Not sure if this is where to post-advice please?

kmummykwife

Hi, I'm new on here but have an odd problem, wasnt sure where to post so thought i'd ask on here, if someone can help then great but if u know where i can post to get help other than here that would also be great...

Basically, last year, my sister got in with a friends family, she was close with all of them, 2 girls her own age but much closer with their mother...

During 2010, the mother asked my sister if she could take a catalogue out in her name, my sister (very naive) said yes, after all they were dead close etc so whats the harm...after a few months, the payments being made stopped and phone calls started coming to my sister for payment...i spoke on behalf of my sister to sort the problem and received a couple of messages from the mother explaining she had now changed the address to hers so she could deal with letters etc, and was paying (after sending a letter) £25 per month...

2 months ago, my sister fell out with this family massively, theres no going back to them, the fall out was just too great, and as u can guess, the mother has stopped the payments, falling behind by over £300...the minimum payment needed by the end of the month is £349, with another £400 needing to be paid off, as well as another catalogue with an £800 bill needing to start being paid off in October...my sister, a single parent, with a premature son, on her own, cannot pay for these debts, and in a way she shouldnt have to surely? they were taken out in her name, but according to the messages i have from the mother, she has sent a letter to the catalogue requesting a name change so it can be in her name and address, but my sisters still receiving calls from them needing money?

I have sent a couple of messages to the mother, my sister is very fretful and worried about what will happen to her regarding debt collectors turning up at the door etc..can someone give me advice on what i can do next if i still receive no reply from this woman, and whether we can go down a fraud route or something?

Apologies for the essay, i just wanted you to have the full story, and hope you can help...

Thanks very much xx

nottoolate

the account is in her name so she is obviously liable

data protection means that they are unlikely to even discuss the account with her former friend. let alone transfer the debt

does she still have any paperwork?

if so then it might be best for change it back to her address so she can keep track of the account and deal with it. the firend can continue paying money off if they like but she needs to at least get the post sent to her so she knows what is going on

curlytop12

i would have thought,as your sister agreed to do this,there is no fraud involved.
i hope someone can help,good luck.

MrsTinks

She needs to speak to the catalouge people ASAP and come to an agreement with them and get the address changed... If the debt is in her name and she herself signed and agreed to it then I'm afraid she's legally liable for it.
Unless you have something in writing from this woman that states that she accepts full liability for the debt then there is no argument - AND even then you're talking about going to small claims court to recover the money (assuming they have it...) but the relationship with the catalouge is STILL between your sister and them, not the woman she used to be friends with...
Do make sure that the debt is moved asap so there is no chance of them running up more debts in her name...
Expensive lesson but hopefully one she can some to an arrangement over with a monthly payment she can afford. If they are not co-operative then make sure she speaks to one of the debt charities... They can set up a DMP and get the communication to come through them.

maginot

As stated by others, it is not fraud as your sister took out the catalogue account. If she had taken it out using her name without her knowing you would have then had a case.
The sister is now liable for all of the debt, as she is the one who took it out.

You may have a chance of the sister taking the mother to a small claims court to reclaim the costs, as she has been making payments and the goods went to her. But again this can be difficult with no contract, also as the mother was unable to take out a catalogue account herself she is unlikely to have good credit and would not care getting a CCJ even if the sister did win.

Does she have any family she could borrow the money off? If not she will need to contact the creditors to arrange a payment plan or she herself could end up with CCJs!

Sorry couldn't be of more help, but you should never open credit for anyone unless you are willing to pay it yourself, as the creditors can only ever go after that person!