Next: Credit and debt
Buy now, pay later — and the debits you forgot
Pay-later at checkout is a loan dressed as a payment button, and an auto-debit is a permission you gave once. Both switch on easily and off quietly.
16 min
intermediate
Standing guarantor: what the signature says
A guarantee is not a character reference. Section 128 makes a guarantor liable for the whole debt, not a portion of it, and the paper is with the lender.
3 lessons · about 17 minutes · written for reading age 13 · last checked 2026-08-12
What the signature says
A guarantee has its own chapter in the Contract Act, and section 128 sets the amount at the whole debt rather than a portion — interest and charges included.
6 min
Your report, and how the exit works
The guarantee sits on your own credit report, and the Contract Act's revocation route reaches only the transactions that have not happened yet.
6 min
When it is family asking
Most guarantees in India are agreed across a dining table rather than at a bank counter — and the two questions in that room are worth separating.
5 min
Check yourself
3 questions at the end. Every wrong answer explains itself.
Sources
- The Indian Contract Act, 1872 — Chapter VIII, Of Indemnity and Guarantee (sections 124-147) — Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice · checked 2026-08-12
- Master Direction — Reserve Bank of India (Credit Information Reporting) Directions, 2025 — Reserve Bank of India · checked 2026-08-12
- Master Circular on Wilful Defaulters — paragraph 2.6, guarantees furnished by individuals and companies — Reserve Bank of India · checked 2026-08-12