Help my sister acted as Amigo loans guarantor when mental ill

[iwasbornaunicorn]

My sister is normally an astute business woman

(she's been in business with prominent people)

she's not rich though but earns enough to support her & her child.

She's a single mum so very careful with money normally.

 

it turns out for years she's had undiagnosed PTSD which while causing her problems didn't really seem to affect her mental capacity.

 

A few years ago something else awful happened & it went to court in 2016 this caused her more mental distress & PTSD.

 

in the middle of court case her "friend" persuaded her to act as guarantor to a loan and managed to get her credit card & PIN. friend has maxed out credit card & only made one payment on the loan.

 

This has all only just come out as my sister is good at masking her illness & couldn't really cope with telling anyone & I think didn't really understand the severity.

 

the loan company were about to start a CCJ after my sister.

I've complained to them & stalled them.

 

I've said she's a vulnerable adult who at the time of agreeing to be guarantor was mentally ill which left her:

 

Vulnerable to abuse and persuasion from others.

Unable to understand risk and make an informed decision.

Unable to retain the information in order to make a decision.

 

they want evidence of this but I'm not sure we should let them have it.

They keep wittering on about how she's meets her other commitments

(well no she hasn't actually not some of them).

 

where do I go from here.

 

I've reported the "friend" to the police and they've opened an investigation.

I suspect they knew she was vulnerable as knew about the court case.

 

The loan is it 49% something my sister had commented on before that you'd be foolish/desperate to agree to.

 

Thanks for your help.

Edited January 26, 2017 by iwasbornaunicorn

[unclebulgaria67]

Unless there is evidence of her mental capacity being impaired at the time of agreeing to be a guarantor, then the creditor will chase repayment of the debt as normal. If this ever went to court, then the court would want to see evidence of mental health issues enough, that her judgement was impaired.

 

A simple letter from her Doctor explaining very basic details without going into too much personal information might be enough. Of course she does not have to do this as it is none of their business, but given that debt being chased can make mental health sufferers feel even more vulnerable, then it is something to consider.

[dx100uk]

and the loan company is?

 

 

dx

[iwasbornaunicorn]

It's Amigo loans.

 

My worry is whatever medical evidence we get they'll decide she's fine without any real medical knowledge I've already had the woman telling dealing with her case tell me she knows about mental health & that she had capacity. Then they'll have personal information for nothing.

 

I suspect it's a risk we'll have to take.

 

To top it all we are having to jump through hoops to get any evidence even though the person she's been seeing says she didn't have capacity, the GP never saw her because they referred her on!

 

It's so frustrating when you have full mental reserves let alone when you're ill.

 

Does anyone know what the loan company will do if the police charge the friend?

[unclebulgaria67]

The GP will still get a report back from whoever they referred it onto. These days GP's can often see the reports on their systems, as they are scanned onto patient record systems, with notes applied to patient record as a summary. So the GP should be able to supply a letter. The difficulty is that legally they have to protect patient confidentiality, so the instruction to release information needs to come from your Sister, someone legally appointed to act for her or someone legally authorised to receive patient information.

 

If the Police charge the friend, then the Police should advise Amigo loans as this relates to a loan through them. So i suspect they would be involved in supplying Police with information. Of course unless there is actually a conviction, it does not mean the loan is not valid. But Amigo should put matters on hold, if there is any Police or court action in progress. If the friend is convicted and your Sister is confirmed to have been taken advantage of then i should imagine Amigo would have to write the loan off.

[iwasbornaunicorn]

Thank you it's as I suspected......but wanted to check with others.

 

She's just been through the trauma of court ( & had the PTSD used against her) so let's hope if they charge the friend they plead guilty.

 

Looks like I better get ready to fight her corner