When it comes to credit-card companies filing such objections, bankruptcy judges look at some of the following things to determine if you committed credit-card fraud:

• Charges made after the credit-card company ordered you to return your card or sent you several “past due” notices.
• Recent charges for luxuries over $550.00 are presumed fraudulent.
• If you acquire more debt after consulting with a lawyer, a bankruptcy judge may conclude that you ran up your debts in anticipation of your filing for bankruptcy.
• Filing for bankruptcy soon after incurring charges might indicate fraudulent intent.
• Charges made when you were clearly unable to pay the minimum amount due on your credit-card bill (for example, you lost your job and had no other sources of income) are suspect.
• Multiple charges made on the same day.
• Changes in your pattern of spending (for example, you incurred a lot of charges related to travel expenses after not having previously traveled all that much).
• Multiple charges less than $50.00 (in order to avoid preclearance of the charge by the the credit-card company) after you have reached your credit limit.

The mere fact, however, that a credit-card company files an objection does not necessarily mean that the bankruptcy judge will rule in its favor.  If, for example, such a company objects that several of the charges appear to be fraudulent but does not explain why it believes that to be true, the judge may find that the company failed to prove its case and still discharge the debt in question.

1. Provide all of the proof that your company has supporting its allegation that the debtor incurred charges that he did not intend to repay at the time he incurred them.
2. State with particularity the false representations that the debtor allegedly made with regard to his account with your company.
3. State each of the steps taken by your company to determine the debtor’s creditworthiness.
4. Provide copies of all of the documents that your company has in its possession that were used to verify the debtor’s income.
5. Provide copies of all of the documents that your company has in its possession that were used to verify the debtor’s expenses.
6. Provide copies of all of the documents that your company has in its possession that were used to verify the debtor’s assets.
7. Provide copies of all of the documents that your company has in its possession that were used to verify the debtor’s liabilities.
8. What are your company’s general policies concerning the decision to grant someone credit?
9. How were your company’s general policies concerning the decision to grant someone credit applied in this particular case?
10. Identify each of the credit policies that your company alleges were violated in this case.
11. State how your company communicated to the debtor each of the credit policies that your company alleges were violated in this case.
12. Provide copies of all of the documents that contain your company’s general policies concerning the decision to grant someone credit.
13. Identify the date(s) on which the debtor allegedly consulted a bankruptcy attorney.
14. Identify the date on which the debtor allegedly formed the intent not to repay his debt to your company.
15. Identify the date(s) the debtor allegedly violated the terms of the credit agreement he had with your company.

If a credit-card company receives this list of questions, it will know that you intend to fight their objection about whether your debt should be discharged in bankruptcy.  If you are lucky, the company might even withdraw its objection rather than spend the time needed to answer your questions.