Hi everyone, i am from mongolia. And my friend put me in as an emergency contact in his guarantor company contract and they have been contacting me i tried contacting him but “not” to my surprise he is not replying and i got information that he left the country. I didnt sign or put my name on anything he put my name, address and phone number as a emergency contact. what will happen now? Will they sue me for the rent?
by No-You-539
21 comments
No they’ll just annoy the fuck out of you. Tell them not to contact you then block their number.
And stop referring to that person as your friend. They’re not.
The guarantor company will have to pay not you
If you’re not an actual guarantor (as opposed to simply an emergency contact, regardless whether you signed anything), you’re not obligated to do anything about it. To do it a little bit more in a Japanese way, you can tell them you’ve tried contacting your friend several times and he’s not answering, tough luck.
You have no obligations to pay anything.
Honestly it might be better to even tell them he left the country, maybe they will stop contacting you.
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This is not addressed at you OP:
“Japan is so racist they make it very hard for foreigners to get apartments”
Always remember that foreigners did this to themselves.
As far as I am aware Guarantors are required to provide their own financial info (to prove they have an income and can act as a guarantor) and sign or hanko paperwork themselves.
It sounds like you’re just an emergency contact and they are trying to contact this person.
Sorry they just cut and run like that. Not a friend or anyone you know now. Just tell them you can’t get a hold of them like the others have said. Don’t give them any of your other personal information such as where you work or they might try to harass you, but legally you don’t have to pay any money so don’t feel pressured to do that. Esp when you didn’t agree to guarantee anything.
This is why it’s hard for foreigners to rent apartments.
You can simply ignore the company and your so-called friend if you didn’t officially sign anything. Your number was just for emergencies, so legally, you’re not responsible for your acquaintance’s debt at all.
Tell the guarantor company that you don’t know any friends of that name and never gave permission to use your contact info.
Hi there! :’) I had the exact same situation with a “friend” who basically did the same thing a few years ago.
You’re not liable for anything, so don’t worry. Basically the guarantor company just gives you a phone call once a month, and if you just tell them upfront that you’ve been blocked and don’t have contact with the person in question they phone calls usually consist of “have you been able to get in contact with them? If you are please let them know to call us back!”
Depending on the person in charge and what your “friend” is up to, they might also leak juicy details about them being close to eviction or that they owe X months of rent. But again, you’re not liable for any of this and the person will probably make that clear to you.
I had a friend do the same for an internet company. When they called me I didn’t even remember so I was like uhhh who’s this. And they asked me about a friend by their first name and he’d been gone for a while and I’d forgotten about him at the time so I was just like, I don’t know who that is. And they just apologized and never called again.
I’m sorry that this has happened to you, OP.
As long as you didn’t sign any document for your “friend” you don’t have to worry about anything. You have no legal obligation towards that person.
Just curious, if he’s your friend, have you tried checking out his social media accounts to see what he has been up to?
File a police report for fraud and identity theft.
They may nag you a few more times, but you’re only the emergency contact, not the guarantor. Your non-friend likely had to pay for a guarantor service, which the landlord can use to recoup the rent your non-friend opted not to pay.
You won’t be on the hook for anything, and honestly you could tell them you were out down as a contact without you knowing and that you’d like to not be contacted again.
No, they can’t. They just asking you if you can help them find him. They can’t sue you as you are only contact info.
Those people are the reason the rest of foreigners suffer when looking for housing here. Good luck for you.
I read the title and thought ” Fking ass whole! This is why we get a bad rap when it comes to renting!”
They can’t do nothing to you As long as you are not the signatory or contracted with them and he put your number and address, tell them I did not know that he put my number or address. I called him and did not find it. What you call friend he Just put you as a contact and in case they can’t reach him, they call you,
Just ignore them. They don’t even know where you live
Edited to add that there ARE some others who answered! Sorry to repeat info, but hopefully my comment helps soothe your worries.
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It seems like a lot of comments aren’t actually answering your question or concerns (that super sucks, by the way. It sounds stressful).
As far as my understanding goes, if you were an emergency contact and not their guarantor, then you are not liable for them to sue or go after for money. They may try to call and contact you, but you’ve already done your part by attempting to contact your (former) friend, so your job is done.
I’d just block their number if you explain that to them and they continue to harass you to get a hold of your friend.
Condolences again for the crappy situation. I hope it resolves itself soon.
Just being an “emergency contact” does not require you to be financially responsible. Sometimes they’ll make a renter have another guarantor that is a contact who will be financially responsible. But you should definitely know that you’re a guarantor (they’ll ask for income and additional info) and also they will typically only ask for a Japanese citizen who is employed and in the country. Sounds like you should have no actually finical responsibly.