Being chased for a debt that's not mine....

Lost_Prophet_2

My girlfriend recently received a letter from Rockwell Debt Collection Agency claiming that she owed about £3,500 from a debt that they'd taken over from Black Horse for a car loan. She knew nothing about this debt so she wrote back to them to say as much. They have now provided a copy of a statement showing the debt was taken out in 2001 and monthly payments were made for a couple of years until 2003. The address on the statement matched an address her brother used to live at so she asked him about it and he said he couldn't get a loan on his own back then so he used her name as guarantor without her knowing.

He admits the debt is his and is happy to admit this to the debt company but my girlfriend has just spoken to the debt company and they said there is nothing she can do about it. The debt is in her name so it's tough, it stays in her name. Her brother has said he's happy to start making monthly payments again but he's not a reliable person so I don't want him passing money to my girlfriend for her to make the payments because I know there will be months when he doesn't give her the money and she'll ahve to pay it. As soon as she makes a single payment I think she'll effectively be admitting responsibility for the debt.

What can she do? Should the debt company be able to transfer the debt in to someone else's name if both my girlfriend and her brother say that's what they want. Personally I'd happily see her brother done for fraud for putting her name down as a guarantor without her knowing but she wants to avoid that.

Solid advice needed if anyone knows.

tigerfeet2006

I would suggest ringing National Debtline and talking to them about your options. Be patient, you may need to sit with your finger on the redial button for a while.

I am guessing that as she is down as guarantor (even without her knowledge) then she is responsible for the outstanding amount and I think that the only way she can get out of it is if she prosecutes her brother for fraud.

But give NDL a ring and see what they suggest, I may be wrong. They are open 9am-9pm

fermi

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euronorris

If she never signed an agreement, how can they say that the contract is legally binding? Surely, they would have to prove that any signature applied to the document, in this case, is valid?!

This, together with her brother's willingness to accept responsibility should be enough for them, no? I'm no expert, so check with someone who can say for sure, but I can't see how they can hold her to an agreement she's never signed!

ladybez

Any chance it could be statute barred?

robnye

i would suggest that she denies it, without her signature on the paperwork then they cannot force her to repay the debt......
although this might cause trouble for her brother with obtaining a loan fraudulently

Lost_Prophet_2

Thanks for the replies every one. She has spoken to some debt advisory people that they have said that if the debt recovery people can't produce the original loan paperwork with her signature on then they don't have a leg to stand on for chasing her for the debt. She is going to write a letter to them asking for a copy of the original loan agreement to see what they can produce. The problem it, it will have a signature in her name, it just wasn't her that signed it. I think it'll be an awkward one to argue in court if it went that far.

RAS

So she needs to get you to sign that letter, so the signature is not amended.

JimmyTheWig

Lost_Prophet wrote: »

Should the debt company be able to transfer the debt in to someone else's name if both my girlfriend and her brother say that's what they want.

I don't think you have any chance of this at all.
Thinking about it from the debt company's point of view.

The brother must have had a poor credit rating in the first place to need your gf as guarantor. Since then he has defaulted on at least one loan (the one in question).
Who do you think they would rather owe them the money - your gf or her brother?

I think your gf has three choices...
1. Tell the company it is nothing to do with her and let it go to court, getting her brother into trouble.
2. Let her brother pay it each month, risking black marks on her credit report each time he misses a payment.
3. Agree to pay it each month herself, hoping that her brother pays her back.

Alternatively, can the brother get the cash together to pay off the debt? Has he still got the car that he could sell, for example?
Is there a parent / other relative who could act as some sort of mediator between the two of them?
Is your gf in a position that he could do work for her (gardening, decorating, childcare, housework, etc) each time he misses a payment in order to pay off what she's paid out?


Not a nice situation. I hope he is genuinely sorry for what he has done.

Lost_Prophet_2

RAS wrote: »

So she needs to get you to sign that letter, so the signature is not amended.

That is a very good point, I hadn't even thought of that. I'll tell her not to sign the letter at all.