Guarantors

A guarantor is someone who agrees to stand behind a member: a sister, a brother, a friend or an employer. In SocietyLedger, a guarantor is a recorded agreement and nothing more. It is an honest record that a named person was told what the circle expects and agreed. It does not create a legal guarantee, SocietyLedger does not enforce one, and nothing is ever taken from a guarantor automatically.

Whether a guarantor is needed is a circle rule: Not needed, Optional or Required before joining. See Rules, grace and late fees.

Before you startCopy Anchor Link

• You need the manage permission.
• If the circle requires a guarantor, the member stays in Waiting for approval until one is recorded. The Waiting for column on the Members tab says so.
• Have the guarantor's name, phone number and relationship to the member.

Record an agreement in personCopy Anchor Link

Use this when the guarantor is with you, or you have spoken to them by phone and they agreed.

WebMobile

Go to Thrift Circles, open the circle, and choose the Members tab.

On the member's row, select Guarantor.

Select Show the wording and read it to the guarantor. This is exactly what they are agreeing to, and it is the text that is saved.

Enter the Guarantor's name, their Phone, and the Relationship to the member.

Under How they agreed, write how it happened, for example "Read the wording to her on the phone on 29 August, and she agreed."

Select Record agreement.

Or send the guarantor a linkCopy Anchor Link

Use this when the guarantor is not with you. They read the wording and accept it themselves, on their own phone.

A few things to know about the link:

• It can be used once, and it expires after 7 days.
• Creating another link replaces the first, so an old link in someone's messages cannot be used.
• You are told when the guarantor accepts, and the member is activated if nothing else is missing.

What happens nextCopy Anchor Link

The member's row shows guarantor on file. If a new agreement is recorded later, it replaces the earlier one, and the earlier one stays on file, so the history is complete.

If someone later falls behind, a guarantor is not charged. The circle can contact the guarantor, but SocietyLedger will only record that it did. See Late fees, default cases, repayment plans and disputes.