If your ex used your credit card without permission, federal law caps your personal liability for unauthorized charges at $50, and most major card networks bring that down to zero. The catch is that “unauthorized” has a specific legal meaning, and whether your ex’s charges qualify depends almost entirely on whether they were still listed on your account when they used it. Sort that out first, then move on to the dispute.
Was Your Ex on the Account?
Under federal regulations, a charge is “unauthorized” only when the person had no actual, implied, or apparent authority to use the card and the cardholder received no benefit from the transaction.1Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Regulation Z Section 1026.12 Special Credit Card Provisions That definition creates three different situations, and your options depend on which one you’re in.
If your ex was never an authorized user and used your card number without your knowledge, the charges are straightforwardly unauthorized. You dispute them, and the liability cap applies.
If your ex was added as an authorized user during the relationship and you never removed them, their charges are your responsibility as the primary cardholder, even if you didn’t approve each purchase. Regulatory guidance is direct: if you gave someone a card and they exceeded the authority you intended, you’re liable unless you notified the card issuer that the person is no longer authorized.1Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Regulation Z Section 1026.12 Special Credit Card Provisions A private understanding between you and your ex about spending limits doesn’t count. The issuer has no way to know about it. Remove them first, and only then do new charges become genuinely unauthorized.
If your ex is a joint account holder rather than an authorized user, that’s a different animal. A joint holder has equal legal ownership of the account. You generally can’t close it without their agreement, both of you remain liable for the balance, and any charges they make are legally theirs to make. Call the issuer to ask about your options, which usually come down to paying off the balance and closing the account together or transferring the debt.
Remove Them and Lock the Card
If your ex is an authorized user, call the card issuer and ask to remove them. You don’t need their consent. The CFPB also recommends asking the issuer for a new card with a new number, since the former authorized user may have your card details memorized or saved in online accounts.2Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Do I Remove an Authorized User From My Credit Card Account Once removal is processed, let your ex know so they can’t later claim they didn’t realize authorization had ended.
Dispute the Charges in Writing Within 60 Days
Once the account is locked down and you’ve confirmed the charges are actually unauthorized, contact the issuer to dispute them. You can start by phone or app, but the strongest federal protections attach to a written dispute.
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1666, you must send written notice to the issuer within 60 days of receiving the statement that first showed the unauthorized charge. The notice needs three things: your name and account number, which charges you believe are errors, and why you believe they’re errors. The issuer must acknowledge your letter within 30 days and resolve the dispute within two billing cycles, no more than 90 days.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors While the investigation is open, the issuer cannot try to collect the disputed amount or report it as delinquent.
That 60-day window is not soft. Miss it and the issuer is no longer legally required to follow the formal investigation process. Many issuers will still look into fraud claims filed later as a courtesy, but they don’t have to. Check every statement, especially in the months right after a breakup.
What You Actually Owe
For charges that qualify as unauthorized, federal law limits your personal liability to the lesser of $50 or the amount obtained before you notified the issuer.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1643 – Liability of Holder of Credit Card After you notify the issuer, you owe nothing for any unauthorized charges that happen afterward, regardless of size.
Several conditions must be met before the issuer can hold you liable for even that $50. The issuer must have given you notice of potential liability, provided a way to report unauthorized use, and provided a way to identify authorized users. If any of those requirements failed, your liability drops to zero by statute.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1643 – Liability of Holder of Credit Card
In practice the $50 cap rarely comes into play. Visa, Mastercard, and most major issuers offer zero-liability policies that eliminate cardholder responsibility for unauthorized charges, as long as you used reasonable care in protecting the card and reported the problem promptly.5Mastercard. Zero Liability Protection Policy “Promptly” is vague by design, so the faster you move, the stronger your position.
One detail worth knowing: the burden of proof falls on the issuer. If the issuer wants to hold you liable, federal law requires it to prove either that the use was authorized or that all the conditions for imposing liability were met.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1643 – Liability of Holder of Credit Card You don’t have to prove it was your ex. The issuer has to prove it wasn’t unauthorized.
When Your Ex Claims You Gave Permission
This is where ex-partner disputes get messier than a stranger stealing a card number. Your ex’s likely defense, either to the issuer or in court, is that you gave them permission to use the card. Maybe you handed them the card for groceries once. Maybe they had the number saved in a shared account.
