Divorced - am i responsible

stuckonthephonewithidiots

Not sure if i`m in the right place...bit of a newbie !!

I had the misfortune to be married to a complete waste of space though i am divorced now. I have this morning got a letter from a debt agency asking for £300 for rent arrears for the property we shared 3 years ago. Both of our names were on the tenancy however because they cant find him they want me to clear the amount. Is this right? I am on dla for my little sister who i am now guardian of and carers allowance so i cannot pay them the full amount at once. Can anyone give me advice ? Should i pay installments or chase him? He is a prison officer so i know he is traceable. Any help greatly appreciated.

skylight

Yes you are liable - jointly with him if you were both on the tenancy. The DCA may have already contacted him for the same debt, if you are not in contact with ex, you would never know.

Do you have details (exact ones) of where he is living or works?? If so, I would write to the DCA tell them that you claim DLA and are unable to pay, but the joint holder lives/works here and he should be able to help.

It may not neccessarily make them go away though. They have your address and you are liable for the debt. DCA's do not care which of the pair pays up as long as it is paid. If they know that you are claiming and he is working though, then they *may* leave you be as you are the "lost cause" until he ignores them too.

DCA's don't trace. They cannot trace him and will make no effort to do so as they simply cannot under the remit of the law. If you have an address though, then that would help them as the most they can do is check against the electoral role.

If you want to deal with it, then offer them £1 a month/week for the foreseeable future due to your circumstances. DCA's pick on the easy target, so you may be stuck with this one. Do you get on? Could you contact him yourself and ask for help in paying it? Do you both actually owe the debt?


Sorry its not a bit more up beat.

stuckonthephonewithidiots

Thanks....we both owe the debt however he is as tight as they come so i know that even if i begged and pleaded i`d get nothing out of him. I think i`d be better off offering a weekly payment amount...at least i`d save myself the humiliation of having to ask him for anything....It`s just frustrating. I became debt free last Monday having spent years paying off debts only to receive this debt today...Thak you for your advice. I`ll consider myself fortunate that its just for £300....many others are in a far worse position than myself.