesn't shut it down immeadiately, let the credit card originator know. You aren't remotely liable for anything right now (not that this will necessarily stop the cc company trying it on) but if you know the card is being used in your name and don't do anything, you start to enter grey areas.

[Furiously]

"On February 27, 2008, our archive services vendor notified us that they could not account for one of several boxes of data back-up tapes that they were transporting for us to an off-site storage facility. After investigation of this event, we have been unable to locate the missing box..."

So the good news is I get 2 years of free credit monitoring.

[rk47]

Shit kinda blew up today at work. well one sided explosion. He called me to the office. Apparently, my performance has not been up to 'his expectations'. I did my work. My paperwork and admin stuff, I said. He said that's not what he's referring to, I lack teamwork. Apparently, I'm not proactive in helping others out when they're busy and shit. He said I browse the web too much and stuff. Despite me getting the job done, he also remarked I look 'lethargic' most of the time.

So in short, he wanted me to improve. I was down there just looking at him hard. Then he brought up the point: 'I helped you out, you know'

'I took you in when there were no positions in the company available...When you couldn't land that job, I matched that job offers' pay. And now I'm just asking you to help me back in cutting cost by putting in more effort at work'

I thought hard on what to say, it's quite true he helped me out and stuff when I ran out of college funds, but to keep nagging on the 'help' part when it's an employer-employee relationship (not uncle-nephew shit) annoys me so I went straight: 'Well, I don't look at it from 'helping each other out'. It's an employee-employer relationship isn't it? You pay me, I work for you.'

Boom.

His eyes went wide. 'If you really think that way, then don't come to work anymore on Monday' (But I wanted your money, dumbfuck!)
Like one those weird gangster movie he started raising his voice and intimidate me. 'I helped you a lot, and this is what you tell me? Get out of here if you think that way!'

So I said 'I guess, I should leave if I can't justify the money paid for my services' then paused before recalling what made me felt like he's a total dickwad. Time to fire away the big one:  'Why do you have a credit card under my name though?'

Boom.
'So you DON'T WANT TO HELP ME ANYMORE EH? FINE!' he dialled his wife, who's the manager on another division of the company for a meeting. And told me to follow him to another office. Probably to make sure nobody else heard the ruckus. I grabbed my mobile phone on my table before going out with him. I turned on the voice recorder. It's on, bitch.  *to be continued*

[Trippy]

Family! 

[UnSub]

Family! 

Hopefully not THE Family, or else rk isn't coming back.

EDIT: I'd also try to find out (before or after being marched out by security) if the accountant asked rk's uncle about that card. If she did, then he might be looking for an excuse to character assassinate rk in the office to deflect attention away from himself.

[rk47]

I know. It kinda hurt. But I can't help but feel wronged on this. I told him, the moment i made mistakes in the company you start raising your voice and making threats of firing me. Why are you abusing me?

That's when he went boom and asked me 'How dare you call that ABUSE? I'm just trying to get you to buck-up and improve your performance'
'You DARE tell me once again, contest that i am being abusive, you can don't come to work for me on monday'
I paused and realized i was missing the word 'verbal' in front of abuse, but knowing this dude, he probably didn't think much and hung on that word like it really hurt his feelings. Truth is, he used vulgarities a couple of times, shouted in my face. giving me 'i'm gonna punch yer face' look. I tried to keep calm, but I guess in the heat of shit I just muttered 'credit card' and 'abuse'.

So I thought of it and told him 'Well you're intimidating me now.' that's the correct word right? I mean, he's basically giving me 'bend over or gtfo' option right?

'Intimidate huh? Well That's IT! You don't have to come to work for me on Monday. OK. I don't give a crap anymore. Cancel your work permit on Monday.'
'Cancel my credit card'
'Yeah fine. Get out. Get out'
Hm. Fine. But why is my phone ringing right after I left office? Oh he brought my dad into this, gee whiz, Thanks uncle! Fucking shit. My old man tried to tell me to cool down and stuff. Bullshit. I wasn't the one exploding, I wasn't making threats. Then my mom called me too. I told her to stfu and don't tell me to go to church to cool things off. This is pretty stupid. It's EMPLOYEE vs EMPLOYER. Not fucking Uncle vs nephew.

