Car loan guarantor in 2002

[Reh575]

I guaranteed a car loan for any ex in 2002, we split up, he carried on making payments (minimal) on the loan, but he has stopped making payments recently.

 

I have had no contact at all since 2003 and now they are chasing me, I sent them the statued barred letter as I have had no contact for nearly 10 years, but they wrote back and said the debt is active because of the payments made.

 

I never ever paid one penny and sent them a letter in 2003 and that's the extent of my contact.

 

Are they right am I liable for this loan after all this time?

 

Thanks so much

[raydetinu]

do you know when the last payment was made?

If more then six years then it will be satute barred.

If not the I suspect you will be jointly liable for the debt.

[Reh575]

do you know when the last payment was made?

If more then six years then it will be satute barred.

If not the I suspect you will be jointly liable for the debt.

 

Marlin have said they received last payment in feb 2012 from my ex but I have had no contact for ten years, saying they have been receiving a pound a month from my ex I can't find out if this is true as I have no idea where ex is even if he is alive.

 

We split he moved up north, 300 miles away the letters marlin have sent me have not been to the correct address, they have got the postcode right.

 

I have never paid a penny and no contact from them since 2003,

 

Am I liable ? And can I make them prove them have been receiving regular payments because this seems to have come out of the blue over 10 years later

[cerberusalert]

Was this a conversation with Marlin over the 'phone by any chance?

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

I don't think the fact that you have had no contact for 10 years+ is relevant,

a guarantor is normally only contacted if there are problems with the loan payments,

so if your ex has paid until earlier this year the debt is not statute barred and as

guarantor you will be expected to pay.

[cerberusalert]

saying they have been receiving a pound a month from my ex

This sounds odd to me, particularly as the agreement had a guarantor. I would have thought they would have chased you a lot earlier if this was the case.

 

Even so, you have every right to determine that they have the legal right to chase you for the outstanding debt which means providing information about the agreement and payments made over the past 10 yrs.

[Reh575]

This sounds odd to me, particularly as the agreement had a guarantor. I would have thought they would have chased you a lot earlier if this was the case.

 

Even so, you have every right to determine that they have the legal right to chase you for the outstanding debt which means providing information about the agreement and payments made over the past 10 yrs.

 

I have no contact by phone by marlin it's all letters but this is the first contact since 2003 with me, in their letter they state it's not statute barred because they have been getting a pound a month since feb 2008 til feb 2012.

 

And I have no way at all of finding out if this is true and why these payments have stopped and we split up because of his lifestyle issue as a non smoker and I used to run marathons (half) a relationship with a heavy smoker and drinker was never going to work, and the doctors had warned him his drinking would be the end for him, so unless he stopped drinking he could well of passed away, he would be nearly 50 now, or back in prison.

 

Marlin have not received a penny from me and I don't know what to do next.

 

Thanks

[cerberusalert]

Did you send them the 'Prove It' letter? If not send them this; http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/content.php?428-General-debt-letter-if-you-know-nothing-of-the-debt

 

It depends on what they send back but you may need to send a CCA request & demand a 'statement of a/c'. As they are asserting that you are liable you have the right to see these.

[reallymadwoman]

First off I have no specialist knowledge, what follows is 'thinking aloud' in the hope it might be useful.

 

Is it fair to chase after a guarantor 10 years later? And when did the 'cause of action' accrue against the guarantor?

 

I would suggest it's no more fair to chase a guarantor after such a long period than it would be to chase the original debtor, which is why we have a statute of limitations - always assuming of course that the loan wasn't over 10 years.

 

I would suggest that the cause of action against the guarantor arose when the debtor originally defaulted on the payments. I think that at that point the creditor should have notified the guarantor that there was a potential claim against them even if they were still negotiating with the debtor.

 

Therefore, when the cause of action arose and therefore whether the debt is statute barred depends entirely upon when the ex started missing payments. I personally wouldn't bother with any of the standard letters or CCA requests, I would write a straight forward letter saying that in order to consider the matter further you require full details of any and all payments to the account and copies of all documentation, including details of when the account was defaulted and when it was assigned to Marlin.

 

What was the letter written in 2003, and who to?

Also, about how much was the loan originally and over what period? About how much are they saying is still outstanding?

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

The loan is active payments were bing made until

earlier this year.

So not Statute Barred, unfair to pursue posssibly,

but one would need to know the full extent of the

guarantee.

[cerberusalert]

Given that this is a car loan and the age of it, it seems likely that not only is there PPI involved but probably a lot of unfair charges too. The crux of the matter is that you really need to have sight of the agreement to see what it entails, what payments have been made and importantly who the original creditor was because it could have a bearing on the enforceability particularly as the agreement is pre 2007.

[Reh575]

Thanks for advice the car loan was originally for 3500.00 and they put in the letter about 7500.00 is outstanding, the place were the car was brought closed down years ago and I have no idea now how the loan was with.

 

Is it worth going to a specialist solicitor to help me though this and as I am such there is ppi on the loan as well

 

Thanks

[cerberusalert]

You could send the CCA request which will cost £1. because it is pre 2007 they cannot just provide a reconstructed copy & unless they can prove the debt exists they cannot take any enforcement action anyway. With the age of this alleged debt, the charges that have probably been added and any PPI they will not get an easy time with this.