Can I get out of being a guarantor for my ex girlfriend

MikeBritton1985

As titled says....


yesterday I received a letter from my ex girlfriends letting agency informing me that she is in arrears on her rent.
She has been in the house almost 2 years now and I have first come across this.


First of all I do not remember filling out any forms and agreeing this as I was strongly against this as we were on bad terms. She is convinced I did fill it out etc and sign it.


After receiving the letter I phoned the letting agency up and they said they have the forms and would send me a copy. So I popped over to collect them and seen that it is filled out and what looks like to be my writing.... but still I have no memory of this.


Anyways I am desperate to get out of this.


One question I have is that if the forms are not correctly filled out could this void me being a guarantor?


Please help someone!

Pixie5740

What exactly does the document you've been given say? Is it something along the lines of "Deed of Guarantee"?

RAS

Which country are you in? Scottish law is different.
Was this guarantee executed as a deed?

stator

Pay a solicitor to review the paperwork and find out if it is legitimate and binding.

MikeBritton1985

UK - it says Deed of Guarantee(Unlimited)

moneyistooshorttomention

Some time (many years back now) a "friend" tried to con me into being a guarantor for them. They caught me at a time I was busy and preoccupied and tried to make out that I would be "signing here - just to say you know me".

I darn nearly fell for it, but realised just in time. I would be willing to bet that "friend" knew blimmin' well that my signature wouldn't have been to say I "knew them" at all and was well aware that it was a form to sign up as a guarantor.

Do you think that might be what happened to you in the event?

Has she ever asked you to sign a form as a "referee" for instance, but it was really a "guarantor" form and she knew it?

*****************

If that is the case, ie you were conned by her, that I would think the appropriate legal question to ask would be "If I didn't sign that form in full knowledge of what it actually really was, then is it binding on me?" and would be asking how to get out of any guarantor agreement I had been conned into.

Pixie5740

Scotland is still part of the UK so that doesn't really help.

For the deed to be valid you should have been given a copy of the tenancy agreement to review before signing the deed but it's difficult to say if this happened since you can't remember the event.

MikeBritton1985

Pixie5740 wrote: »

Scotland is still part of the UK so that doesn't really help.

For the deed to be valid you should have been given a copy of the tenancy agreement to review before signing the deed but it's difficult to say if this happened since you can't remember the event.

I never received any copies of tenancy agreement or copy of the guarantor forms.....

MikeBritton1985

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Some time (many years back now) a "friend" tried to con me into being a guarantor for them. They caught me at a time I was busy and preoccupied and tried to make out that I would be "signing here - just to say you know me".

I darn nearly fell for it, but realised just in time. I would be willing to bet that "friend" knew blimmin' well that my signature wouldn't have been to say I "knew them" at all and was well aware that it was a form to sign up as a guarantor.

Do you think that might be what happened to you in the event?

Has she ever asked you to sign a form as a "referee" for instance, but it was really a "guarantor" form and she knew it?

*****************

If that is the case, ie you were conned by her, that I would think the appropriate legal question to ask would be "If I didn't sign that form in full knowledge of what it actually really was, then is it binding on me?" and would be asking how to get out of any guarantor agreement I had been conned into.

the forms say "guarantor application" on it

moneyistooshorttomention

MikeBritton1985 wrote: »

the forms say "guarantor application" on it

That is these original forms (ie that they sent you a copy of) then?

So, you think it would not have been possible to sign without spotting those words up the top?

You don't think she might have had something across the top of the form to hide those words "Guarantor application" and that you might have signed the form inadvertently without being able to see that heading (ie because it had been deliberately obscured by her placing a book, her hand or something across the top of it "by accident")?

anselld

MikeBritton1985 wrote: »

the forms say "guarantor application" on it

MikeBritton1985 wrote: »

it says Deed of Guarantee(Unlimited)

Which is it? It is unlikely to be both.

Guarantor application is what is filled in prior to application giving the guarantors details, etc. It is legally meaningless at this stage.

Deed of Guarantee is what is actually prepared, signed and witnessed based on the details gained from the form. It is legally valid if it is filled in correctly and if the guarantors signature was witnessed as deed *and* if the guarantor had visibility of the contract they are guaranteeing.