Responding to intrafamily economic abuse

Bank accounts

If you hold a joint account with your spouse, you may request the opening of an individual bank account with a credit institution. If the institution refuses, you may benefit from the right to a bank account procedure, which must be initiated at an IEDOM office.

If you disagree with your spouse regarding the operation of the joint account, you may terminate the account agreement with the bank concerned.

If funds are seized from your individual account to repay a debt incurred by your spouse, seek advice from a legal professional as soon as possible. Access to legal assistance is guaranteed through the "point-justice" network, which provides free legal consultations.

If your spouse holds a power of attorney over your individual account, you may request its revocation from your bank by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. Please note that divorce does not automatically revoke a power of attorney.

If your spouse does not hold a power of attorney over your individual account, but you believe he/she knows your personal access codes, contact your bank to change them.

Means of payment

If you notice transactions carried out without your knowledge using the means of payment linked to your individual account (cheques, payment cards, transfers or direct debits), contact your bank immediately to dispute them. If the transactions were made using your payment card, you must immediately call your bank to block the card and prevent further use. Your bank will help you secure your means of payment and, depending on the circumstances, certain transactions may be reimbursed.

Banking incident files

If you discover that you are registered in one or both of the payment incident files, the Central Cheque Register (fichier central des chèques — FCC) and the National Register of Personal Loan Repayment Incidents (fichier national des incidents de remboursement des crédits aux particuliers — FICP) –, for incidents for which you are not responsible, and you suspect that your spouse has used your personal data and forged your signature to take out a loan, you may be a victim of identity theft. You should:

• File a complaint;
• Inform your bank;
• Exercise your right of access with IEDOM to all payment incidents registered in your name;
• Exercise your right of access to all accounts opened in your name in the FICOBA and/or FICOM*;
• Submit an identity theft file to IEDOM.

* FICOBA = FIchier des COmptes Bancaires, list of bank accounts open in France excluding overseas collectivities
FICOM = Fichier des Comptes d’Outre-Mer, list of bank accounts open in overseas collectivities(Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon, French Polynesia, New-Caledonia et Wallis-and-Futuna)

Over-indebtedness application

If you file an over-indebtedness application on your own, the secretariat of the Over-indebtedness Commission, provided by IEDOM and responsible for examining applications, will take your specific situation into account. IEDOM staff and members of the Over-indebtedness Commission are bound by professional secrecy. They can inform and advise you so that your spouse is not made aware of your application. However, if your spouse is one of your creditors, the address declared in your file will be communicated to him/her. Please note that even if you file your application alone, you must declare both your personal debts and any joint debts of the couple.

If you have filed a joint over-indebtedness application with your spouse and the file is still being examined, but you now wish to file individually, you may send a letter to the Over-indebtedness Commission requesting to withdraw from the joint procedure.

If a repayment plan or measures are already in force for a joint application and you wish to dissociate yourself from that file, you may submit a new individual application.

Savings

If your spouse uses funds held in your children’s savings accounts without your authorisation, even though you both hold parental authority, you must inform the bank concerned and request reimbursement of the sums withdrawn without your consent.

If you wish to withdraw your employee savings or pension savings early while you have filed an over-indebtedness application, you may do so by contacting the Over-indebtedness Commission (only one early withdrawal is permitted for the same over-indebtedness application).

If you wish to withdraw your employee savings early due to your situation as a victim of intrafamily economic abuse, you must provide the organisation managing the savings with :

• Either a protection order issued for your benefit by the Family Court judge pursuant to Article 515-9 of the Civil Code;
• Or, where the facts fall under Article 132-80 of the Criminal Code, any document proving that these facts have resulted in an alternative to prosecution, a penal composition procedure, the opening of a judicial investigation by the Public Prosecutor, referral to the criminal court by the Public Prosecutor or investigating judge, an indictment, or a criminal conviction, even if not definitive.

Insurance

If your spouse cancels an insurance policy you have taken out without your knowledge by forging your signature – since only you are entitled to cancel a contract in your name – you may file a complaint for identity theft.

If you believe that your spouse knows your personal access codes for your life insurance policy, contact your insurer immediately to inform them and change your access codes without delay, in accordance with the procedures put in place by your insurer.

If your spouse is designated as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy, notice tha the beneficiary can be changed at any time by an endorsement or a written request sent to the insurer.