I have just found out that there is 2 outstanding debts in my name from a previous relationship. The relationship ended and I moved out in Feb 2005. I stupidly took my exes word for it when he said he had taken my name off the account. The debts are listed in Experian as starting in March 2008. They are both for current bank accounts however only 1 was a joint account which started off as his personal account and I had my name added. The other was for his solo account which I had a card for but was not joint. The joint account is in debt for £2800 and the solo account is for £219. I have been in touch with Lowell who are now chasing me for this debt. My ex is now working and living in Australia and I have been in touch with him to try and sort but he has since broken off contact. he said he was coming back to UK to declare himself bankrupt and then go back to work in Australia. I have recently got married and can't get a joint account with my husband because of these debts. We are looking to buy a house and i am worried this will effect our chances of getting a mortgage despite having an excellent Experian rating (982/999). Will I have to pay these debts or can I get them written off? Any advice greatly received.

I will try and keep this short, but hopefully explain my current position in a good clear way. I left my ex partner in May 2011, I was forced out the property, and at the time felt I had no choice but to take me and my son and myself out of a intolerable environment. I cant say to much about this, as it still has painful memories. My ex remained in the house till august 2012, in this time he moved someone else in, and they were living together. In the mean time I was told he was not earning any income to pay CSA payments. He is now saying he will take me to county court for not contributing to the property, from between April 2011 and June 2012. Does he have a case, If you need any more info please ask

Under a joint tenancy agreement me and my ex had it was always split down the middle. Both our names are on the utility bills etc. She hasnt paid for 5 months and is refusing to do so. I have been paying my half but the accounts are not being paid in full. Any advice?

I recently moved into a joint tenancy agreement into a rented two bedroom property with a good friend of mine. He's a bit strange in public, but appeared to keep a good home from where he was living before, a good laugh and always got your back. I should have taken it as warning bells all the problems he was getting into with everybody else, but the picture painted was that everybody else was being unreasonable, which actually seemed fair enough, people were taking his things without consent, returning them late, he seemed to be the provider for the accomodation he was living in and people were taking the mick. Anyhow, we started having a look around and he became more anxious to leave his current property than I was to exit mine, so the pressure was applied to get me to agree. I didn't know if I was making the right choice having lived at home all my life, people said it will be better when you move out, more independence blah blah blah. I was feeling really sad and guilty, I guess my gut was saying no, and yet my head was saying I have to give it a try. Coupled with the pressure and the convincing from my friend that what I was feeling was normal and I should take the plunge. So within a week of seeing a property, we're down the estate agent filling out reference forms and getting checks completed. A week later we're signing an agreement - which I admit did feel good. At the time. Now, less than a month into the tenancy, I have really cold feet. I miss home. But my flatemate, is well, strange. He arranged for installation of a popular broadband and television supplier who came to drill holes through the walls without consent of the landlord. In fact he arranged this before we even signed the contract so I still felt like I couldn't back out, I gave my friend a commitment. We went with a twelve month agreement even though I wanted a six month agreement so that I knew I could back out earlier. But we agreed verbally that if I wasn't happy, I could back out after six, so we went with a twelve month contract on the basis that he would cover the remaining rent from the six month period on. He's stuck things on the wall with sellotape and pins in contravention of the agreement and thrown darts at the wall. Im just starting to learn what a joint tenancy is - Im jointly responsible for his mistakes - not just half, but everything if he cannot be contacted! I thought at least a joint tenancy might allow me to take my name off the agreement, but apparently even that would require the agreement to be terminated and a new one drawn up which might not happen. My friend now isn't talking to me after I asked him to switch things off that he wasn't using so we could save some money. So what are my options? I figure Im going to move out within three months in any event because I can't take his unstable behaviour and "partying" to 6am in the morning over the weekend, his actions around the house, and the way he takes my stuff without asking. Im also unhappy here. Steep and expensive learning curve. Im prepared for the worst. Obviously I'll need to talk to him to smooth things over but... He either honours our six month agreement and I ensure he's paid for the six months. He doesn't honour the agreement and I have to pay him the six months, then the following six. In the meantime, I need to protect myself from his activities. Im worried he may stick two fingers up at the landlord, and I'll be responsible for the entirety of the rental fee, not just my half. Worse case scenario I pay all the rent for me and him and pay to fix the holes in the wall. Could a signed agreement between two friends stating he is now responsible for everything blah blah have any effect? I realise the landlord could come after me for failure to pay, but then I could sue him? Im just thinking worst case scenario. The other problem is that I have some major surgery in December which has only just come to light since moving in. So I could out of work for several months and cannot afford to rent this place. Can I get my name off the tenancy? Can I get him to legally assume responsibility? How do I protect myself from his mistakes if he further abuses the property? We have not yet received a full signed copy of the contract from the estate agent, though we signed it there. We noted also that the landlord had not signed his copy yet either. If for some reason the landlord has not signed his copy yet, would the contract still be valid, or could I rip it up there and then and move everything out? Bob

