What is...

Joint and Several

Joint and Several Liability is a legal term which refers to the financial responsibility between two or more people regarding a debt.

Who is liable for a debt under Joint and Several Liability?

Joint and Several means that the lender can pursue repayment for a joint account either separately, or against both parties as it deems necessary. A good example of this is if you act as a guarantor on an account for which you and the debtor are equally liable. You could therefore be pursued for any outstanding amounts, even if you have not used the agreement yourself.

A claimant may pursue an obligation against any one of the jointly liable parties. It then becomes the responsibility of the jointly liable defendants to sort out their respective proportions of the payment owed. This means that if the claimant pursues one defendant and receives payment, that defendant must then pursue the other obligors for a contribution to their share of the liability. Many see Joint and Several as unfair as it does not equally distribute responsibility to the parties concerned. However, it does protect lenders from being under-compensated for any losses on an agreement.

How can I view my financial connections?

You can see who you are deemed to be financially associated to by checking your Credit Report. checkmyfile brings together data from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, enabling you to see what a prospective lender would see, including the name of anyone you are connected to.

It’s free for 30 days, then just £14.99 a month. You can cancel online at any time.

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