Can you end up inheriting your (adult) childs debt (mobile phone bill)?

Nine_Lives

Sorry if in wrong forum as there isn't a debt at the moment. I'm asking because my mum is a bit concerned here so wanted to find out for her.

Basically my brother lives at home with my mum. He's 20 & he's seeing a girl who's 17 & will be 18 about November time. They've been together 6 months.
Now i'm going to go & generalise here, but if you imagine those youths who hug the bins outside their local corner shop, then you'll have a fair grasp of the circles that this girl & my brother move in.


This girl wants a brand new iPhone & can't possibly wait until she's 18 to take out a contract in her own name. So she has asked my brother to take out the contract in his name & she'll pay him each month.

While he's old enough to make his own decisions, i advised him against it - them splitting up, him having the result of his court case in a few weeks with a potential of imprisonment, the girl doing a runner with the phone, constantly asking to pay it next month because she fancies a new pair of shoes this month etc etc etc etc.

He's blinded so has gone ahead with it anyway & was texting her all his bank details this evening.



My mums concern here is that if this girl decides not to pay him & he ends up not affording the contract - either through simply not being able to afford it, or being put in prison on the back of his court case, then does my mum end up carrying the debt due to my brother living at the same address & being her son?

If not, then what happens to the debt in that case?

TIA.

Upsidedown_Bear

The debt always remains with the person who took it out unless someone agreed to act as guarantor.

OneLife_OneShot

I would doubt it as he is an adult.

Nine_Lives

That'll do for me then.

She was concerned because years ago (i'm talking 1985 & earlier) she said that she ended up with a debt with my dad from a previous owner of their flat or something to that effect, because the bill was tied to their address. I didn't quite understand how this could be possible, but said i'd enquire here anyway.


If he winds up in court over non payment then that'll teach him (hopefully) to not be taken for a mug.

ilovelondontown

I have a horrible hunch that your brother is going to end up losing out here, but I completely appreciate there is little you can do to stop him.... hopefully a small sting like this will teach him to avoid a horrible financial mistake in future...

The reason your mum was linked to your father's debt is likely to be because they had joint finances and/or were married.

VitaK

You cannot become liable for someone else debt.

Nine_Lives

I never said it was my dad's debt, but still, i think you're right - he's going to lose out.

Who knows, they could live happily ever after, but i've made various 'predictions' with him over the years & i tell them all to his face. He at the time has said none of them will come true. I'm yet to be proven wrong. I wish i was proven wrong, but i can't see it.

I asked him what if they have a messy break up. He said they've discussed it. I pressed for a plan of action - no good discussing without some sort of decision being made. He said that she claimed she'd continue paying up the bill.

As i said to him, if you believe that, well then ... MUG!

moohound

I have a feeling this is going to end badly and your brother will end up with a default and a debt to pay. Does this girl have any income to afford a phone contract? How long is the contract for?

You sound like a good daughter, looking out for your Mum's best interests.

ilovelondontown

Nine_Lives wrote: »

I never said it was my dad's debt, but still, i think you're right - he's going to lose out.

My mistake... I think there are a lot more laws that protect you from other people's debt nowdays, so even if your brother ends up defaulting from this, it won't affect your mum.

Maybe this isn't possible but ...why not tell him to take the phone out in his name but have her set up the direct debit to her bank account?

Nine_Lives

moohound wrote: »

I have a feeling this is going to end badly and your brother will end up with a default and a debt to pay. Does this girl have any income to afford a phone contract? How long is the contract for?

You sound like a good daughter, looking out for your Mum's best interests.

Not unless i've had a sex change i don't :rotfl:but yeah, ATEOTD if he wants to go do this against everyone's advice then that's fair enough, he has to learn, but i didn't want my mum getting dragged into it.

I agree - i think he will end up with a default. He can't manage his money well enough. He lives pay packet to pay packet & runs it close to the wire despite earning £250-£330 each week & only having £115 per month in bills he has to pay, plus fuel. He seems to hate having money the way he burns through it, so i can't see him managing it very well.

ilovelondontown wrote: »

My mistake... I think there are a lot more laws that protect you from other people's debt nowdays, so even if your brother ends up defaulting from this, it won't affect your mum.

Maybe this isn't possible but ...why not tell him to take the phone out in his name but have her set up the direct debit to her bank account?

To be honest i thought the best way to do it was to buy the phone outright. Yes it's more initially, but over the course of 24 months (contract term) it's cheaper, especially as she is happy with her current deal. She only wants the phone really.

I suggested this to him & asked why he doesn't put it to her. He just grunted.

She was texting him as she was sat at her computer asking for & using his card details to make the payment. THIS is why he was grunting i guess - she needed (yes, NEEDED) it now and i mean NOW. She couldn't possibly wait (i figure she would probably die if she did, so it needs to be bought now to save her life!). All boils down to impatience on her part, cheek & balls to ask him to pay it all & being blinded by 'love' on his part (as well as always being a doormat where females are concerned).

Apparently she is setting up a standing order to pay him the monthly fee. This is fine & no problem while everything is fresh & rosy i've said to him. What about >IF< things turn nasty?


Oh & i think she works, but not much. Just a day here & there i believe. Not sure how accurate that is so wouldn't really like to say.




EDIT:

And regards the thing about my mum - she said that when she was "in the flat" (which would be sometime around 1980-1985) she tried getting a TV with my dad (i assume licence) & they weren't able to because of the previous owner - so the house/flat had a bad mark against it.

Jenonnet

Nine_Lives wrote: »

EDIT:

And regards the thing about my mum - she said that when she was "in the flat" (which would be sometime around 1980-1985) she tried getting a TV with my dad (i assume licence) & they weren't able to because of the previous owner - so the house/flat had a bad mark against it.

Years ago the debt was on the house, not the person living in it. So if you moved into a house where someone else had lived who had a bad credit record, that would reflect on you too.
This has now been changed and the debt is on the person, so as long as you are not linked financially with someone else living at the house, you will not be affected by their credit score. If you share a Bank Account with someone who has a bad credit score, it will affect you too.

As for the issue with your brother & his girlfriend... rule of thumb... never, never offer or agree to have something in your name, with payments coming out of your Bank Account for someone else. As far as the law is concerned, it doesn't matter who has the phone & is using it, the debt belongs to the person who's name it's in & who is paying the Direct Debit for it every month. Like my partner's son, your brother will unfortunately have to find out the hard way. My stepson ended up having to pay for the phone when they split up but at least in his case, after a lot of arguing, he managed to get the phone back from her and sell it to put towards the cost!!