Loan Problems

Several years ago I lent a friend approximately 2500 after they had a few problems with paying some bills off. They then paid me back just under 50 a month. This friend was short of cash at one point so I said don't worry about the payments for a couple of months. This has gone on longer than I am happy with now (about a year) and they still have a balance of 1300 outstanding. Problem is now the (so called) friend is playing hard to get about the payments, trying to get out of paying it back. Is there anything I can do to force them to pay back the amount owed?

Thanks

Gav

Reply to
Gav
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Do you have any paperwork to cover the agreement between you and your friend, or was it all done on a handshake?

Not sure what the answer is either way but it seemed like a pertinent fact.

Reply to
Biscit

Unfortunately is was just a handshake type deal, as I obviously trusted them at the time. Trouble I have now is that I don't know where the person lives and have not got a contact number. All I know is where they work, so I rang at lunch time. Took 5 rings before they would speak to me (4 times was hung up on when they realised who it was).

Gav

Reply to
Gav

Then you're stuffed. The only thing you can do is hope he acknowledged the debt in some way. Send him a statement recorded delivery and ask if he believe the amount is wrong and how much time he needs to pay it.

What did he want the money for?

Are there any witnesses to the loan or of any payments.

Keep a log of phone calls and contacts. Ensure you can get your BT bill itemised to prove you tried contacting him. If he will speak at all record the conversations.

Try bottom posting.

Reply to
Fred

There's a piece of software called 'UK Info Disc' (I have it somewhere) floating around, which contains excerpts from the Electoral Roll (I think). You might be able to find this persons address from there, unless they have chosen to only appear on the 'edited register'. (Again, I think)

Perhaps, armed with an address, you can either visit them or file a claim in the Small Claims Court?

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I'm not sure how good my advice is, but I can relate to the issue you're having.

Reply to
getbent

Several things, huge mobile phone bill, student loan that needed paying back because he failed the course and hence was no longer entitled to it. Basically he was trying to pay off several debts and acruing interest on them all. I offered to pay them off as he was getting really depressed over them.

No witnesses, all I have is bank statements with the initial transfer from my account to theirs and 26 payments of the same amount from them to me.

I called from work so all calls will have been logged.

Soz. :o)

Reply to
Gav

Small Claims Court, but they'll likely need evidence.

Someone once advised: never loan a friend more than their friendship is worth to you, then if they walk away from the debt, the worst loss will be their friendship.

I always thought that was kinda clever.

FoFP

Reply to
M Holmes

If you have an email account you don't mind being spammed you could try

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who also have telephone and electoral roll data.

Reply to
Simon Jerram

Already got an account with them, I'll give it a try. :o) Thanks.

Reply to
Gav

Hmm, never thought of that.

Reply to
getbent

That's plenty of evidence. Where the balance of proof lies I know not. Post on uk.legal.moderated or run a search as it comes up from time to time.

Daytona

Reply to
Daytona

Sounds like a clasic case of "robbing peter to pay paul" to me!

You would have helped him more by assisting him in the task of negotiating with his creditors for more time to pay if he was a genuine "can't pay" situation, but it sounds like it may have been more a "won't pay" situation.

Reply to
Adrian Boliston

A good maxim, but the friend may well value the friendship less than he does! I have a rule never to lend my children money, and if I can't afford to _give_ them what they need, they have to manage without.

Reply to
Gordon

I follow the the wise saying "Lend not what you can't afford to lose"

Just about all of us can identify with the OP's tale of woe:

"Lend friend/family member money - all goes well for a while - friend/family member stops repayment for [insert reason here] - friend/family member becomes surly and/or unobtainable - friendship/family relationship goes pear-shaped."

I read somewhere that a good approach is not to lend money, but instead offer to be a guarantor against default on a bank loan taken out by the friend/family member for the required amount. The reasoning here is that the friend/family member would be less likely to default or fall behind on a loan issued by a bank as it would of course affect their credit record.

All this does not help the OP of course. If writing the debt off is out of the question then small claims court is probably the only avenue. Life can take some funny twists though and it may well happen that someday the OP may desperate need his "friend" to help him out of a jam. Who knows?

Reply to
Trust No One

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