please helpd

[darbyshire]

My mother was asked to be a Guarantor for an Amigo loan by a friend . The friend omitted to tell my Mother that she was about to become bankrupt and have her house repossessed (A house she knowingly and willing she knew could not afford ) and the person is not able to pay now. The person in question has wasted so much time trying to fleece and con my mother who was deemed as a vulnerable person due to personal reasons and knew my mother can not pay because she is 74 now and has been on step change previously. The bank turned down 3 times to help because it is an Amigo Loan. Has anyone any advice on this matter

[james_law]

Hi,

I'm sorry to hear the situation your mother is in.

Unfortunately, your mother will be liable for the debt. You could sue the friend but she does not have any money so this route is pointless. It does not matter if your mother couldn't pay. She met the criteria to be a guarantor.

The only possible defences you have are that your mother did not freely and willingly enter into the contract and she signed under duress, i.e. forced. Lastly she did not have the mental capacity to agree to the terms.

Just being vulnerable would not amount to lacking mental capacity so you would need to prove she was forced to sign the document.

Personally I would suggest you speak to step change and get some advice on how to move forward with paying the debt back.

[des8]

There are FCA rules to protect guarantors.
Their handbook at 5.2.3G suggests any assessment must be proportionate and dependent upon the type, amount and costs of credit, credit history of the guarantor, with due consideration of actual or possible financial difficulties, vulnerability, their financial position now and any future financial commitments and changes.

Here is a link to an article which discusses protection available to guarantors, which might give you some pointers (page 8 onwards):
https://www.i-m-a.org.uk/media/ima-ljdoc-211.pdf