topic Re: Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever. in Relationships and Money

Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever.

lithium78 — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:17:13 GMT

Just minutes ago I got a score watch alert. The auto loan I co-signed for my ex-girlfriend seven years ago went negative. It seems that she missed the very last payment and failed to tell me about it in time. I wish I could go back seven years ago and warn the younger version of me never to co-sign a loan for someone. Especially a girlfriend. I wish I had known back then all the information I know about credit now.

As it stands, my EQ score just plummeted 35 points. I was going to have a clear credit report by the end of the year, but now that is over and done with. My only option for a mortgage is going to be sub-prime and I won't be able to afford the interest. I feel like my dreams have just died.

So, anybody reading this, don't make the mistake I made. Never co-sign for anybody. Never, ever ever.

Re: Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever.

drkaje — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:24:04 GMT

FWIW,

The younger you wouldn't have listened. It's pretty hard to win an argument against hormones. :)

Have you tried contacting the lender, yet?

Re: Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever.

lithium78 — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:43:32 GMT

I just got the score watch alert a few minutes ago so the credit union is already closed for the evening. I'm going to have to try contacting them tomorrow. This is a disaster. I had almost made it to freedom and she had to take the very last moment to screw me (and herself in the process.)

Re: Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever.

GregB — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 01:09:05 GMT

I would agree x1000 about never, ever cosigning a loan.

I would collect the pertinent information regarding the likely difference in the loan that you will get on your house. Then notify your ex that you intend to demand payment for the difference. If you keep a $200K house for a full 30 year mortgage, the difference between 4% and 5% will be $43,000. The difference betwwen 4% and 6% would be $89,000.

Don't forget that you need to keep the lawsuit within SOL.

Re: Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever.

drkaje — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 02:28:40 GMT

Even if you have to make the last payment, get it deleted.

Is it remotely possible that her car was taken in on trade and final payment was made but funded after the due date? She may not have intentionally screwed you but cut things too close.

Hopefully the CU is forgiving.

Re: Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever.

haulingthescoreup — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 02:31:28 GMT

Ouch on the co-sign. We all learn the hard way. :(

It sounds like the loan was with a credit union, right? Are you still a member there? If so, I would hope that serious groveling on your part (including making that last payment) might be enough to make them pull back the reported late.

Good luck! and keep us posted.

Re: Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever.

lithium78 — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 03:39:58 GMT

haulingthescoreup wrote:
Ouch on the co-sign. We all learn the hard way. :(

It sounds like the loan was with a credit union, right? Are you still a member there? If so, I would hope that serious groveling on your part (including making that last payment) might be enough to make them pull back the reported late.

Good luck! and keep us posted.

I'm hoping that the credit union will help me out, especially since I'm the co-signer not the primary on the loan. Somehow, she managed to stretch the loan out an extra year without penalty but she still managed to screw up the very last payment on it. The loan is now PIF, so I have that going for me. I'm sending out a GW letter in the morning and I'm going to call the CU in the afternoon to see if they can do something.

This is so frustrating, because my credit report would have been 100% clean by the end of the year and now this happens and I had absolutely no control over it. When I called my ex-gf to discuss it, she seemed completely unconcerned that she had just tanked my (and her) credit score.

Re: Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever.

drkaje — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:53:45 GMT

Crossing my fingers, toes, and eyes!

Re: Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever.

FrugalRican — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 17:56:13 GMT

lithium78 wrote:
haulingthescoreup wrote:
Ouch on the co-sign. We all learn the hard way. :(

It sounds like the loan was with a credit union, right? Are you still a member there? If so, I would hope that serious groveling on your part (including making that last payment) might be enough to make them pull back the reported late.

Good luck! and keep us posted.
I'm hoping that the credit union will help me out, especially since I'm the co-signer not the primary on the loan. Somehow, she managed to stretch the loan out an extra year without penalty but she still managed to screw up the very last payment on it. The loan is now PIF, so I have that going for me. I'm sending out a GW letter in the morning and I'm going to call the CU in the afternoon to see if they can do something.

This is so frustrating, because my credit report would have been 100% clean by the end of the year and now this happens and I had absolutely no control over it. When I called my ex-gf to discuss it, she seemed completely unconcerned that she had just tanked my (and her) credit score.

You probably gave her a reason to go have a glass of wine.

Chin up, I'm sure this will get resolved and hopefully serve as a lesson for others.

Re: Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever.

pizzadude — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:04:14 GMT

So it sounds like this was a 60 month loan originally, streched into a 72 month loan ? I'm really sorry to hear about the late pay ~ hopefully the CU will cut you some slack on it. I think the fact that it is paid should help as well.

Re: Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever.

lithium78 — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:34:53 GMT

I called the CU and they are giving me the same old BS that they "can't change what they report legally if they didn't make a mistake" and blah, blah, blah. I escalated through two supervisors and they wouldn't budge. I guess the next step is to try to contact their CEO and give them my story. This is such a mess. I am so angry I could just scream.

Re: Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever.

drkaje — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 21:45:17 GMT

@lithium,
I'd call back and say "I only cosigned for a 60 month loan". If she renegotiated terms or something else you should have been notified, IMO.

