I need advice for my mom

[alejorge]

My mom just got approved for her disability. She has been fighting for it for 3 years.

Well today she got a phone call from my grandma's boyfirend/husband. We will call him P.

Well he had borrowed my mom some money while she was struggling. She told him that when she got her settlement she would pay him back the money she owed him.

Today P calls my mom and tells my mom that she owes him like $11,000
My mom really only owes him around $4,000. He is trying to charge her interest. Also she never signed anything saying she would pay any of this money back especialy with interest.

P wants my mom to make a detailed list of what she plans on using her money on so he can approve or disapprove of the list. Also he stated that when she starts recieving her monthly disability checks that she will be making payments to him.

P said that if she doesn't pay him back in full that he will take her to court. Which in turn would make her lose all her money anyways with attorney fee's.

What should my mom do? Do you guys have any onfor that can help her out?

I feel so bad for my mom. Her life finaly starts to look up and then something always goes and knocks her down. She can't handle all of this up's and down's. She has to many mental instability's do be dealing with this now.

TIA for anything you ladies can ofer.

[ima062002]

If he has nothing in writing, then he has babkes! He can take her to court all he wants. Can he prove he gave her ANY money? Written checks made out to her name? If not he has no proof. She doesn't need an attorney. Has your mom kept records of the money lent to her? If I were her, I'd put together a list of of what he gave and when, and then put my foot down and tell him straight that what he is trying to do is extortion and that I will repay him them money I took but nothing more (unless interest was something agreed upon BEFORE the money was lent). If I were her, I'd threaten him with going to the police if he doesn't stop with his belligerent behavior.

[jessiehannan]

The interest is way too high. I believe, that legally, the interest cannot be more than the loan itself.

[alejorge]

I talked to my mom and the only thing she signed was back in 1998. And that was for money she borrowed back then. Not for the money that she has recently borrowed. But she hasn't been able to pay back all the money she borrowed from back then.

She has spent a lot of time without an income. His interest rate is $100 a month but if you add up from 1998 until 2009 that is quite a bit of interest. which is definately more than loan itself.

[MrsKitty]

I would pay for what I borrowed and screw the interest. I can't imagine charging a friend in a hard financial time INTEREST on money I loaned them.

[Tweet]

She should only pay what she owes. No interest if that was not part of the agreement. And fuck writing some of kind list. She doesn't need approval from anyone. I'd laugh in his fucking face.

[Still_Tbog]

And considering that was in '98, I am guessing there would be some kind of statute of limitations on being able to take her to court over it.

[ima062002]

I talked to my mom and the only thing she signed was back in 1998. And that was for money she borrowed back then. Not for the money that she has recently borrowed. But she hasn't been able to pay back all the money she borrowed from back then.

She has spent a lot of time without an income. His interest rate is $100 a month but if you add up from 1998 until 2009 that is quite a bit of interest. which is definately more than loan itself.

What do you mean that his interest rate is $ 100 a month. Who is your granny married to? A loan shark? Seriously, this isn't legal and I doubt that he would take her to court over this. Google "legal interest rate" for your State and see what you come up with.

[dalurker]

Wait, did he actually loan her money of his own, or did he borrow it for her, maybe from one of those rip-off loan companies that charge ridiculously high interest and maybe there are some late fees and penalties involved? That's the only way I can figure it's so high. I'm confused by the term "borrowed my mom some money," but if he borrowed money for her, even at a high (and hopefully legal) interest rate, and it's racked up interest or penalties over time because she hasn't been paying, I think she should pay whatever is owed if she agreed to the terms, but certainly not more. I just don't really get what's going on here.

He can self fornicate over that business of wanting detailed lists of how she plans to use her money, though. To hell with that. I'd be asking him for a detailed list of how he came up with the numbers he's presented. On paper.

[JudyJudyJudy]

She should pay him what she owes him and nothing more. As for taking her to court, the 1998 loan is definitely past the statute, and the last loan may be. Even if he takes her to court, she can represent herself; she doesn't need an attorney.

[alejorge]

This man is just a greedy person. He has always been that way. He has a lot of money. He is a multi-millionaire. I am not joking about that either.

