Last year a friend asked me to help her by co-signing a new car lease. She has no credit and my credit is outstanding. She told me I would have no responsibility, that my signature would only help her get the car. I got to the dealership and all the paperwork was ready for my signature. they made a copy of my drivers license, and asked me to sign in several places. After that I left, and forgot about the issue, until last month when the finance company called me and told me that the lease was not being paid. I told them to contact my now ex-friend and they told me that I was the principal on the lease and responsible for the payments. I told them that I have never even seen the car, that I have no paperwork, etc, but they said that it does not matter, it is still my responsibility.
My ex-friend is driving the car and not paying for it and the lease company is calling me and demanding payment. They said that if the car is returned, I will have to pay over $9,000 and if it is reposessed (in about 6 months) I will have to pay them nearly $13,000.
I asked if I could buy the car from the lease company, thinking I could then sell it and recouperate something, they said yes, but that my ex-friend needs to sign and she will never do this.
This person, who used to work with me at my small business, also used the business credit card and charged nearly $8,000 in personal expenses. As I was the personal guarantee on the business credit card, in order to avoid having my credit damaged I am having to paying off her credit card expenses little by little.
I'm not even going to go into all the other things she did and took, (I have nearly $7000 in missing merchandise, tons of missing equipment, $0 in cash and nearly $3000 in overdrafts in the bank before she left).
I do not know what to do. I do not want my credit to be damaged by this person's actions, and I also do not want to have to pay thousands of dollars that I do not have. The lease company says I have to pay them by the end of the week or they will report my credit. Is there anything that I can do?
My ex-friend is driving the car and not paying for it and the lease company is calling me and demanding payment. They said that if the car is returned, I will have to pay over $9,000 and if it is reposessed (in about 6 months) I will have to pay them nearly $13,000.
I asked if I could buy the car from the lease company, thinking I could then sell it and recouperate something, they said yes, but that my ex-friend needs to sign and she will never do this.
This person, who used to work with me at my small business, also used the business credit card and charged nearly $8,000 in personal expenses. As I was the personal guarantee on the business credit card, in order to avoid having my credit damaged I am having to paying off her credit card expenses little by little.
I'm not even going to go into all the other things she did and took, (I have nearly $7000 in missing merchandise, tons of missing equipment, $0 in cash and nearly $3000 in overdrafts in the bank before she left).
I do not know what to do. I do not want my credit to be damaged by this person's actions, and I also do not want to have to pay thousands of dollars that I do not have. The lease company says I have to pay them by the end of the week or they will report my credit. Is there anything that I can do?