Then his wife called me over. And told me just stay. "he wanted you to stay. Just try to work a little harder, on mean time try to find another company, we won't stop you. We're sorry for applying for the credit card behind your back. We should've told you.'   Yeah too bad really, I don't hate her.

[Reg]

The timing on his suddenly deciding you aren't working hard enough seems awfully convenient. Is it possible that the accountant guy told him you knew about the credit card?

[Oban]

...
We're sorry for applying for the credit card behind your back. We should've told you.'   Yeah too bad really, I don't hate her.

This part, did you record it?

Wrongful termination, possibly even covered by your country's whistle blower laws, feel free go to town on the company with the local authorities.

[Raging Turtle]

Seriously.  Now is not the time to try to get friendly with the family; it's your life, not theirs.  The job was a lost cause as soon as he took out a credit card under your name, and 'wrongful termination' isn't anything compared to identity theft.  I'm hoping you already have plans to meet with a lawyer, or possibly the police, on Monday.

[Miasma]

Why didn't you threaten him back with calling the police and reporting his fraud to the credit card company?  If the shithead fired you and you have this leverage the very least you should do is fuck him over right back as much as you can.

As soon as you confronted him it wasn't going to end well.  People who are 100% in the wrong never, never feel bad or break down admitting they made a mistake.  They get angry, immediately, and will blame everything else on earth before ever acknowledging it was their fault.

[slog]

Then his wife called me over. And told me just stay. "he wanted you to stay. Just try to work a little harder, on mean time try to find another company, we won't stop you. We're sorry for applying for the credit card behind your back. We should've told you.'   Yeah too bad really, I don't hate her.

Sounds like she's in on the Fraud as well.  I'd go to the police.

[Miasma]

You know there are also lawyers who specialize in wrongful dismissal.  Depending on how rich this company is they would love a case like this.

Check the recording laws in your state and get your aunt/uncle on tape admitting to stealing your identity and getting a credit card.  Also, who says they stopped there?  They might have a mortgage out in your name and the only way you will find out is if you call the police and get them investigated.

[rk47]

lol i got that on tape. This is the best part:
"Well, why didn't you tell me you need a credit card under my name?"
"LOOK, last time you went to me asking for help to pay your college I never went: 'holy shit steve ur dad didn't tell me anything about this.' I HELPED you"

I think he's totally lost his logic there lol. I tried to keep cool and somewhat succeeded in doing so, but when mom and dad just told me to calm down I can't help but tell them to shut it. I won't pursue a case, I'll just actively search for a new job from now on. No point staying and getting this bullshit.

And my mom cried. Fuck. Fuck that bastard for bringing my parents into this shit.

[Merusk]

Dude, it's hard but stop worrying about it being family.  Did you tell your parents about the credit card? 

Your uncle is playing the family angle and trying to intimidate you using every possible bit of weight that has.  It's crap and I hopw you're not feeling like you want to cave right now and just say "OK, whatever."   If your parents can't understand then that's horrible.  But fucking-a, man, this is your financial future and your life he's fucking with and now he's trying to really put the screws to you.

Fuck me, being the suspicious guy I am, I'm completely willing to bet that the accountant said something to him, innocently, and that's where his little lecture to you came from. He was trying to get you to back-down by making you think you were doing shitty, and therefore shouldn't rattle the cage.  I'd ask them if they'd happened to mention anything to him.

[Miasma]

You have to, at the very least, notify the credit card company.  If you know that fraud is taking place and don't report it you are going to get in trouble.

[bhodi]

This is why working for relatives (and, sometimes, friends) sucks. It's never quite an employer to employee relationship.

It sucks though, I hope you get back on track and can leave this behind you soon.

[Signe]

The last time everybody started crying over something I did, I just moved to another country.  A few years later I came around for a visit and everyone was happy to see me.  It really works!

