Boyfriends debt

jayneb98

Boyfriend is getting made redundant. He isn't getting much of a payout because of his age, plus not being in the job very long.

Before he met me, he had a lot of credit card debt (single man living on a low income, bills to pay etc) and ended up in debt.

Since we now live together, he's been able to pay off monthly for over 2 years some of the debt. However, now he's going to be made redundant he will no longer be able to pay his credit agreement.

Legally, can I be made to pay his debt? He will be claiming contributions based job seekers and hopefully if doesn't come to the point where he is unable to claim anymore and doesn't have a job,
!
But my concern is that he doesn't find a job and I'm responsible for paying the debt because of our household income. I'm in no position to pay his debt, I have my own debt to pay/bills/car etc! Plus, i am going to be solely responsible for the rent/gas/council tax/electricity etc as his job seekers isn't worth much!

So, if he gets taken to court (which they've threatened to do before) will they expect me to pay his debt?

zippygeorgeandben

Do you rent or own? Who's names are on the mortgage if so?

jayneb98

zippygeorgeandben wrote: »

Do you rent or own? Who's names are on the mortgage if so?

We rent, can't possibly afford to own a house ha

sourcrates

You are in no way liable for any debt in anyone else's name.

Debts do not transfer between people, his debts are his, and no one else will ever be liable but him.

fatbelly

jayneb98 wrote: »

Legally, can I be made to pay his debt? He will be claiming contributions based job seekers and hopefully if doesn't come to the point where he is unable to claim anymore and doesn't have a job,
!
But my concern is that he doesn't find a job and I'm responsible for paying the debt because of our household income. I'm in no position to pay his debt, I have my own debt to pay/bills/car etc! Plus, i am going to be solely responsible for the rent/gas/council tax/electricity etc as his job seekers isn't worth much!

So, if he gets taken to court (which they've threatened to do before) will they expect me to pay his debt?

No and No. You are not liable for his debt. If you were married, you would not be liable for his debt. If you were a second cardholder on every credit card and used the cards more than he did, you would still not be liable for his debt.

Clearly he is not going to be able to pay anything while he is unemployed. It's good form to write to tell them but there is little point in him even paying £1. Let them default and be sold on, if they have not been already.

Most debts do not see court action. The most likely scenario is that he'll get another job and restart payments. If that doesn't look like happening then maybe ask again.

ratrace

Does he drive is so, Tell him to head to the few local takaways and pizza places such as dominoes or pizza hut get him self a delivery driver job

I did this when my hours at work were cut and was earning £45 a night x6 thats about £1,000 a month. It dosent have to be for ever only untill he finds another job, trust me tell him to go for it its better then sitting at home

sammyjammy

jayneb98 wrote: »

Plus, i am going to be solely responsible for the rent/gas/council tax/electricity etc as his job seekers isn't worth much!

Presumably your boyfriend will be using most of his Jobseekers Allowance to pay towards the rent/bills/food? Its not a lot but he should still be contributing, JSA isn't for pocket money!

determined_new_ms

I guess he'll have to write to the companies he owes money to and advise of the situation and ask them to put the accounts on hold for 6 months and then contact them once he's working and you are straight again

I lost my job and was out of work for about 15 months. I'm sure slightly different circumstances as I needed time off due to personal stress we had been through for years with my dd's mental health. My partner supported me 100% through this.

I did have a couple of pt jobs, doing a couple of evening shifts at a pub and working at a crisis cafe at the weekends, so would definitely agree with seeing what he can do in the mean time.

After a couple of months I took on sole responsibility for running the house Mon-Fri. When I was ready to return to work I did job hunting activities in the mornings, lunch and then household jobs and got a bit of time to to put my feet up once they were done. I used my car barely at all unless to go grocery shopping or attend interviews.

I guess it really depends on the strength of the relationship as to how you guys will cope through this.

I found though when all was said and done it wasn't the end of the world, I got another job and we just pulled our belts tighter to get through

National_Debtline

Hi jayneb98

There’s some good advice here, you can rest assured you are not liable for the debts in your boyfriend’s name and you can’t be made to pay them. Creditors may request a joint statement of affairs (SOA) but your boyfriend is not obliged to provide it. He can complete a sole SOA based on his just his income and outgoings if you both prefer. Obviously you should split normal household bills fairly and at the moment that will mean you will be paying the majority of them.

Hopefully your boyfriend will be back in work shortly. He can use his SOA to ask his creditors to accept a reduced/token/nil payment (depending what his SOA shows he can afford) and freeze interest and charges in the meantime. If he is out of work longer term then there may be other options available, he can get advice on these from one of the free debt advice charities.

Susie
@natdebtline