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My husband acted as guarantor for a so called friend of his in 2004 for a loan of 10.000 euros which was going to be for a deposit on a property, we didnt realise the loan hadnt been paid until a couple of months ago, then we found out that the Bank have been to court to apply to auction our property off to cover the outstanding loan of 7.500 euros and this has been granted, we contacted the so called friend and he said that he got the money back of the builder and returned to the uk with the money,and because he hadnt heard anything, he had forgotten about it, we explained our situation and he is not bothered, does anyone know if we can claim the money back through the U.K justice system.

Hi,

I assume that the loan was made properly at the Notary in Spain.

Under Spanish law, the grantor can request the refund of the moneys paid, the interests and also a compensation for damages. Consequently, the first option would be to go to court in Spain, have a ruling against him, and then to execute the ruling abroad. The main disadvantage is that the notification would be done abroad and this implies an additional delay. However, if this friend had property in Spain, it could be worth starting legal action here.

If the problem is that the ex friend does not have any assets in Spain as all his money and assets is surely in the UK, then it would be worth thinking about taking civil action in the UK, at the UK courts, supporting your claim on Spanish law. This option will involve the official translation of all the documents concerning the loan and probably getting a report done by an expert in Spanish law, who would cooperate with your UK based lawyers.

However, be advised that the loan document might contain a clause stating the exclusive jurisdiction of the Spanish Courts for all issues which arise from the loan contract. If this is so, the friend could possibly defend himself by claiming that the competent courts are the Spanish courts. In other words, if such clause exists, your claim in the UK would probably be dismissed.

My advise would be to check first what the loan contract says about jurisdiction and then contact a UK lawyer in order to explain the case to him, underlining the jurisdiction clause.

As to the auction issue, I would suggest appearing at court URGENTLY and fighting the decision on the basis that you have not been notified properly. Have you checked with an Spanish lawyer or just with the bank?

If you needed some help or advise feel free to contact us on info@fairwaylawyers.com

Yours