Is Fraudulent Signing As Someone Else For Loan Against A Property Illegal?

[suzcherkin]

I bought a house with my (now ex) partner, we are both on the mortgage & both on the deeds. I had to leave him and the house due to his violence, and we have never resolved the property (him buying me out etc), a good few years later he contacted me asking me to sign a document to allow him to take a loan out against the house, I refused. I have just found out that he has since taken two loans against the property without my knowledge / consent / authorisation / signature, they were for £30,000 for 15 years & £20,000 for 8 years, which means I am liable for half of £50,000. I found out when I went into my local branch to ask for a balance which is required by my solicitor as I am now trying to get the property sold through the courts. I have asked them to forward all the relevant documentation to me. They also confirmed that they would have needed my signature to have authorised these loans. Questions, Is this a criminal offence? Will the building society automatically prosecute him? What is the penalty? What should I do next?

[HowardKennitby]

Forging signatures to obtain money is definitely a criminal offence.

[arwyn]

Hope you have better luck than I had with the Northern rock. When it came to light that my ex had done this all they could say was "We send out the forms they come back signed and we give the money"..

[suzcherkin]

Howard, do you know what the penalties are?
& Arwyn, did you still live in the property?

[VHG]

triplicate append - Law, Civil and Criminal sections

[arwyn]

suz hubby and his Girlfriend had forged my name. He died and as it was in his and mine names all debt went to me. They had upped the mortgage to more than I could sell the house for. I could not afford to live in it so I had no option but to give the bank the keys. The bank sold it real cheap and I was liable for the difference. As I was now a widow and single parent and disabled I was on benifits. After a while they saw they would never get any money from me and said if I paid them 1k they would write it off. This was late 1990s.

[Buenchico]

The offence is one of 'fraud by false representation, contrary to Section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006'. The maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment, plus an unlimited fine.

Chris

[suzcherkin]

Thanks for the info Buenchico. But Arwyn is right the building society will just say they received signed documents, so how do I prove I had no idea of these loans/re-mortgage??
Also, if he gets put in prison, can I sell the property without his consent?

[themas]

For him to be successfully prosecuted for fraud it would have to be proved that he forged your signature. This is, I believe, mainly a matter of a handwriting specialist comparing your signature with what is on the documents. If that is done & the conclusion is that you did not sign them, then I don't see how the building society could make you liable for any of the money.

I believe that in this sort of situation the lender may have an obligation to make sure the joint borrower (i.e. you) knows about the loan & - if necessary - is separately advised. However, you would need legal advice on this if the lender tries to pursue you for the debt or to take any part of it out of your share of the equity if the property is sold.

Incidentally, are you sure these loans are in your name as well as his? It would be possible for him to take out loans in his sole name which would be secured against only his part of the equity. This would have been easier for him to do if the lender was willing .