I owe Nat West~£12,000. Havn't heard anything in years?

[JoeyJoeC]

I took out £15k loan when I were 16 and gave it to my brother because he asked me to.

 

Long story short, He paid me for a year or so, then lost his job. Couldn't pay me, then he went to prison for something else.

 

My mother helped pay it for some years and bought it down to £12k.

 

She couldn't help any longer and so I stopped the payments. I had many letters at the time, and get a letter every 6 months reminding me about it. But other than that, They didn't chase it since 2010.

 

What is likely to happen?

[sequenci]

If they gave you a loan when you were only 16 it's unenforceable unless you make clear you wish for it to be enforceable.

 

The only potential argument is whether you personally used the money for 'necessaries'. The fact you gave the money to your brother clearly shows that you didn't use the money for that purpose.

Edited March 27, 2014 by citizenB

[JoeyJoeC]

Natwest not barclays.

 

what would natwest do about it? Am I better off waiting for 6 years to pass without communications?

 

Also looking at getting a mortgage... how much will this be affected?

Edited March 27, 2014 by citizenB

[citizenB]

When was the last time a payment was made to the account ?

[JoeyJoeC]

When was the last time a payment was made to the account ?

 

Would have been in 2010. Not sure when exactly.

 

Just to clarify. The loan was done over the internet, IIRC, it took around 5 days from the application to them actually putting the money in the bank. No one called me to ask why a 16 year old would want £15k, neither did anyone ask me to go to the bank. Seemed way too easy.

 

I'm 24 now, so it would have been in 2006/2007.

[BankFodder]

If the last payment was made in 2010 then the loan is still enforceable.

The next question is whether you disclosed your true age on the loan application. If you did then it is unenforceable because you were a minor.

If you told a porky then it may well be enforceable.

I can't imagine the bank not wanting your age details on a loan application - and I can't imagine their software wouldn't automatically reject you if it detected that you were less than 18yrs.

 

I think that I have to assume that your appication did represent you as being over 18. If you believe that it didn't then you need to get all of the information by means of an SAR. On the other hand you may prefer not to upset any applecarts at this stage.

[JoeyJoeC]

I didn't lie about my age at all. I started my first job at 16, and thus needed a bank account. I went to the bank when I first opened the account and showed them my passport to open it.

 

They knew my age, I didn't say I were over 18. I actually applied for it after my brother asked me to, I didn't expect to get it because of my age.

 

The bigger issue for me is that I want to get a mortgage. This completely screwed up my credit rating to the point that I couldn't even get a sim only contract.