Gambling Debts on Credit Cards
My question involves bankruptcy in the state of: Missouri
I have gambled on line and have ran up some large credit card debt. I have heard that you may not have to pay it back because it the credit card company has made money from an illegal operation.
Any truth in that?
Re: Gambling Debts on Credit Cards
You could try.
It won't work, but you could try.
Re: Gambling Debts on Credit Cards
If you haven't already waited too long to dispute the debt (and from your other thread, I suspect you have), or the debts don't predate the passage of the Act, try disputing the debt with your credit card company, referencing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. That law criminalizes fund transfers from American financial institutions to gambling websites. See how they respond, and get back to us.
You can also check with your state attorney general's office to see whether there is any state law recourse. Your state has been very active in pursuing illegal online gambling. Be aware, though, that it appears that it is a crime not just to offer the service, but also to gamble.
Re: Gambling Debts on Credit Cards
If the gambling debts were before 2006, do I have any recourse?
Re: Gambling Debts on Credit Cards
Quote:
Quoting
JVZMan
If the gambling debts were before 2006, do I have any recourse?
Credit cards give you 60 days from when the billing statement was issued to file for a chargeback. After 60 days from your statement date they will NOT open a chargeback.
The charge is final on your account.
I have yet to see any federal agency go chase down these people. It does not rank with offshore EMAIL SCAMS and even those are hard to chase down.
Re: Gambling Debts on Credit Cards
You should have disputed the transactions as they were probably not coded as "gambling" related which would be fraud on the part of the company that submitted the transaction.
In your defense, if the processor had coded the transaction properly the credit card issuer would have denied the charge. While you wouldn't have been able to make the transaction, you also would not be in debt right now.
You only have 60 days from receiving your statement to make the dispute.
If you do dispute the charge, the processor would be required to submit documentation regarding the charge transaction and I seriously doubt they would be able to do that since they "misrepresented" the charge to obtain authorization. They have nothing to submit unless they want to admit fraud and lose their ablility to process future transactions through the acquirer.
If they don't submit sufficient documentation the dispute will be resolved in your favor. However, they could come after you for the money via debt collector. Even that would be difficult as the transaction was technically illegal and therefore I would assume void under contract laws(I am not a lawyer though, this is information I gathered through personal research of laws)
Unfortunately, Visa and many banks are still approving these types of transactions even though they are aware of what the charges are really for and people are racking up debt and it is ruining their's and their families lives.
I AM NOT A LAWYER, this is a personal opinion
Re: Gambling Debts on Credit Cards
Quote:
Quoting
JVZMan
My question involves bankruptcy in the state of: Missouri
I have gambled on line and have ran up some large credit card debt. I have heard that you may not have to pay it back because it the credit card company has made money from an illegal operation.
Any truth in that?
My thoughts:
If you plan on filing BK, ask your attorney. If the debts are petitioned to be discharged, then it is up to the court to issue a ruling. The petition may include a Q of is any debt related to gambling! I will greatly assume this means "legal" gambling. Whether legal or not, if the Q is posed, it MUST be answered in the affirmitive as you admit to such. Your attorney will go from there and advise.
Theoretically, the contract of debt can be cancelled. Gambling is against public policy, except where permitted by law, and a contract against public policy is void??