What to do if I co-signed a loan with an individual for a motorcycle and she defaulted on the loan?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What to do if I co-signed a loan with an individual for a motorcycle and she defaulted on the loan?
I was never contacted by the financial institution explaining that the account was past due. Now I am being contacted by a collection agency and being harassed about the remaining balance. I have never received anything in writing from the collection agency, just nasty phone calls. What legal action do you suggest?
Asked on October 23, 2012 under Bankruptcy Law, Ohio
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
If you cosigned the loan, you are responsible for it: in the event of the other signor's default, the lender or its collection agency can look to you for payment, and if you do not pay it, it can sue you and your credit rating/history will be damaged. You do not have any grounds to not pay, unless you can invalidate the entire transaction, such as for fraud. Failing that, to avoid credit damage and/or litigation, you will need to pay the loan. You in turn can sue the other signor to recover the money from him or her that he or she should have paid towards the loan.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.