Should I take on my friend's credit card debt?

riceandpeas

I lent a couple of thousand from my savings to a friend who was always getting into money problems, after they asked me to act as their guarantor with a pay-day loan-shark.
I reckoned that if I was to be a guarantor, I needed to be at least prepared to write off the money in any case so, that being said, I'd rather let my friend have the money myself at no interest than let them exacerbate their problems at exorbitant pay-back rates.
Yes, it was an act of trust, but that trust was rewarded and the full amount was repaid, on time, in installments which we had agreed.
Not saying I'd recommend this to anyone else here - it depends on the length and depth of the friendship I guess. I wouldn't necessarily do it for a Facebook 'friend' but I'd do it again in a heartbeat for a real friend.

ButterflyLC

No, no, no, no, no, absolutely not and never. Family or friends and money absolutely do not mix. Lending anything significant to them is totally out of the question. If he misses payments, you are then liable for his debt. If you are prepared to lose £3000+ and a friend, plus the friends who will take his side or the ones that will call you an idiot for doing it in the first place, then by all means, but otherwise absolutely not!! Put it this way, a good friend would never ask or accept if you offered.

DannyGB

This is just a metaphor for the Greece crisis, isn't it?

wba31

The best thing you could give your friend is the phone number for StepChange Debt Charity or National Debtline, or tell them to go to CAB...

Smiley1402

Your friend has bad credit for a reason!

Besides it is illegal to obtain credit on someone else's behalf!

Potternerd

Absolutely NO.

Presumably your friend isn't very good at managing their money. This is their problem not yours and only by sorting themselves out - seeking advice from debt charities/CAB etc can they sort it out. It might sound harsh, but presumably they have been irresponsible with money so they need to learn to be responsible, not be bailed out by friends. Managing money is something we all have to learn ( unless we have trust funds).

Ebenezer_Screwj

Your friend owes £3000 on a credit card?? What kind of crazy behaviour is that? You would be well advised to keep out of this scenario otherwise your so-called friend will end up owing YOU - permanently.

happyinflorida

No - do not be this stupid.

You will end up breaking friends - I had someone I lent £100 to, she promised to pay me back £10 per week. After two weeks the excuses began. Seven months later I still hadn't been paid more than £30!

She then had the cheek to claim she'd paid me back as it had been so long! I had to send her copies of my bank statements to prove she'd only paid me £30 - AND I STILL DIDN'T GET ONE MORE PAYMENT!!!

As you can guess we are no longer friends - she was someone I considered to be my best friend. I really thought I could trust her.

Do not lend this person any money at all.

They are 100% bad with their money, they don't pay companies back when they should - they will definitely not pay you back.

Paule18

Do not pay off the debt unless you really trust your friend and are prepared to lose the money if he defaults. If you go ahead, ensure he sets up a realistic direct debit to pay off the amount.

cheesy*wotsit

No no and no again.
Absolutely NO chance.
Forget it.
Definitely not.

Their credit is bad for a reason.
Has MSE not taught you anything???