Joint Debt

Supercat_2

Hopefully someone can help and advise me on this ...

My ex and I had some joint debts which we've both been paying off. I took one credit card, he a loan of approx the same amount and we both settled the overdraft. I thought we were getting things sorted when a bailiff served a notice on me because there was a debt to do with a company my ex ran still outstanding from 3 years previously. This was last summer and my ex contacted the collections company and started making regular monthly payments. I have been threatened since by them with bankruptcy and them taking my car (which I need for business use for work) and they say they left notifications each time, which they have not.

My ex now has just got an IVA approved for all these debts he has including the one he has with me which had approx £7k outstanding on it. They've agreed that he pays £0.13 in the pound so will get away with paying £910 approx. This leaves me with the balance and they will chase me for it. I have already offered (prior to the IVA being agreed) a sum of £3000 in full an final settlement for it but the collections company said that it was rejected and they would pursue for the full amount.

I cannot get an IVA I don't think because my debts do not total enough as I've been paying things off to get straight. Can anyone advice how I can deal with this without going bankrupt or getting an IVA? The debt was one for a company for some point of sale equipment so it's not something I've had any benefit of because we split up soon after my ex took on the business. We had to sign a lease agreement for the eqt so a jointly and severally liable (I however do not remember signing it so think he might've done for me!). :mad:

Thanks for reading this and hope someone can advise on this.

Supercat

Tixy

Is this debt with the bailiff the loan you mention in the first sentance? Or a different debt for some equipment? If a bailiff has been in touch then you already have a CCJ for this debt.

You need to get a copy of the judgement from the court if you don't have a copy and you need to get a copy of the original credit agreement - and see if it has your signature on it. And also to check if it was an unsecured loan or if it was secured on the equipment. If its secured on the equipment you need to make sure the debt has been correctly dealt with and find out if the equipment has been repossesed and if this has reduced the balance.

Then you need to work out how much you can afford to repay a month towards your debts.
If this isn't the same loan as you mentioned first then how much is left on that loan?
The joint overdraft is settled?
Whose name was the credit card in? (it won't be joint)? is that settled?

You should be able to reach an agreement to pay off the debt in installments - or if you have £3k available now maybe pay that off as a lump sum and the remainder in installments. You'll need a detailed statement of affairs showing your income, outgoings before debt repayments and then what your monthly debt repayments should be. Which will help you work out how much you can afford towards these debts each month.

Supercat_2

Hi Tixy.
No the debt with the Bailiff isn't the loan mentioned in the first paragraph. That was one with a bank and as far as I know has been paid off (I'll check this though). The overdraft was paid off and that account closed. The credit card was in my name and I paid off that and closed it last year.

The debt the bailiff was trying to collect was for some equipment for my ex's pub/hotel and the agreement was in the name of the hotel but it was signed by ourselves as guarantors. I have seen this form and have no recollection in signing it, I seriously think that my signature was forged and that my ex told the witnesses that he would get me to sign the form when I got home or something. He actually did this with our re-mortgage and loan (although I did sign those forms) so I know it is something he'd do, however cannot prove that.

The leasing company has retrieved the equipment and sold it and this amount was deducted off the debt. This was only a few hundred pounds so has made little difference to it. It turns out that there is a CCJ and that I nor my ex knew nothing about it because the address used was the pub/hotel one and obviously neither of us live there. I have telephoned the County Court it is from however and they assured me that the ref number I gave them was not in relation to myself or my ex, so something doesn't add up there?

Also I think that this collections company must sale a little close to the wind with regards to being within the law and I know for a fact that they are liars because of what they said about serving the notice to collect goods. What they said and what I watched on or CCTV are two very different things so I don't trust them to act appropriately and am very worried because (and this sounds paranoid) they had someone fallen me one day when I set off to work! They of course denied it.

Anyway, the leasing company has now been forced to write some of the debt off to my ex becaue of his IVA, they wouldn't accept the £3k I offered in full and final settlement, is there any way that I can get the debt negotiated down through someone like Christians Against Poverty for example or should I tell them I'm considering getting an IVA too?

It feels totally unfair that I am stuck with a debt that is not mine and that the person who set up the lease agreement (then didn't get the new people who took on the pub to sign over the agreement) has got away with paying so little towards it.

Anyway, rant over! Hopefully I can just get this sorted and move on and not be scared to go out in the car any more!

Supercat.

Tixy

Have you seen a copy of the CCJ?
You say the court said the reference number wasn't in your name or your ex's? Do they mean it was in the businesses name or that its am entirely incorrect reference number?

If you didn't sign the document, didn't know about the loan and your signature is a forgery then I would consider exploring going down that route and disputing that the debt has anything to do with you at all.

Supercat_2

Yes I have seen a copy of the CCJ, there's one in my name and one in my ex's. When I showed these to the solicitor (I got scared of the collections co's threatening language on the phone about taking my car) he just said that the ref number was wrong because it had gone to the high court after the CC and that's why. That makes no sense to me as it's been to the CC first so the ref should be in relation to me should it not?

When speaking to the collections company I said that I'd not signed the form and they said they'd send a copy proving I had. To be fair, the signature does look like mine but I am sure I never signed ths form, it does not look familiar at all. How can I prove that I didn't sign it? Have I admitted liability by trying to pay them off? I only did this to try to get them to go away - a pretty expensive way, but I have been terrified of them. They said stuff like the only reason they haven't taken my car was because it was behind a locked gate and that they know it was owned without any finance on and they would just take it etc. Also, I've just been away for a week and was worried about them breaking in so I emaield them to say that I couldn't pay the whole amount off in one go so would have to do a payment plan. It feels like I've admitted liability but I said this to show willing I guess because they have threatened me with bankruptcy also. The form for income/expenditure also has whether you own a car on it, what make and model it is and its value. I certainly don't want to tell them this, should I do?

Sorry to ramble on a bit!