Nan in trouble (as a guarantor)

ILW

CLAPTON wrote: »

with no assets and little income your nan should just stop paying

the loan company can of course go to court but no court will make an order for some-one on state pension only

Nan doesn't sound like the type to do that. She seems to hold values that are mainly lost in younger people.

aggypanthus

she should just stop paying them anything and see what they will do, at her age, why worry about a courts judgment against her? what can they take if she has nothing?
In Scotland, e my oh was wrongly accused of owing money, only £180, we made the mistake of replying to the solicitor rather than the courts, as a result the case was heard without us knwning, untill a sheriff office came knocking!!
My solicitor gave me the nodd to just not pay it, as he knew in law it was unenforceable here. We dont need credit and were determined not to pay as it wasnt out debt, it belonged to the business after we sold, the debt was the new owners.
Just dont pay !!

aggypanthus

CLAPTON wrote: »

with no assets and little income your nan should just stop paying

the loan company can of course go to court but no court will make an order for some-one on state pension only

Even if they do make award, they still cant enforce payment, not in scotland at least.

CLAPTON

ILW wrote: »

Nan doesn't sound like the type to do that. She seems to hold values that are mainly lost in younger people.

maybe or maybe not

the correct solution may or may be not possible (for the avoidance of doubt that would be auntie doing the decent thing) ; so unless others step in, then the ESSENTIAL step is to default.

tell_it_how_it_is

Lizzieb151 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. I don't think that I can do anything for her - the loan was through FLM Quick loans and the criteria for that is a lot less so Nan would have eligible as a guarantor.

Ah, b*gger, a PDL sister company - didn't know that existed. With PDL interest rates (although this relatively speaking isn't too bad) I think it would be as well to try and club together and pay it off if possible, also to save your Nan any further worry and stress. But not tell the aunt and still press her for the cash as and when. Bl##dy families, eh?! Hope it works out.

AnxiousMum

I remember a similar situation with a friend and her family - at Christmas time, and....Christmas is coming up......everybody made sure that the 'guilty' family member received a card with a message saying that their 'gift' to her this year, was a partial repayment to the other family member.

Sorry but your Aunt needs to learn a lesson on this one - there is NO excuse for taking advantage of anybody, let alone an elderly and vulnerable relative. Do a whip around of the family, and let the Aunt know that her Christmas and birthday for the next year or two have taken care of the Nan's debt. Embarrass the hell out of her - unfortunatley people like this need to know that the family is aware, and will be watching in future.

Stuart_W

AnxiousMum gives very good advice.

I don't think trying to contact to company and asking for lower payments will work at this stage. Sadly, as Clapton has stated, for things to change a default is required. Your nan doesn't sound like she is from the generation that would consider that, and rather go without food/heat.

For the sake of your nan, if you can club together with other family and contact them to pay the loan off in full it will at least get rid of these vultures (this is not necessarily moneysaving advice, but more important issues apply here).

Your nan will be too proud for you to openly do this. What I have successfully recommended in the past in a family-debt situation is a family member who is able to clear the debt contacts the creditors and does so directly. The s/he then opened a credit union account (because it comes with a paypoint cash deposit card). Give this card to your nan, and say that you've found a cheaper interest free deal (which is technically correct as a family member has informally lent the money), she only needs to pay £2 cash per week, but without some git turning up at the door asking for cash. She feels that she is still fulfilling her responsibilities, but now at an affordable level. Might sound really daft, but it could work giving your nan the piece of mind that she needs - she hasn't either got a debt she is worried out or has failed to pay what she feels she ought to. Your nan sounds like she would be too proud even to use £500 cash anonymously pushed through the letterbox - but that is another route.

Your nan is the priority here.

What you need to be fully open to is that this money due to your aunt soon is unlikely to make it's way to your nan. If it does, that will be an unexpected bonus, but don't expect it to happen at all.

I recommend the christmas card idea. "present withheld until debt cleared" works, too.

AMILLIONDOLLARS

My advice is to make sure that everybody and I mean everybody family and friends know what your aunt did to her Mother, she should not go unpunished for what she did. She is an utter disgrace.

AMD

dealer_wins

This thread should be a sticky, and anyone who posts about being a guarantor should be linked to it.

If you cant trust your elderly aunt not to screw you over, you cant trust ANYONE.

oldhand

And much as I hate to say it but I would not be surprised if when the Nan finally dies she still leaves some of what little she has to this "aunt".