Hi, A friend of mine is getting into a bit of hassle with the house he's currently renting. He shares the house with 3 others, due to personal differences they are not all seeing eye to eye. After his refusal to leave the house and seek new accomodation the other 3 have decided they are going to leave. Not a problem apart from the fact they have submitted 2 months notice to the landlord and agency for the entire property, without the agreement of my friend! Now he's happy to stay on in the house until the end of their fixed term contract which is in December this year, but with the notice being handed in he has been told he will have to leave in October instead. I've been doing some research into this and it's my understanding that a fixed term joint tenancy agreement can only be ended early with agreement from the landlord, or use of a break clause, and ALL tenants on the contract. I If all tenants do NOT agree to hand in an early notice then surely this means those tenants have every right to stay in the property until at least the end of the fixed term agreement? I am aware that all other tenants have the right to leave the property whenever they wish, bar notice period, but they must find replacement tenants or face continuing to pay rent as agreed in the contract until the end of the fixed period. Can someone please confirm if I'm correct in my thinking and if you could also back this up with some sound legal advice I would be very grateful. Kind Regards, R.

My Girlfriend is selling her house, and her parents are also selling with the intention to move in together so we can care for them. Ownership would be 60% my girlfriend, 40% her parents. The parents are mortgage-free, My girlfriend's mortgage would be carried over to the new property, and form approx £130k of the house's worth of £770k. Her bank has just asked for a seemingly unfair if not impossible requirement! Her parents are to sign that they don't own any portion of the house. The house will be in My girlfriends name as she has a mortgage running on it. However, the parents are also required to sign to guarentee the mortgage should my girlfriend default? This just seems wrong from both ends? It's also possible to extrapolate from this that if they were to sign that they have no ownership of the house, then they would have gifted my girlfriend their 40% which at £300k plus would entail a taxable sum? Surely it can't be impossible to have two owners of a house and one source of mortgage repayment? Especially given that the mortgage forms 35% of that owned share? It also seems wrong that the parents should sign away ownership and yet still be liable for default? Has anyone seen this situation before or advise if it's correct or wrong? My suspicions are that with the complication of selling two houses, then conjoining into one with shared portions, someone in the banking process has assumed that the parents are not contributing financially and as such must state they have no claim on the house? Thanks.