[HaemishM]

Then his wife called me over. And told me just stay. "he wanted you to stay. Just try to work a little harder, on mean time try to find another company, we won't stop you. We're sorry for applying for the credit card behind your back. We should've told you.'   Yeah too bad really, I don't hate her.

Oh no, no no no no fucking way no. As soon as she admitted that, they are BOTH liable for credit card fraud. It's got nothing to do with family or employee-employer, it's CRIMINAL vs. VICTIM. That's horseshit. They are trying to use family to rob you fucking blind. Fuck that shit. Nail his monkey ass to the wall.

[Signe]

Haemish is kind of right.  If he can do all that to you, who knows what he can do?  If he decides to run up that credit card and not pay or even pay late, it would be such a big crazy mess even if though you can prove fraud and every thing else.  I mean, think years of annoyance.  Luckily, they don't sound clever enough to be really good criminals but, still, what a pain in the arse for you.  And this made your mother cry.  You really have to make him pay for that!

[Paelos]

Your uncle is a criminal and he's scared. That's it. He's relying on your relationship with your family to keep you from opening your mouth to any authorities, because the moment you do, he's screwed. This was not an honest mistake that can be shaken off with a ho-hum attitude. You don't accidently take out credit cards in other people's names. This was a pre-planned, thought-out crime, probably for tax avoidance purposes of the business, and he got wind that you found out about it. So, he went offensive and called you into his office hoping to get into a confrontation that would lead to you leaving the company. The reality is that nothing was wrong with your work. He is trying to play you like a fiddle. That's why he brought your parents into this. He wants to get them on his side early so that it's everybody else against you, and that you will feel that you're wrong and should just let it die.

Here's why you shouldn't let it die:

1 - People that commit fraud don't stop until they are caught. They rationalize everything so that it seems like they are owed the money they are taking, or the property they are stealing, or the good name of somebody else they are dragging down. If you let this go unchallenged, some other poor shmuck is going to be you uncle's next victim. This is not an isolated incident, and I would bet any forensic accountant would find more if a case ever came up. Don't do it just for your own respect, do it for the other victims as well.

2 - It's obvious this was a collaborative scheme. Your aunt is in the same company and knew about this. The checks and internal controls of this company are in the shitter. It's my guess as a CPA that there is more beneath the surface here than you know about. People that break the rules in business often break them in many areas. There is a very real chance that your uncle is shady in his business dealings as well, and you need to stand up to bring that to light. The company's records need to be checked, and your case would get that started.

3 - You were wrongfully terminated. They are screwing with your income because they committed a crime. There is nothing right about letting them steal your identity and your job from you. You can't respect yourself in the long run if your reaction to people wronging and stealing from you is to walk away.

4 - Your uncle ran a smear campaign against you with your own parents. The man has no morals. He has to be stopped.

I implore you to do what is right here and seek legal counsel. We need more people to stand up for what is right in American business and not tolerate petty tyrants who believe they are above the rules. Large or small, those kind of businesses and people ruin our trust and our economy, and you have the power to put a stop to one such criminal.

[Chimpy]

If it was a corporate card in your name, and your uncle and aunt are not the top dogs in the company, they are defrauding THEIR employers. If that is the case, you need to make a call on whoever is in charge of the money at the company, and bring someone with you on the off chance that they are ALL in on it.

And I can guarantee (as others have stated) that if they are doing this to you, they are likely engaging in other fraudulent activities.

People who embezzle will do as much as they can until they get caught.

[lamaros]

Bit of hyperbole in this thread.

No need to buy into the hysterics being spouted here. Just go to the proper authorities and lay your position out. Notify a lawyer about wrongful dismissal and the like. And look for another job.

Don't mess the whole thing up in family drama. It will just complicate things and make people think they can use you. Make your position clear and then sort out the relationship stuff later.

[rk47]

hm i don't think i wanna get into police stuff here. just get him cancel and get this family shit away. I really have nothing more to say to my family. If they still insist on me to stay in his company and don't want to support my decision, then i guess i'll just ignore them.