Woman sues NAB over hundreds of thousands in 'unapproved' loans for her ex
A Brisbane woman is suing one of Australia’s biggest banks, claiming it allowed her ex to borrow hundreds of thousands of dollars in her name without her permission.
Leith Williamson, 58, says National Australia Bank (NAB) cannot produce documents proving she agreed to borrow money and act as a guarantor for her former partner Phillip Waight because the paperwork had never existed.
Ms Williamson told the ABC she had spent four years trying to work out how her debts approved by the bank for Mr Waight had gotten out of hand.
The bank has conceded that it can’t find paperwork showing Ms Williamson had agreed to guarantee a $320,000 loan in Mr Waight’s name.
Nor could Ms Williamson find it, she told the ABC.
"Over an eight-month period, I was given so many excuses — 'they're in the mail, they're coming from a storage area' — by phone and by email I was given so many different excuses," she said.
In its defense, NAB has said it can show other documents which prove Ms Williamson was aware of her partner’s financial affairs.
However, she says those documents have been faked.
"The documents that they have presented me with I've never seen before, I've certainly never signed and I knew nothing about," she told ABC.
Ms Williamson’s father, John Williamson, has also been listed as a guarantor in bank documents but says he was never involved with any property purchases.
Mr Waight declined to be interviewed but told ABC there was nothing improper in his dealings with NAB.
In a statement, NAB declined to comment on the specifics of a case currently before the courts but said it would continue to defend the matter, but was prepared to meet with its customer to discuss it.
