l divorced 5yrs ago and have had no contact with my ex since. He chose not to see our children or financially support them. As part of the divorce we split our debts. l paid mine off with my half of selling the family home. l have recently received a letter from a joint debt that he agreed to pay, saying that no payment has been made. The debt is almost £4000. They informed me when l rang them that they cannot find my ex and that if l pay off half of the debt then they will cancel the rest out. However the half has to be paid off in a lump sum by 30th November. l can only do this if l sell my car as l only work part time and have 2 children to support.
My mother says that l should wait for them to take me to court so that l can tell them that it is unfair that l have to pay. l am concerned that l will be liable for the full amount if it goes to court or that bailiffs will take my possessions which will not be good for the children. l know that as the debt was a joint debt that l am liable but l do not know what to do.
Any advice greatly appreciated.
my car is worth about £4000. l have no document stating what was agreed but he was in debt when l met him and in worse debt when we split and he has never paid a penny, if l pay this then this is the final tie and l will be free from him at last
The company said if l choose a payment plan then l am liable for the full amount, they will only accept half if l pay lump sum.

I'd seek a lawyer.

Check your divorce agreement. if you and your Ex specified in the divorce agreement who pays which bills then this bill should be his.
Be stubborn and send them a copy of the agreement that states that your Ex is responsible for it and do not ''volunteer'' to pay his debt.
Let them try to take you to court. they know that they do not stand a chance if you come prepared and show the judge that you have paid all of your obligations.

l would actually pay it. It will greatly impact your credit score, and your ability to get things like cars. l would pay it then sue him for the amount owed.

l would do both the 2 first suggestions, see a lawyer first so that if you do have documentation about the debt sharing, the lawyer should be able to sort it out. If it goes to court the court would set up a payment plan so that you would get time to pay over a reasonable length of time, however l do think they would listen to the fact that you paid everything else off.

l hope it all goes well.

due to the fact they have agreed to accept half l would sell the car and do it to clear the slate. THEN see a lawyer about retrieving it from your ex. You do not say what you will get for your car, hopefully enough to buy a cheapie for the time being. Even if it doesnt leave any you are still better off to clear this as if it goes to court you will probably lose and have to pay the full amount, not something you want hanging over your head for years.

cant help much but almost all joint credit agreements have a clause that says both parties r liable for 100% of the loan. ur kindve stuck in a very unpleaseant situation because the company have actually offered u a very generous deal by saying u can pay half off & they will right off the whole amount, but im sure it doesnt feel like a great compromise in ur current situation. see if u can come to a compromise on the payment plan option, such as agreeing to pay 70% of the loan of a ''fair'' & mutually agreed time period. if that doesnt work ur just going to have to pick 1 of the 2 options they have given you. really sorry to say youv just got the short straw here mate

regards

kayum