He has taken my mom to court over this before so I know he will do it again. The only thing is he is trying to make it to where my mom has no other option but to pay him.

He will make it utterly impossioble for my mom to see her mom if she doesn't pay the money back.

My mom is going to contact a lawyer today about her otions and what she can look forward to.

[Givebac]

What an ass. Money problems always make my mom worse. I borrowed money from my credit union last year to get them away from the pay day loan sharks. She sends me the money every month to make the payment.

Will she be getting money for the last 3 years? Will that be enough to pay the 11,000? Did he win when he took her to court last time? How much did she borrow the first time?

[alejorge]

She is supposed to be getting back around $18,000 but then she has to take out attorney fee's and some other stuff before she gets the money. She will only be getting around $12,000

She borrowed the first time around $3,000. All she had to do when she was taken to court was to start payments again. Which she stopped paying around 2001 or 2002. That is when she first got hurt at work and had no income anymore.

[Nipple_nectar]

Has anybody considered speaking to grandma on these issues? If grandma approves of his asinine behavior I may have to disown her.

Really? Is grandma on board with forfeiting her visits if her daughter doesn't pay? What a bunch of shit.

[JudyJudyJudy]

Since she now will be having a steady income no matter how small, plus back-pay, she really needs to pay him back (not at some ungodly interest rate that wasn't agreed upon). Even if he is a greedy bastard, she still owes him the money that she borrowed.

[still_me]

Since she now will be having a steady income no matter how small, plus back-pay, she really needs to pay him back (not at some ungodly interest rate that wasn't agreed upon). Even if he is a greedy bastard, she still owes him the money that she borrowed.


This. I would tell her to pay off whatever she owes him (not with interest) and then cut ties with P. Before she cuts ties though, she should talk to your grandmother and see where she stands with this.

[Justicedog]

The interest is way too high. I believe, that legally, the interest cannot be more than the loan itself.



How old is your mother? If she's over 60, I'd suggest you see if there's a Senior Legal Helpline in her state.

State laws differ.

If your ma's only income is social security and she owns no property, it may be that she is collection proof, meaning that even if she owes a valid debt, there's nothing the creditors can take from her. This is something she should talk to a lawyer in her state about.

Social secuirty income is protected, it cannot be garnished. I believe that that applies to back pay lump sums too.

He cannot charge interest. Is he a bank? Did he provide her notification, clearly printed, of the Annual Percentage Rate?

Morally, I'd say when she gets the lump sum, pay him the amount she borrowed, write in full satisfaction in the memo section or on the back where it's endorsed and be done with it. I don't know the legal ramifications if he'd just cross out the "in full satisfaction" part though.

[KerryS]

I'm confused by the term "borrowed my mom some money,"


I suspect she means he LENT her mom some money.

[KerryS]

How old is your mother? If she's over 60, I'd suggest you see if there's a Senior Legal Helpline in her state.

I think Alejorge is young, so I would guess her mother is probably not over 60.

[alejorge]

No my mom isn't that old. She is only 42. My mom is going to pay back only what she owes him and nothing more. This is her only income. She is not able to work because she is permanently disabled and has a few to many mental problems to hold a job.

He lent my mom the money. But there was no siging of anyhting with the newest loan. nor was there anything about interest with the new loan either.

[JudyJudyJudy]

Social secuirty income is protected, it cannot be garnished. I believe that that applies to back pay lump sums too.

Unless the money is owed to the federal government, which, of course, is not the case in this situation.


He cannot charge interest. Is he a bank? Did he provide her notification, clearly printed, of the Annual Percentage Rate?
Are you sure that an individual can't charge interest if it's agree upon by both parties?

[Justicedog]

Are you sure that an individual can't charge interest if it's agree upon by both parties?


No, I imagine they can charge interest, but it must be clearly stated. They most certainly cannot charge interest if it wasn't agreed upon at the beginning. If he offers or extends credit in 25 or more transactions a year, the Truth in Lending Act protections would apply.

There are also various state laws limiting the amount of interest - usury laws are the ones that cap the interest.