On returning from Greece after 8 years of successfully running a business with a friend I wished to remove my name from a Halifax joint current account we used for UK Direct Debits. I was surprised to learn that Halifax, without, it would seem, informing their Scottish customers, had closed all their branches in the country. Their parent company, the Bank of Scotland, told me that they were unable to action my removal from a joint Halifax account and that I would have to present myself in person at my nearest Halifax branch. I live in the Highlands of Scotland. My nearest Halifax branch is in Berwick.....300 miles away. I contacted the Halifax directly who informed me to put my request in writing as all they required was my signature to compare against their records. This is what I did. Now, over a month later, I am fielding calls from various Bank of Scotland branches telling me that my letter has been forwarded to them by the Halifax and that they are not in a position to help. Indeed the last call from a very sympathetic bank employee informed me that the only way forward was for me and my friend to close the account in person and for my friend (who wishes to keep the account) to open another thus requiring all the various correspondence to Direct Debit recipients this entails. We live over 200 miles from each other. Fortunately my friend and I are still on speaking terms but what would happen if we weren’t? My name remains attached to the account. I seem to be banging my head against a brick wall here and do not understand the difficulty. What am I missing?

Hi Please can you help with this query which has been going on years. A bit long..... I have been divorced (absolute granted) since 2008. I had a joint account with my ex husband. I was the primary account holder. I opened my own (Lloyds) account in 2005 and have been using this since this date. To cut a very long story short, my ex husband continued to use the account so he had some means to have his wages paid but he ran up the £1000 overdraft too. In 2009 I managed to get him to pay some of the overdraft off, which was done on 5th July 2009 and at this time I asked for the overdraft to be reduced. I thought him paying some would be better than nothing. I was told that this would be done. Some months later I opened a statement that said the account was still +£1000 overdrawn, so I called the bank and I spoke to a chap who told me that money had been withdrawn (where my ex was living at the time, and my ex never denied this). I asked why the overdraft hadn't been reduced and wasn't given an explanation, but it could be seen from my file that I had made this request. My ex told me what he did wasn't illegal because he was on the account, and had come across an old cashpoint card when he moved and being an oppotunist thought he would give it ago, but said it was morally wrong (this is why he is my ex). Ever since I have been trying to sort this out with Lloyds TSB who keep saying as I'm the primiary account holder then I have to pay it. My account has now gone through "clearing" so conveniently my details can't be seen in a branch. I went in to the bank last year and couldn't even get a basic bank account because of this and they guy that spoke to said this old account was really doing my credit rating damage and to cut all ties with Lloyds and start over somewhere else ( I would but like I said I can't even get a basic account now). Ironically my single account which I use day in and day out has a fantastic rating. A letter came from Moorcroft offering a payment plan (addressed to my ex, and not to me or in joint names) and I thought I would just pay it, but they refused to change my details on the account to reflect I was paying it so I said I wasn't happy with this. I made two payments. I also feel a real injustice with Lloyds not doing what they said they would and think they should wipe the charges and reduce the debt to what I had asked and pursue my ex for the rest. Any advice or thoughts....other than I'm trusting stupid and not persistent enough!

Can someone please help. I am soon to split with my husband, which will involve al the usual rubbish to sort out one of which is the child tax. The arrangements haven't been fully sorted yet but it is looking like i will move out but look after the kids 5 days of the wk while he works i just wont sleep in the house but will be main person with responsibility for kids. Who should put the claim in me or oh?? I phoned the tax helpline and the person i spoke to couldn't give me an answer just confused me.

I own a flat with a family member and we have a joint mortgage. For the last six years I have been out of the country and she has been paying the mortgage herself. It is a two bedroom flat and she has been renting out my room. I did the same when she was out of the country. I moved back in November 2011, and in May 2012 she moved out. I found out 4 days before she left that she was moving and was renting out her room. I was annoyed but asked that I be able to choose who to live with from her short list and she said fine. Then the day she was moving out she told me she had found someone and they were moving in the next day and there was nothing I could do about it. The only thing she said was that they wouldn't be having people over all the time as she knows I don't like that. The new tenant signed a contract with my family member and is paying her the rent monthly, and gave her a deposit. It has been nearly two months and things are not going well with the tenant. He has his girlfriend over 2 to 5 times a week and when I complained says that he's entitled to live their as he pleases. There are many other problems and I am wondering where I stand if I want him out. He signed a 2 month contract with my family member which is up on 12 July, and then there were going to extend it or stop depending on how things turned out. As you can tell I am not currently in contact with my family member, but could I give the tenant notice even though I didn't sign the contract, and am I perfectly within my rights to find someone my self to rent the room to? I can't think it is fair that as the owner in residence I am expected to live with someone I didn't agree to. Any advice would be much appreciated. Sorry for the essay.

