What can the surety be held liable for?
There’s one word that strikes fear in the hearts of business owners: Suretyship. It’s guaranteed to send them fleeing for the hills. Many businessmen and women have suffered untold abuse at the hands of creditors who have manipulated them using suretyships and guarantees. On the other hand, there’s many a creditor berating themselves for failing to get a suretyship before granting credit to their now defaulting debtor. Let’s face it: the suretyship can be a useful business tool. If used correctly, fairly and with clarity on the parameters. A suretyship can grant companies access to the credit they so desperately need, while giving creditors the comfort to release goods before payment is made. But there needs to be a balance between the competing interests of debtor and creditor. All too often we hear of creditors upsetting this balance by trying to claim more than what the surety originally bargained for.