The concept that matters here is “apparent authority.” Under Regulation Z, a charge is only unauthorized if the person had no actual, implied, or apparent authority and the cardholder received no benefit.1Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Regulation Z Section 1026.12 Special Credit Card Provisions If you previously shared the card freely, your ex may argue they reasonably believed they still had permission. The “no benefit” element also matters: if a charge covered a shared streaming subscription or a household bill, the issuer might push back.
Documentation is your counter. Save text messages or emails where you told your ex not to use the card. A message after the breakup saying “don’t use my card anymore” is strong evidence that any subsequent charge was unauthorized. Records showing you moved out, changed the locks, or otherwise ended shared living arrangements help fix the timeline. A clean before-and-after (permission existed, then it was revoked) is much harder for your ex to argue against.
File a Police Report and an FTC Identity Theft Report
A police report creates an official record that strengthens both your card dispute and any future legal action. Bring your card statements, any evidence identifying your ex as the person who made the charges, and a timeline showing when the relationship ended and when the charges appeared. Police may or may not actively investigate, particularly for smaller amounts, but the report itself is documentation.
Alongside the police report, file an identity theft report at IdentityTheft.gov. The FTC doesn’t resolve individual cases, but the report generates an official identity theft affidavit and a personalized recovery plan.6Federal Trade Commission. Identity Theft – IdentityTheft.gov That affidavit carries weight with card issuers, credit bureaus, and law enforcement, and it entitles you to an extended fraud alert and additional free credit reports.
On the criminal side, using someone else’s credit card with intent to defraud and obtaining $1,000 or more in a year is a federal offense under 18 U.S.C. § 1029.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1029 – Fraud and Related Activity in Connection With Access Devices In practice, most ex-partner credit card fraud is prosecuted under state theft or fraud statutes, with penalties that vary by dollar amount. The police report puts the matter on record either way.
Suing Your Ex Directly
If the card issuer resolves the dispute in your favor, you may not need to sue at all. If the issuer denies your claim, or if you suffered additional losses (late fees on other bills, time off work), a civil suit may be worth pursuing.
Small claims court is the most accessible route. Dollar limits vary by state, ranging roughly from $2,500 to $25,000. You don’t need a lawyer, filing fees are modest, and the process is designed to be straightforward. Bring your card statements, the police report, the FTC identity theft report, and any communications showing your ex lacked permission.
For larger amounts or more complex situations, a standard civil lawsuit may make sense, potentially under a theory of conversion (the legal term for using another person’s property without permission). That approach fits when unauthorized card use is part of a broader pattern of financial abuse, or when losses exceed small claims limits. Talking with an attorney is worth the cost once you’re moving beyond small claims, because the strategy shifts. If the charges are part of ongoing harassment or abuse, a protective order may also be available, and domestic violence organizations can help you navigate the process in your state.
Protect the Rest of Your Financial Life
Stopping current charges is only half the job. An ex who had access to your financial life probably knows your passwords, security questions, and account numbers. Assume they know everything.
Change passwords on every financial account, on your email, and on any site where your card is saved. Use unique passwords and turn on multi-factor authentication. Email matters most: if your ex can get into your email, they can reset passwords everywhere else. Then log into subscription services, shopping accounts, and apps where your card was saved and remove it. Cancel any recurring charges your ex set up during the relationship directly with the merchant. If charges keep appearing after cancellation, ask your issuer about blocking that specific merchant.
Fraud Alerts and Credit Freezes
A fraud alert tells creditors to take extra steps to verify your identity before opening new accounts in your name. An initial fraud alert lasts one year and is free. An extended fraud alert, available once you’ve filed an identity theft report, lasts seven years.8Consumer Advice. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts You only need to contact one of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion); it’s required to notify the other two.
A credit freeze is stronger. It blocks anyone from pulling your credit report to open new accounts, which stops your ex from opening cards or loans in your name. Placing and lifting a freeze is free under federal law.9Federal Trade Commission. New Federal Law Allows Consumers to Place Free Credit Freezes and Yearlong Fraud Alerts Unlike a fraud alert, you must contact each bureau separately, and you can temporarily lift the freeze when you need to apply for credit yourself.
Monitor Your Credit Reports
Pull your credit reports through AnnualCreditReport.com, the only federally authorized source for free reports from all three bureaus.10Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Do I Get a Free Copy of My Credit Reports Look for accounts you don’t recognize, addresses you’ve never lived at, and inquiries you didn’t authorize. If your ex had enough personal information to use your card, they may have enough to open new accounts in your name. Checking your reports regularly for at least a year is the simplest way to catch that early.11Annual Credit Report.com. AnnualCreditReport.com Home Page