Guarantor

[ElStupido]

Really need some advice here.

So I was stupid enough to become a guarantor for car finance for my sister and surprise, surprise there has been a missed payment.
Yes, I am well aware that I shouldn't have agreed but it is done now and I am left feeling a whole host of emotions.

Does anyone know what my rights as a guarantor are? I will add, I have spoken to the finance company who referred to me as a co-applicant; is this the same thing?
My head is reeling as when I got notice of this missed payment, I spoke to my sister who told me she'd call. She said she did and that the finance company has said that she had to speak to her bank as it was showing on her account as having been paid. She then spoke with the finance company again, who apparently told her that they would speak to the bank. Now after my conversation with the finance company, they advised that this is not their process at all! The payment is still unpaid and of course it is showing on my credit report!!

I just really need to know my rights here. Can anyone please help?

You need to read back through the agreement that you signed, but it’s very likely that you are jointly and severally responsible for all payments, which means that you are as responsible for paying as she is.

It’s not unknown for people, even family, to say payments have been made when they haven’t, could that have happened here?

Yep read through what you signed and either you or your sister need to make the payment asap

I didn't sign any paperwork but they did have my details and I'm sure I had spoken to them on the phone. I don't even have a copy of the paperwork!

I do believe she has unfortunately lied to me about having called them as there is no record whatsoever that she has called the finance company.

Just can't believe I have been so stupid!

I don't understand how it's possible to be a guarantor without signing anything or receiving any paperwork. Surely that can't be right

You can't be a guantor without signing anything. Ring the company and tell them this.

When you say you didn’t sign anything do you mean that she’s fraudulently put your name on the agreement, that you agreed online, or that something different?

You can take out a loan / be a guarantor without signing something. It’s possible to do it over the phone or online. You should have received a copy of all the paperwork though.

Does she have form for this kind of thing?

As a guarantor, you will be stumping up the payments, should your sis default. I you completely sure you didn’t sign any loan agreement? If so ask for a copy, is the signature yours? If it’s fraud, the loan company will involve the police I expect.

I'm afraid the whole point of being a guarantor is to guarantee that you'll pay in the event that the debtor doesn't. You can't be one unless you've signed some paperwork. I'd suggest you trawl back through emails to check if you have.

Could you have digitally signed? Ie clicked a link and agreed to Ts & Cs?

I have no emails from the company with regards to paperwork or me having signed anything. The only thing I recall is the phone call with the car place not the finance company.
She doesn't have form for this and I have spoken to her and told I called and what was said - she is adamant that she has called them, she has paid it and she will sort it. I'm just not sure what my next step is if she is saying that this definitely happened.
I totally understand that I am liable for payments, it is just what rights I have to the car itself if she has defaulted; do I have any?

I have a horrible feeling about this. I strongly suspect your sister is fibbing about sorting this out. She is playing for time. Ask her to show you the payment out of her account so you can also use this when you speak to the finance company.

Make a Subject Access Request (SAR) and ask for copies of the documents that name you as guarantor for the loan.

This way you will know exactly how much the loan is for, and your liability to pay it.

Secondly, I suspect if you didn’t sign any documents it will show if your signature has been forged.

So I asked her to send me a screenshot of the money leaving her bank account and I'd deal with it which she has done however, it is solely that transaction. I have followed the process the finance company has told me to and emailed them the screenshot. I am hoping that she wouldn't make me look even more of an idiot than I already feel by letting me chase this and it genuinely has been an error on their part.
Waiting game for now!

Thank you for all your responses and no judgement. I really, really appreciate it

Just a thought but if she paid by DD she could send you a screenshot that would look paid. As many banks then reject an unpaid DD later the same day as a separate transaction. So you would need sight of the full day's transactions with some banks to know if it was really paid

Mistakes do happen, so it’s still possible that the payment has gone but not been correctly allocated.

While I think it’s likely that she hasn’t paid (finance companies are quite good with data and statistics, and if someone needs a guarantor it’s a good sign that they are likely to miss payments), there’s no need to go down the route yet of assuming the worst.

Given what you’ve written, have you any thoughts on how the finance company has got your name and details?

'Co-applicant' sounds like the loan is in both your names which is slightly different to your being a guarantor in case of her default.

So I think your question is: as the guarantor of the car loan, can you force the sale of the car in order to bring the loan to an end, i.e. so that you are no longer liable for it. I think the answer is no, you agreed (or did you, this is unclear) to act as your sister's guarantor and would thus cover any and all missed payments. But even if you ended up making every loan payment for her, the asset is still hers at the end. However, I would definitely try and get some time with Citizens' Advice to understand that in more detail. You will need to see the loan paperwork.

I think regardless of your rights, I would be pushing your sister to sell the car and terminate the loan.

If it’s a loan then that’s an option, but if it’s PCP or HP it’s not likely to be.

So little update. There was a missed payment in March which is what the payment taken out in May was for. It has been paid for (by me) and the account is now up to date and I changed her payment date so it actually works better for her as I know she gets paid the last working day of every month so payments are now set up for the 1st. I was also told that if there is another missed payment, it'll be marked as a default all of which I have told her. I don't think she actually realises how much this impacts me!
I now have a copy of the paperwork and I am listed as the co-applicant but my signature is nowhere - should I not have signed something for this???

Also the car is on HP.

You should have signed something. Contact them again to explain you don't recall ever volunteering to be guarantor and asking for a copy of the paperwork you are supposed to have signed.