Your wife is running her eBay biz as sole proprietor. I would send AMEX her eBay invoice and paypal transcation history as proof. The checks were written out to you for stocking up for the biz, right??!!

"Ya got ta . . . . play it cool boy!!"

from West Side Story

ntyr said:With recent Apporama I opened a few Business accounts in my wife’s name and deposited convenient check of 37k into my name only checking account. AMEX called us back and verified the check with my wife. Everything is fine. A couple days pass by and today we receive call from their supposedly credit analyst in the review department asking bunch of questions about “business” and what we did with the 37k check. She spoke with my wife but she did not have much clue other than the existence of account and the check. So she froze all her accounts and asked her to send business registration, tax ID and other proof. My wife is a seller on eBay and since she does not have a real business per say we cannot submit that info.

How should we process to remove freezes and clear up my wife’s name from this mess? Any advice is appreciated.

If you can't prove you are a business, you should not apply for business credit. It is fraud, regardless of the bad advice some may give you in that regard.

People haphazardly advise people to get business accounts regardless of having a business or not. It is BAD advice.

If your wife legitimately sells things on E-bay (not just once a year), then she is a business and should be able to properly document it. I suspect their talk with your wife where she was completely ignorant about business cards in her name was a big enough red flag that you can not fix this problem easily with them.

ntyr said:So what is the best thing to do? Repay the balance and close the accounts?

Wait until they request for the $37k back. Until then, just reap and enjoy the interest you make from the $37k!

I strongly do not agree with much of the advice in the Business card thread. I think we will see many more threads like this if people blindly follow that thread.

Just bc wife "knows" about the account does not make it OK. I cant go mortgage my parents house by simply telling them "hey im going to go mortgage your house, alright?". OP madeup a fake business, that he doesnt even own or have any control over, then applied for credt for the business using his wifes ID. Just bc he told his wife he was doing it does not make it permissible, even if she said "sure".

SUCKISSTAPLES said:I strongly do not agree with the advice in the Business card thread. I think we will see many more threads like this if people blindly follow that thread.

Just bc wife "knows" about the account does not make it OK. I cant go mortgage my parents house by simply telling them "hey im going to go mortgage your house, alright?". OP madeup a fake business, that he doesnt even own or have any control over. Just bc he told his wife he was doing it does not make it legal, even if she said "sure"

Pretty sure OP's wife "agreed" not just "knows", don't see how that could be fraud as long as the info supplied is accurate.

There is no evidence they OP made up anything about the business (he could have put Sole Prop, $0 income), but it is a possiblity.

I'm sure the same thing has happened with personal cards, accounts frozen due to rapid large increase in utilization. I expect many people here would not say they put the money into a high yeild savings account to if asked by the card issuer. That's what I would say, even if I didn't tell them it wasn't ever going to buy anything for the reseller business.

Since this topic is read anyway...

Most businesses (80%?) within their first five years. In order to fail I would think they probably lose money or make so little it is not worth the time/capital of the owner.

I have an EE degree. I started a "EE consulting" business in my name, with my SSN, as a sole prop.

Last year I took in $40,000 in BT money in the business's name exclusively. I consider that revenue. From that I made about $2K in profits (profit). I list those numbers on my applications as required (some what revenue, profit, or both).

By my logic I'm more successful than 80% of all new small businesses. The IRS sure doesn't seem to have a problem taking my money.

I've made $0 in actual "EE consulting". I ask my buddies but they don't seem to need any consulting done.

Would anyone cosider what I have done to be fraud? If not then it should be trivial for anyone to start their own business.

asdf9876 said:Last year I took in $40,000 in BT money in the business's name exclusively. I consider that revenue. Proceeds from a loan can in no way be considered 'revenue'. Revenue is an income account (sales), credit cards are liabilities. Regardless of what you may want to consider it. Your $2k interest earnings could be considered income or revenue (a question mark, but reasonably justified), and of course with no expenses that same $2k is also profit. But listing BT money itself as revenue is blatant fraud and would not hold up under any type of review.

SUCKISSTAPLES said:opening credit cards in your wifes name is a federal crime
opening business accounts for fake madeup businesses is a 2nd offense

this has nothing to do with an AMEX problem, this is you lying and being greedytax evasion is a 3rd. that's why he can't give them the necessary info.