Husband left me in November 2007. Our business folded on the back of our marriage break up so I became jobless for the first time in my life. When the business closed, May 2008, he ceased paying money towards our joint committments i.e. the mortgage and secured loan. Secured Loan of was taken out £10k for a motorbike for him £6k for business corporation tax. By the end of the year I was facing bankruptcy, he wouldnt take on the house (I offered to move out) he wouldnt pay anything towards the debts and I was taken to court twice for repossesion, but by hook and by crook I managed to negotiate. Several years later I am out of arrears, still in the house and the loan is nearly at an end. However in paying these loans off I have created equity in the property about £20k. There was none when he left. Ironically (and this is by far the biggest thorn I have ever had in my side) my husband now wants half the equity. I know this is a divorce/consent order matter but my question is if he gets half the equity can I counter sue him in some way for the money he has not paid towards the joint secured loan. Netty

Hi I rented a house for this academic year from June 2011 until June 3rd 2012. It was a joint AST type tenancy. The house had 9 tenants and they had all paid deposits and had them put into a protection scheme- but not signed any contract in early October 2011. Someone dropped out and I joined the group in the late October. We signed the contract in the December and I paid my share of the deposit (£350) to the person who had dropped out. I paid in my name the summer retainer rent, and all rent payments came out of my bank account via a bank transfer. Now, despite the fact I signed the contract I didn't get a copy as they only gave one to the lead tenant. To be fair me and my housemates didn't really get on, but there you go, sometimes that happens. So it isn’t possible to ask them for details about the return of the deposit etc. I emailed the landlord about the return of deposits and he emailed back saying he only deals with the lead tenant. How do I find out about the return of the deposit? Thanks

My lodger has claimed working tax credit disability element since 2009. He has just received a letter asking why he did not make a joint claim with me. The letter asks for evidence to support his reasons for not making a joint claim. When making the claim originally I inquired on his behalf with the local CAB and the HMRC helpline and was given the same quidelines. We can share a property if he has his own bedroom, we do not engage in sexual activity and we do not eat meals together. As we met the criteria he applied for WTC. Can anyone help me with pointers with regard to the evidence they require? All household bills are in my name, including council tax (I pay the additional 25% for a second person as my lodger is not under any obligation to pay this), all bank accounts, savings and pensions are in separate names. I own the property outright in my own name. My lodger does not get involved in any outgoings in the property apart from his own personal banking and mobile phone contract. Therefore I am unsure what he will have to provide as evidence. The reason we did not make a joint claim is ironically it would be fraud.

If the bank issues a formal demand on a joint account does that formal demand have to be made on both parties that are named on the account? or can they go after one party and then move onto another party after exhausting measures with that party? A formal demand was issued to my Father and not to my mother (the demand was made on 6 accounts three of which were joint accounts). I am fighting the case on behalf of my mother as my father disappeared a few years ago leaving her with the debts. Can the bank issue a formal demand on a joint account to only one party? Do you know what laws govern this? Any help would be greatly apperciated! Thank you Alan

Hi there, I hope you can help; CCJ has been in place since 1997 and has been paid all the while. Original Claim form has Mr & Mrs names on as debt is joint All of a sudden, NatWest have passed Mr to Regal Collections (As I "am a homeowner" - haven't been for 12 years!) and Mrs to CapQuest. I'm concerned that if a CCJ is being paid monthly effectively in two 'installments' that everyone is going to get totally confused. Both collection companies are asking for the full amount (£19k) so how does that work?! Any help or advice massively appreciated. Cheers