– Looked for several loans at the same time, all were approved – E24

Lillehammer’s Tony Lien Antonsen (48) destroyed the family’s finances when he spent six years raising huge sums on consumer loans.

– It started in 2013, he says.

– But it was after a Thai tour in 2015 that it took off. I thought I could handle what I had in debt then. But then I completely lost my mind.

E24 has told about his ex-wife, Gunn-Saimi Laakso, who knew nothing about the man’s many consumer loans until after the sheriff promised their joint residence, and then demanded the forced sale.

– Delete control

Antonsen had little trouble accumulating a million debts in banks.

– Several times I applied for several loans at the same time, waiting for it to happen. But then all requests were approved. In such cases, the new debt registry will also not help.

He emphasizes that it is he who is responsible for the loans.

– It was stupid to borrow. But it was also simply verifying the information I provided, especially at the Resurs bank. They could have easily revealed me.

He and his ex-wife Gunn-Saimi both have regular jobs with an average income. She works in a public agency with addicts and gamblers. Work in a private company. In recent years, he has earned around NOK 500,000 a year, far less than he should have earned to service consumer loans of more than NOK 4 million.

Browser game

It started with the use of the credit card. Gradually, she took out consumer loans to get slightly lower monthly payments.

– What did you spend all your money on?

– Especially. Among other things, online games.

Tony hoped to find a way to get out of debt by winning games.

– Then he took off completely with the money spent. 2016 and 2017 were the worst years before it stopped in 2018 on its own.

He managed to keep the facade in front of creditors for a long time.

– I knew when they got the information from the tax return. But in the end, in 2018, I had to realize that the battle was lost. It didn’t work anymore.

Tony is also aware that he has never abused his wife and identity.

– I have never created an account in her name, as she says. In fact, it has been important to me not to abuse your name.

16 banks

The appraiser has completed a total of 28 disbursement transactions in the Antonsen debt case, where it was decided that a mortgage would be taken on his residential property.

16 banks are listed as creditors, including major DNB and Nordea banks, as well as typical consumer loan banks like Bank Norwegian.

The largest creditor among those who have received approved mortgages on the home is the Resurs bank. They have mortgages on the property for more than 700,000 crowns. The Resur bank also requested the forced sale.

Gabor Molnar, Country Manager at Resurs Bank Norway, defends the credit evaluation they have carried out.

– Basically we do not have more information than what is indicated in the application documents. We do a credit rating and collect payment notes. If the customer appears to be repairable and there is no payment note, loans will be made, says Molnar.

He also notes that the new debt registry helps assess credit performance.

Will punish irresponsibility

Jorge Jensen, Director of Finance for Finance at the Consumer Council, is critical that Tony Lien Antonsen has received so many loans.

– Here’s a reasonable reason to ask if lenders have made a good enough credit rating, says Jensen, and continues:

– 16 borrowers where no one has asked for documentation on the outstanding debt? There is weak banking. Banks that do not verify the serviceability of loan applicants or simply ignore the debt burden of the borrower in their entirety should help bear some of the consequences of their financial collapse.

The Consumer Council believes that companies that do not use the information contained in debt records should be penalized.

– In the opinion of the Consumer Council, borrowers who make unjustifiable credit evaluations should be excluded from the possibility of seizing homes as they have done here, or seizing wages or social security. This is not the case today, says Jorge Jensen.

NB! With the new debt registry, established last year, it should no longer be possible to get as much in consumer loans as Tony did. But Tony could still get a portion of the loan, and even now without the wife or co-inhabitant being informed of the default. These rules have not changed.