Guarantor Loans

Hectors_House

I found out last year that my sister had stood guarantor in 2018 for a £10,000 loan for a work colleague.

I have now found out she has done it again for the first persons daughter when a letter from the second lenders solicitor turned up today calling in the debt.

I am back at the house during lockdown and what was helping her clean the house and sort out the loft has now turned into me boxing up my valuables and storing them with my Dad.

I’ve told her I want her name taking off the deeds to our house. It may stop her doing it again but I’m not sure it will protect me from the first two lenders being able to attach the debts to the house as a charge if she has to stump up the money for both (she doesn’t have the money to pay both debts).

To say I’m unhappy with what she has done is an understatement but it’s no use crying over spilt milk. What’s done is done. I just can’t believe she did it again after I told her how worried I was when I found out about the first one.

hrb2306

Could the information on the front page of MSE about reclaiming on guarantor loans apply to her? It includes being able to be removed from the loan so is worth a look. 
I think it’s entitled “I got 14k back” (sorry, I’m new here so not sure how to link to it). 

Hectors_House

hrb2306 said:

Could the information on the front page of MSE about reclaiming on guarantor loans apply to her? It includes being able to be removed from the loan so is worth a look. 
I think it’s entitled “I got 14k back” (sorry, I’m new here so not sure how to link to it). 

Thanks for letting me know about that hrb2306. I think there is good evidence for her to be removed from both as a guarantor (I won’t go into details here) so the family will give this a read. 

[Deleted User]

You need to check a lot of things very carefully, retrospectively taking her name off the house deeds isn't a magic wand to prevent the lender coming after her in that way given that was the situation when the loan was made.

macman

How did she get accepted as a guarantor for these 2 loans in the first place?

sourcrates

macman said:

How did she get accepted as a guarantor for these 2 loans in the first place?

Because companies such as Amigo do not do due dilligence that`s why.

jefaz07

Use the debt camel website;
https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/#comments

seems to be a lot of people winning. Put a complaint in anyway. Will stop any proceedings 

Hectors_House

jefaz07 said:

Use the debt camel website;
https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/#comments

seems to be a lot of people winning. Put a complaint in anyway. Will stop any proceedings 

Thanks Jefaz07. We are waiting to hear back from the woman whose debt has triggered the solicitors letter but she claims to have agreed a payment plan and is speaking to the solicitors tomorrow. We will then speak to the solicitor ourselves to confirm what she says. If it’s true that will give us breathing space to put complaints in for both the loans.

We should be able to get letters from doctors, consultants and psychiatrists to back up a case that my sister was not able to understand the full implications of what she signed up for and has so much debt herself she couldn’t afford the payments on these she guaranteed.

I will be taking her name off the deeds. Hopefully it will make her credit rating so bad she won’t be able to raise any more debt for herself or anyone else.

I assume this action will have the two borrowers being approached to settle the debt if they can’t find a new guarantor. I wish them luck with that.

Hectors_House

macman said:

How did she get accepted as a guarantor for these 2 loans in the first place?

I can only assume she lied to them telling them she had no debt and was the sole owner of a mortgage-free house.

macman

Has she agreed to gift you her share of the property and to transfer it into your sole name? You cannot just 'take her name off the deeds' without her agreement. This will effectively make her no more than an authorised guest in her own home, without any rights to occupy except with your permission.
If her mental health is such that a court would rule that she was unable to consent to being a guarantor, then it's unlikely that she would be able to consent to signing over her share of her own property either. I suggest that you take professional legal advice on this.
How is the property owned: joint tenants or tenants in common?

Hectors_House

macman said:

Has she agreed to gift you her share of the property and to transfer it into your sole name? You cannot just 'take her name off the deeds' without her agreement. This will effectively make her no more than an authorised guest in her own home, without any rights to occupy except with your permission.
If her mental health is such that a court would rule that she was unable to consent to being a guarantor, then it's unlikely that she would be able to consent to signing over her share of her own property either. I suggest that you take professional legal advice on this.
How is the property owned: joint tenants or tenants in common?

Thanks macman. I believe the home is owned as Joint Tenants. This was done so that it would automatically revert to the other should there be a death without the need of a Will. We are both happy with this as we both intend the other to inherit the house in the event one of us dies.

She has agreed to her name being taken off the deeds as she can trust me not to turf her out. I am beginning to think we might have to go down the Power of Attorney route.

I’ve sought legal advise this morning and am speaking to my solicitor next week. In the meantime I’m working with her on the Letter of Complaint to go to the lenders to try to get her out of this mess.

Her mental issues are more a weakness in saying no to people leading to her being easy to manipulate and not considering the implications of her decisions added to being on many medications for depression, anxiety and epilepsy.

One of the borrowers told her the house wouldn’t be at risk if she agreed to it too.