Re: Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever.

lovinlifeinkc — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 22:50:36 GMT

If she only missed **one** payment I would surely ask the lender to remove the negative mark from your score. Surely they will be kind once the situation is explained. If they tell you no- keep asking. 35 points is massive! Good luck to you!!

Re: Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever.

haulingthescoreup — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 04:11:05 GMT

drkaje wrote:
@lithium,
I'd call back and say "I only cosigned for a 60 month loan". If she renegotiated terms or something else you should have been notified, IMO.

OK, I do like this one. Don't know if it will be successful, but it makes sense. It appears that she renegotiated the terms of the contract, and you weren't notified. Wouldn't that invalidate your liability?

Definitely worth following up on, IMO. With an endless, uncrackable smile and earnest good will. Bring mini Baby Ruths and Snickers bars for the tellers. :) Make it easy for them to back down, especially if their attorneys start clearing their throats. ;)

Re: Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever.

drkaje — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 11:39:43 GMT

haulingthescoreup wrote:
drkaje wrote:
@lithium,
I'd call back and say "I only cosigned for a 60 month loan". If she renegotiated terms or something else you should have been notified, IMO.
OK, I do like this one. Don't know if it will be successful, but it makes sense. It appears that she renegotiated the terms of the contract, and you weren't notified. Wouldn't that invalidate your liability?

Definitely worth following up on, IMO. With an endless, uncrackable smile and earnest good will. Bring mini Baby Ruths and Snickers bars for the tellers. :) Make it easy for them to back down, especially if their attorneys start clearing their throats. ;)

I'd show up with coffee and a smile.

That close to the finish line (of credit repair); I'd ask for a copy of the 72 month loan application.

If all else fails, I'd politely ask who their "contact person was for legal stuff, like documentation" so they feel a lawyer is calling.

Re: Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever.

IOBA — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:08:46 GMT

drkaje - +1000

I LOVE your answer! That is pretty much what I would do! There is a chance that it was originally a 72 month loan and the OP didn't realize it. I had never heard of 72 month auto loans until I was helping someone out and read their contract. They appeared "shocked" that it was a 72 month auto loan...but hey, maybe that person wasn't shocked. Who knows?

Re: Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever.

FrugalRican — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:09:45 GMT

drkaje wrote:
haulingthescoreup wrote:
drkaje wrote:
@lithium,
I'd call back and say "I only cosigned for a 60 month loan". If she renegotiated terms or something else you should have been notified, IMO.
OK, I do like this one. Don't know if it will be successful, but it makes sense. It appears that she renegotiated the terms of the contract, and you weren't notified. Wouldn't that invalidate your liability?

Definitely worth following up on, IMO. With an endless, uncrackable smile and earnest good will. Bring mini Baby Ruths and Snickers bars for the tellers. :) Make it easy for them to back down, especially if their attorneys start clearing their throats. ;)
I'd show up with coffee and a smile.

That close to the finish line (of credit repair); I'd ask for a copy of the 72 month loan application.

If all else fails, I'd politely ask who their "contact person was for legal stuff, like documentation" so they feel a lawyer is calling.

Holy heck, this.

Re: Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever.

drkaje — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:31:04 GMT

I hope this all worked out!

Re: Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever.

webhopper — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:02:56 GMT

FrugalRican wrote:
drkaje wrote:
haulingthescoreup wrote:
drkaje wrote:
@lithium,
I'd call back and say "I only cosigned for a 60 month loan". If she renegotiated terms or something else you should have been notified, IMO.
OK, I do like this one. Don't know if it will be successful, but it makes sense. It appears that she renegotiated the terms of the contract, and you weren't notified. Wouldn't that invalidate your liability?

Definitely worth following up on, IMO. With an endless, uncrackable smile and earnest good will. Bring mini Baby Ruths and Snickers bars for the tellers. :) Make it easy for them to back down, especially if their attorneys start clearing their throats. ;)
I'd show up with coffee and a smile.

That close to the finish line (of credit repair); I'd ask for a copy of the 72 month loan application.

If all else fails, I'd politely ask who their "contact person was for legal stuff, like documentation" so they feel a lawyer is calling.
Holy heck, this.

OMG do this... awesome strategy :) +500....

There is nothing like using fear to get what you want.

Re: Never co-sign a loan. Never, ever ever.

lithium78 — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 14:54:06 GMT

After speaking with my ex again, she says that the credit union gave her the option of extending the auto loan by three months without penalty so she took advantage of that. It had been a 72 month auto loan, but they extended it to 75 months. She then missed the very last payment on the schedule by 30 days. I told her that she could have contacted me if she needed money to make the last payment and she could have paid me back, but she decided to be irresponsible instead. *sigh*

She's trying to get a goodwill adjustment on her end and I'm trying on my end, so maybe we'll be able to get something worked out. I sent a letter, which I fully expect to be rejected. When I get a response, I'll try contacting the CU's CEO. This credit union seems to be very "by the book", so getting a GW adjustment is going to be extremely hard.