pleeeeeeeease help!!

bethramsay

please accept my apologies if tis is the etiquette meant for this kind of thing but I'm at the end of my tether with Nationwide and need some advice!

my younger sister needed a loan last year to buy a car to start her job that included a fair commute back and forth each day. she decided to go with Nationwide as she banks with them instead of going with the finance that the car company offered (although this was also a good deal). she was told that as she didn't have 3 months worth of payslips she would need someone to go as a "guarantor" on her loan and thats where i come in! we went to see the loan advisor in nationwide and were told that after 3 months payslips were available my sister would be able to take my name off the loan. at this time it was also stipulated that i would not be linked to this loan, my credit scoring would not be affected and that it would not leave any footprint on my credit report. this was clarified 3-4 times as my mortgage was up for renewal in the following months and i said i would not be happy to sign the agreement if i was in a ny way at risk. again it was said that once 3 months slips were available then my sister were able to take them into branch and that my name would be removed......simple! or so we thought.
after 3 months she went into branch and was told under no uncertain terms that this could happen.the lady who had sold us the loan had since moved branch and that they would email her to find out what had been said. we waited for a response and heard nothing. a few months went by as we didn't think it a major issue until i replied for a credit cards to consolidate 2 cards that were coming to the end of their 0% agreement and it was declined. we went into nationwide yesterday to try and get this sorted and have been told now that as we signed the agreement then it is not their fault and all they can offer is my sister to take out a loan to repay the apparent "joint loan"we have.......this is double the interest rate that she has currently which would mean paying an extra 40 a month over an additional year.

please help......we've been told by nationwide that the financial ombudsman would see it the same way as them and that because we signed the loan then there is nothing that can be done???????

phew!

bethramsay

i meant to say 'APPLIED FOR A CREDIT CARD.....NOT REPLIED!! OOPS!

Gothicfairy

I really don't know the answer to this but I thought that you could not change the terms of a contract after it is signed unless a new one replaces it.
Could you not speak to consumer direct or something like that and see what they say ? I would think though that because the whole thing was done verbally there will be little to no proof of what you where told.

dtsazza

I think Gothicfairy may be right, and perhaps the advisor meant that your sister would be in a position to get a loan on her own, and so could take out a new (solo) loan to replace the existing joint one.

It may be possible to modify an active contract, so long as all the parties consent, but I haven't heard of it being done before and wouldn't expect it to be that simple. In particular, if Nationwide aren't suggesting anything other than a new loan, it doesn't sound like you'll be able to get the existing contract changed. (Asides from customer service, there's not much benefit to them to go through the admin costs of changing the agreement for the "reward" of having a loan that's now more likely to default due to being in one name).

I don't think there's much you can do if you don't get mutual co-operation with Nationwide.

LovelyLeeds

Do you have anything in writing to prove what you are saying?
If it was all verbal, then the signed contract will win hands down.

skintandscared_2

Is there any other reason you could have been declined for the new credit card? I wouldn't have thought that being a guarantor on a loan would actually affect you at all unless your sister defaulted on payments. Are you REALLY a guarantor, or is it actually a joint loan?

You need to dig out the paperwork and see what you actually signed. I'm afraid that even if someone had told me a million times I could take my name off a joint loan/guarantor agreement after just 3 months I would never have believed them - it just doesn't happen. They really will say anything to get you to sign up won't they :mad:

How much longer is left to run on the loan?

bethramsay

Turns out irt is a joint loan but under no circumstance was that made clear. i know this makes me sound completely stupid but we did on numerous occasions clarify that this wasn't a joint loan. the woman in nationwide today when i went back in told me that "common sense should have told me it was a joint loan" even when i told her i clarified in these exact words....."is this a joint loan and the reply was a huge resounding NO!!

AGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!

ILW

What did the form you signed say?

Have you or your sister got a copy of the agreement?

Tixy

If the agreement is clear its a joint agreement then you've no chance of getting out of it.
At best you might get a small amount of compensation or apology from nationwide regarding their member of staff misleading you.

So you are financiall associated with your sister and will be until this loan is repaid and anything on her file will affect your chances of getting any new credit. Is she able to obtain another loan in just her name for the outstanding balance?
How long is left on the loan?

what is her file like? do you know? if not I would get her to tell you or show you copies of her files.

dtsazza

ILW wrote: »

What did the form you signed say?

Have you or your sister got a copy of the agreement?

I second this - the first step at this point would be to look at the loan agreement and see exactly what it states regarding your responsibilities.

Have a look in particular at any clauses relating to modifications to the contract - if you really could have it changed after three months there will be a clause in there stating that. Keep an eye out for anything that relates to closing off or changing the account, since those are the only ways that you'll be able to remove your name from it, and these clauses will lay out your options.