Over a year ago, my car I was paying off for 2 years was repoed after I missed two payments. My friend at the time offered to help me out by getting a loan to buy back the car through his bank, while I cosigned. I was hesitant but he assured me it would be alright. We are both listed as owners of the vehicle. Since then I have been sending him the full payment amount each month, which then gets taken out of his account.
I have been late on 3 different occasions, which I wholeheartedly will admit too. However I am fully caught up in payments as of the time this is posted.
Long story short, I rejected advances of his, and somewhere around October of last year, I was being told I MUST get my own loan going forward. I emailed him I would work on it but it would take a while as I was in no spot financially to get my own $15,000 loan. (For context I should add I’m a female in my early 20’s and met this friend through work, 60M) He demanded I keep him updated on my progress on getting a new loan. (I had previously asked him to stop contacting me earlier and keep contact to simple payment transfers)
After ignoring his constant emails for months, which spewed so much hate and berated me, he starts messaging my family members online telling them how awful of a person I am and straight making up false claims about me. He tells them to pressure me into getting my own loan or he will take me to court etc. He claims he will destroy my entire life, sue me, make public posts about me, make me lose custody of my son, etc. if I do not get my own loan to take over our current one. To this day I get hateful emails, even after I have asked him many times to stop contacting me and my family.
Can he do this? Can I legally ask him to stop contacting me further than discussing finances? Can someone legally force me to get my own loan, when we signed a document agreeing to pay it over the course of x years? I do not have the credit or down payment for a loan, so to be threatened to this extent for this feels unfair. It is certainly bordering on harassment.
Location: Oregon, USA
Edit to add: I have said that if he wants off the loan anyway he can have the car, I will give it to him. All I can feasibly do is keep making my payments at the moment. He has decided to keep emailing me about a new loan despite this yet refuses to send over loan paperwork.