Guarantor on an flm loan what happens if i go to court?

iolanthe07

it is a priority as much as my mortgage.

No, it really isn't. Mortgage and Council Tax comes first because you need to keep a roof over your head. If they take you to court (unlikely because it will cost them) the judge will fix a reasonable amount that you can afford, even if it takes years to pay back the debt, which, sadly, is yours. Is there no hope of shaming your 'friend' into doing the decent thing? I would never stand guarantor, not even for members of my own family.

T7YVB1

That was what i was hoping was the worst case scenario QUOTE "If they take you to court (unlikely because it will cost them) the judge will fix a reasonable amount that you can afford, even if it takes years to pay back the debt"

Which i probably stupidly told them on the phone that would be what they would have to do as i cant afford to make the payments.... they threatened they would go after my house in that case. Was just wondering how accurate this is or are they just trying to scare me into pulling the money out of thin air.

They keep mentioning friends and family.... why would i borrow money off them, that is ultimately why i am in this mess in the 1st place and i dont want to admit to anyone how stupid i have been by agreeing to it in the 1st place.

pippitypip_2

staciemccord wrote: »

That was what i was hoping was the worst case scenario QUOTE "If they take you to court (unlikely because it will cost them) the judge will fix a reasonable amount that you can afford, even if it takes years to pay back the debt"

Which i probably stupidly told them on the phone that would be what they would have to do as i cant afford to make the payments.... they threatened they would go after my house in that case. Was just wondering how accurate this is or are they just trying to scare me into pulling the money out of thin air.

They keep mentioning friends and family.... why would i borrow money off them, that is ultimately why i am in this mess in the 1st place and i dont want to admit to anyone how stupid i have been by agreeing to it in the 1st place.

I can't tell how accurate the threat about your home is, without more knowledge of the agreement in which you signed up to be guarantor - what does it say?

They keep mentioning family and friends as they don't care how you get the money as long as you make the payments. Simples.

You need to keep pressing them to speak to someone/ anyone who has the authority to agree to a payment plan. Keep repeating that you can not afford the full payments because of your financial situation and that they are not allowed to harrass you. There are brilliant letter templates etc on the debt free wannabe boards - they aren't allowed to threaten you or be abusive by law so you can state you refuse to be called anymore and they can only deal with you in writing if you'd prefer etc.

You're now the debtor rather than the guarantor so it may well be worth looking up your rights and then letting them know you know what they are! Most of what they're saying at this stage are the general known tactics of the industry to scare you into making full payments.

DO NOT borrow from friends, family or anyone to pay this back - it will make your financial situation worse in the long run.

I should point out that though these are just threats currently, they would be perfectly within their legal rights to take you to court in the end. However if they haven't accepted a reasonable payment plan (reasonable being within your reasonable budget, no holidays in Monaco instead!), they won't be viewed terribly favourably by the court.

All a court would do, would review your budget and assess a reasonable amount to pay back monthly which is static. That's the payment you make to them for the life of the loan. Whether you win the lottery or not doesn't matter. This, imho, is the reason they don't really want to take you to court. Financial circumstances change, and you could make higher payments maybe later on in the life of the loan if they don't apply for a CCJ.

pipptypip.

T7YVB1

Do i need proof that i have offered a reasonable payment plan should it come to court? im sure that they wont record that on their records because they said no.... any ideas on how to do that?

btw thankyou for all your help so far x

pippitypip_2

I would always put everything in writing, and as I said, check out the DFW board - there are template letters there requesting ONLY communication in writing, so they can't hassle you by phone.

If you keep copies of all your letters and any correspondence they also enter into by reply - you could certainly pass that all onto a court if they did take you to court. But you don't NEED it, no. It would however show you are willing to pay the debt back but only by what you can afford to pay. And that you haven't been avoiding it.

Obviously it will depend on how reasonable your offers have been.

If you're offering £1 and it should be £155 then that's not reasonable unless you in real dire straits. They would be looking to see cut backs in your budget to try to make payments. If you spend £40 a week on takeaways - I doubt that would fly. For example..

By the way, whatever offer you make, you should always then make that payment, every month, regardless of whether they agree they're accepting it as a payment plan or not. That will prob shut them up in the end anyway..

hth,
pippitypip

RobertoMoir

staciemccord wrote: »

That was what i was hoping was the worst case scenario QUOTE "If they take you to court (unlikely because it will cost them) the judge will fix a reasonable amount that you can afford, even if it takes years to pay back the debt"

Which i probably stupidly told them on the phone that would be what they would have to do as i cant afford to make the payments.... they threatened they would go after my house in that case. Was just wondering how accurate this is or are they just trying to scare me into pulling the money out of thin air.

They keep mentioning friends and family.... why would i borrow money off them, that is ultimately why i am in this mess in the 1st place and i dont want to admit to anyone how stupid i have been by agreeing to it in the 1st place.

OK, let's be clear, I'm not trying to trivialise being taken to court, let me be absolutely clear that is a serious step which you should take seriously. However, it's not the magic "game over" button they seem to be threatening you with. As this is (presumably) not secured on your property (er, it isn't is it?) then it certainly isn't a case of "take you to court, judge takes your keys off you and hands them over to the loan company there and then" which is what they try and scare people into thinking.

You do need to come up with a coherent plan to cope with this, it won't go away, but neither do you have to be intimidated into doing something just as foolish because of their bluffs and threats. You've received a _lot_ of good advice for starting to move forwards in this thread.

buttons1987

hey im so pleased i checked on here before standing as a guarantor for my sister who has applied with fml loans.
You just saved me a possible future world of annoyance.

Thank you xx

pippitypip_2

buttons1987 wrote: »

hey im so pleased i checked on here before standing as a guarantor for my sister who has applied with fml loans.
You just saved me a possible future world of annoyance.

Thank you xx

To be fair, this situation has not come about because of FLM loans, but rather as a result of the OP's friend defaulting.

If you have any concerns about being a guarantor for anyone though - indeed you should think seriously before signing up.

It's the act of being guarantor that means you could at any time become liable for the debt, if the original debtor defaults, quite legitimately.

I don't think you'll find any company out there who won't pursue you in the same manner in a similar situation.

hth,
pippitypip

RobertoMoir

pippitypip wrote: »

To be fair, this situation has not come about because of FLM loans, but rather as a result of the OP's friend defaulting.

If you have any concerns about being a guarantor for anyone though - indeed you should think seriously before signing up.

It's the act of being guarantor that means you could at any time become liable for the debt, if the original debtor defaults, quite legitimately.

I don't think you'll find any company out there who won't pursue you in the same manner in a similar situation.

hth,
pippitypip

Absolutely this - this isn't a FLM Loans issue as such as a problem with being a guarantor - its a responsibility that can have quite severe implications if things go wrong, regardless of what companies are involved.

T7YVB1

Take my well learnt advice..... do not become a guarantor for anyone, not even family! i wont be doing so ever again regardless of the situation. At least my story saved someone from going through the same nightmare!!