A reader was denied credit after failing to pay a debt left by a debtor with whom he had completely lost contact; find out what he can do
Being a guarantor is a serious matter. In financing or rental contracts that require this type of guarantee, the individual who enters into the guarantee must bear in mind that if the debtor or tenant defaults, it is they who will ultimately have to pay the debt.
In this week's Dinheirista column, we answer the question of a reader who ended up with a bad name because he was a guarantor for a person who defaulted on FIES, the government's student financing program.
This type of financing has very specific rules, and failure to pay can lead to being blacklisted not only on private registers, such as Serasa and SPC, but also on the Union's register of defaulters.
If you have any questions about investments or personal finance, you can do like this reader and send them by e-mail to [email protected]. Come on!
I was a FIES guarantor for a person who defaulted on his loan and, as a result, I was blacklisted. I tried to contact the bank to negotiate payment, but they said that the person in debt had to be present. I no longer have any contact with them, nor do I know their whereabouts. What choice do I have? The debt is from 2019.
According to lawyer Ana Claudia Ferreira Julio, a specialist in Educational Law and Management at Barcellos Tucunduva Advogados (BTLAW), unfortunately there is no provision for withdrawing the guarantor without the debtor's approval in the case of FIES. The program's rules only allow for the replacement of the guarantor, but not its exclusion.
According to the lawyer, there is even a legal theory that it would be possible to claim the exclusion of the guarantee in court on the basis of article 835 of the Civil Code, but this has not been well received by the courts.
If this person is still studying, the replacement needs to be made when the contract is amended, she says. But if the course has already been completed, you need to prepare a letter of resignation and register it with a notary before presenting it to the bank.
Now, if you can't get the debtor's approval to change the guarantor, another option is to pay the debt and then file a lawsuit against them, demanding compensation for the amount paid.
Source: Your Money