Investing in stocks/ shares via a credit card

[C0NNIE]

I have an unusual question for this board and I hope that some of you knowledgeable people can help me.

Im in the process of getting divorced and my STBXH has hidden a LOT of our matrimonial assets, so I’m trying to track them down.

For nearly all of our 20 year marriage he has spent a lot of money every month on credit cards, which are paid off every month by direct debit from our joint account. I have no idea what this money has been spent on.

So each month we earned about £2,500 each ( net). That £5,000 went into our joint account and all the bills and household costs came out of that account, everything for the children, car, petrol etc. We basically lived off my income and he spent all of his ( plus a bit more ) , around £2,500/ month on his card. He also took about £200 / week from the ATM.

These aren’t the exact figures but just to give you an idea of the sums involved.

All the usual expenses that we had went through the joint account so I can’t think what he was doing with all that money. I know it was something online / virtual ( so not prostitutes or drugs for example ) because he still spent as much during lockdown, when he didn’t leave the house for several months (worked from home ) because he was worried about Covid.

So I think he spent that money investing in stocks and shares . Is it possible to do that through a credit card and if so, how ? If that’s what he has done, these are assets and I have a claim over them , but I don’t know where to start looking.

He has always talked to our kids about shares and how he was investing in them , how much he has made or lost . But now we are divorcing he claims that he never actually did so, he just read about them 🙄

So sorry you're going though this.

A quick google (I am not an expert) says you can't buy stocks and shares on credit. But he could have been purchasing bitcoin or another cryptocurrency? Or maybe betting?

No access to the credit card statements?

There used to be ways you could overpay a credit card and then request payment back for the credit balance. Not sure it’s still possible but I know someone who did this.

No, either he hid the paper copies well ( probably at work ) or it was online statements only.

What is his story on what the money was spent on?

Are you on the card?

He’s been doing this for 20 years so long before bitcoin etc .

i thought of shares because he would say things to our kids like “ I’ve had a terrible day , I’ve lost £20,00O because my shares in Tesla ( or something ) have dropped by Y amount “.

That kind of thing. Sorry I never paid much attention.

No I’m not on the card.

@Middlelanehogger he would never explain , it caused huge rows when I asked . He said it was his money and he would spend it when he liked, it was none of my f**ing business.

At first I thought “ why didn’t he just transfer the money into a different bank account and use that to trade “ . But then I’d be able to see what that account was, there would be paper trail.

Hi, he could go onto a stocks and shares website like trading 212 and open a stocks and shares ISA (additional to a standard ISA). On there you credit the ISA via your bank account making a direct payment from the account or credit card. I do it every month for my own investments. Its as easy as transferring money from one account to another. Good luck OP x

You absolutely can buy shares, etc, with a credit card. Some countries have banned this, some have restrictions, but the UK only has advice. Most people who trade online use cards - how else do you think they pay?

I don’t really know, I assumed you had to use a bank debit card so you were buying with cash.

But I’ve not got a clue really.

Thank you @LadyLolaRuben . So I’d be able to see that if I could get hold of the card statements ?

My lawyer can ask the court to disclose things but we need to know what to ask for .

I’ve had a quick look at that trading 212 site and I see that you can invest in other currencies. He always said that he was investing his pension in America . But when I tried to find this American pension , I was told that Uk citizens can’t have a US pension unless they work or live there.

So maybe he was talking about investing in USD or in American companies.

It sounds like he is actively trying to hide it. Do you have a divorce lawyer and have you asked them for advice? I would start by showing them what evidence you DO have, i.e. he was paying off £2500pcm from your shared bank accounts (get the statements) and writing down all your memories of what he said he was doing with the money. Then ask the lawyer for advice on professionally tracking them down. I'm sure there must be a formal process for asset discovery in the divorce process.

Thanks @Middlelanehogger . I do have a solicitor and they say that if we know what to ask for, we can ask the courts to allow us to contact the institution directly.

So if I know he has, for example, a Nat West Bank account we can ask for an order to contact them. But if we don’t know which bank it is, we can’t ask for orders for every bank. That apparently is known as a fishing exercise and is not allowed.

So I asked them to ask for the credit cards statements but they said it’s up to how he spent his money.

My problem is I don’t know what to ask for or where to look. My STBXH is very clever at hiding things.

From the statements on your shared bank account, you should be able to see a £2500 payment each month to xx credit card provider - do you have access to the statements from your shared bank account?

Which account did the wages go into? Was that joint? If so you can ask your joint bank account bank which account money was transferred into (ie the 2.5k each month) then you can ask him to provide the statement correlating to that account. You can cross reference the payment. If the money then goes into another account ask for that statement etc. If the sort code is showing you can Google it abd it will show you the branch.

If you have applied for a joint mortgage in the last 5/10 years ask the bank for the application - it’s often noted what credit card the customer has snd who with even if they are paid in full. Ask your broker for their fact find too.

American investment could be the S&P500. You are investing in the American market. Can you remember any apps on his phone? British investors can invest in the s&p this way. If you can remember the colours of the apps we may be able to help. Freetrade is pink and white for example. Vanguard just use a website.

His credit file will show his credit cards are you allowed to ask for that? If you do I’d go for check my file as it shows 3 credit reference agencies.

Wages went into the one joint account, I can see what the credit card is eg Barclaycard Visa. No sort code. I didn’t know I could ask the bank for the details of these transactions, thank you that’s very helpful.

No haven’t ever had a joint mortgage, he put the house and mortgage in his own name and the mortgage was paid from the joint account . He thought that meant I couldn’t claim it in a divorce but he was wrong . I might even get more than half as I paid more of the deposit. He is fighting that of course .

Thanks but I never saw his phone ever , he always had it on him and was password protected.

But yes he defo went on about US shares.

Thank you for taking so much time to try and help me, sorry I don’t know lots of basics things.

He was horrible to me when we were married and he’s still horrible now we are divorcing 😢