UK Landlord Forum / Life

My tenant, Miss X, has defaulted on her rent and when I checked the paper work for the rental aggreement I noticed the guarantor actually wrote a letter back in 2009, not addressed to me or my management company which stated that She (Miss X's friend) will be the guarantor for Miss X's the next 10 years and it was signed and dated Jan 14th 2009.
I didnt have my tenants friend verify she was an actual guarantor we didnt sign a guarantor form with rental amounts stated and length of tenancy at all and I havent even started writing to her until this August 2013.
Now that I'm chasing money owed to me, Miss X and her friend are telling me that they were not sent the proper guarantor forms and now the "friend" is disputing she is a guarantor for rent at my property.

Is she correct and if so, how else do I get the arrears from my tenant?

You do not stand a cat in hells chance of recovery of arrears  from the tenant or guarantor.
You didn't do it properly.
What you should have done is obtain RGI on the guarantor.
Just evict the tenant and source  a new tenant.
This tenant is highly unlikely to leave as they probably know how to work the eviction system.
You are one of many thousands of LL that fail to realise that RGI is the only way to have rent arrears paid and the tenant evicted at the RGI company's expense.
RGI per year costs £99.00
Hope you have about 9 months of mortgage payment money as this is how long it will take to evict.
Then if you have to source new tenants or repair the property then that will be about another 2 months.
Play safe and look set to lose about 9 months rent  and the other associated costs.
So if rent about £1000 pcm you will lose about £12000
Hopefully next time you will choose a tenant on whom you have RGI on or their guarantor.
Not easy this LL game is it!!?

Are you sure what you are talking about?

I have a letter signed by Miss Y, stating that she wants to be the guarantor of Miss X's rent and the letter is dated a month prior to Miss X moving in. Its signed and dated , but it isnt addressed to me, I thought that was the only loop hole.

Miss Y says that I should have written to her the moment monies were in arrears and she also said (over the phone) that if I informed her after a month or two of arrears, then she might have paid it. But as I left it nearly 3 years (due to the tenant's bleeding heart stories which I cannot go into but it did include her being hospitalised by a violent boyfriend), and maybe I did leave it far too long. I took my eye off that property and I usually get RGI on the guarantor , God knows what happened with this property. Maybe I can settle in a small claims court? Its only £5,600.
This will be the last time I let out flats to single people - families are the future fore my rentals!!

Anyone else had this happen to them or have an opinion on what happened to me?

A letter means NOTHING.
The only way a guarantor works is it has to be attached as a deed to the AST, a letter is useless.
YOU should know this.