Guarantor for someone who has stopped paying!

MrsT15

Hi I'm hoping someone can give us some advice. 2 years ago my husband agreed to be a guarantor for his friend for an Amigo loan. He did this previously & his friend always paid. However he has now suddenly stopped paying. We have tried everything to contact him, His phone number is no longer recognized, we have no address for him as he moved. We contacted his place of work to be told he no longer works there & i have even contacted his partner & still nothing. we have sent messages, emails, facebook messages. Its like he has vanished. We did have a similar incident  last year when he stopped paying when he changed jobs but he did respond to contact. This is putting a massive financial strain on us as the repayments are nearly £400 a month. He has at least another 18 months left on the loan & we simply cant afford it, plus both my husband & I are under threat of redundancy. I'm so stressed its making me ill. If we are forced to pay the remained of this loan, is there anyway we can claim it back from the person who had the loan through the small claims court?  We have since discovered he had another loan guaranteed by a mutual friend & hasn't paid that one in over a year!
Any advice would be truly appreciated.

[Deleted User]

It's unlikely that you would be able to have any successful claim against him, as neither party has breached the agreement.

There's also the consideration that he's unlikely to have any funds to pay you.

Go to the DFW boards for advice on cutting costs and getting the loan paid off or refinanced.

jjdc

You're a guarantor - its basically as if you're taken the loan out in your name and then given the cash to your husbands 'friend', except at extortionate interest rates. Choices are pretty much carry on paying/struggling. See if you can find a loan/0% balance transfer card from a traditional lender at much cheaper rates and use that to pay it off, or stop paying it. 
Its a none priority debt, if you can't afford it, don't pay it. You'll get threatening letters about court action, debt collectors, but they can't take what you don't have. Look at a DMP, the sooner the debt is defaulted, the better. If you're both under threat of redundancy I'd stop paying to make the debt default (to stop interest being added), contact them/whoever buys the debt to say you're having financial difficulties, this is what I can afford and then look to build a savings fund. Amigo expect a high percentage to have difficulty paying, hence the high interest rates

kazwookie

Legally you own the loan, so you will have to pay. That is what a  guarantor is, you agreed / signed to pay if the other person doesn't pay.

But as others have said, they cannot take what you don't have.

Lesson learnt the hard way.

I hope 'your friend' does get in contact.

DCFC79

I agree with other posters, stop paying it now, your going to need the money if you become redundant.

foxy-stoat

Your better off trying to secure a loan for the settlement figure or use money transfer credit card and keep balance transferring it till paid off.  I will save you a ton of interest.

maxximus75

That's the problem with guaranteeing a loan.  You never know what's going to happen in the future.

Unfortunately you are stuck.  Every month the loan isn't paid it will be recorded against your husbands (and yours if you are financially linked) credit file.

My suggestion would be if you cant pay off the balance then to secure a loan now, at a favorible rate for the outstanding balance and pay off the high interest Amigo loan.

As for claiming back from the friend.... It's a possibility but a long shot.

Good luck with everything!

sourcrates

If you are under threat of redundancy, then attempting to obtain further finance at a more favourable rate, is not the way to be dealing with this.

The worst Amigo can do is obtain a county court judgement against you, this will order you to repay the debt at a rate compatible with your income, so its not the end of the world here, you can try and come to an arrangement with Amigo.

Do not struggle trying to pay an unafordable debt, tell them you cannot pay, see if a solution is possible, if not and they get legal, a court will not make you pay more than what you can afford, so please try to stop worrying, and look at the situation practicaly.

Not even a court can force you to pay something you haven`t got.

newlywed

Potentially having a Ccj could limit your Job choices though.... depends what field you both work in.

tehone

My advice would be

1) Forgot about your so called friend, they obviously aren't a decent person. If something happens in the future then it will be a bonus. Its not worth the strain on your mental health trying to chase this.
2) Focus on the best way to pay off the debt (its now basically yours), its obviously unexpected from your perspective (as I can see you didn't budget for it as a guarantor)
3) IF this is the only debt that you're repaying then I would be tempted to contact Amigo and try and come to some slightly better longer term arrangement with them, they are supposed to take into account your mental health etc
4) If repaying this at any amount puts at risk, important bills, mortgage, rent, electric, council tax, etc. then don't pay, you'll have to come to an arrangement - lots of help on how to do this on here.

Grumpy_chap

There is no way to claim the money back from your "friend" if you cannot even find them.