Lent ex money

mermaid85

I lent my (now) ex money back in December, as he had to pay outstanding rent to avoid being evicted. We had a signed agreement stating the amount and that it was being lent.

He has repeatedly told me he has paid into my account, yet it never arrives and after speaking to the bank, no chance that he has had wrong account details as they have to all match.

I have tried using Money claim online, having spoken to his landlord he never paid the rent and is no longer living there so sent to his mother's address where he was living. It came back opened, and stating "not known at this address"

He has now moved to Scotland, and the online claim is only for England and Wales. I also can't be sure that his address is current, genuine or that he will admit to living there.

I have texts from him confirming how much he owes and that he will pay back, it is around £600.

Is there any way I can get this back? Or do I have to learn from my own stupidity?!!!

CLAPTON

I don't think that helping and trusting some-one you had affection for is being stupid.

but sadly I doubt if you have any real redress.

olly300

If you can't get his address then unfortunately you are going to have to write the amount off.

In future never lend money to anyone you can't afford to lose regardless of whether they are family, friend or lover.

Also if you still know people in his social circle tell them politely that he has walked off owing you money. Don't get into a deep discussion about it or slag him off. That way other people will know not to lend him anything.

barloo69

Unfortunatley the texts do not prove anything. They could be from anyone anynumber. Would stand up in court Im afraid.

Very sorry, the advice you have recd thus far is spot on. You going to just have to grin and bear it and chalk it up to experience.

One thing though, Im sure you wont lend to another partner / friend / family again without some kind of signed agreement before hand.

sorry.

zzzLazyDaisy

You have a signed agreement, and he owes you the money. The chances are, if you start court proceedings, he probably won't respond to the papers and/or won't turn up, in which case you will win by default.

The fact that you can't claim online doesn't really matter as you can just visit your local county court and fill out a claim form.

But, as others have said, you cannot start proceedings unless you have an address for service. Even if you do have an address, once he receives the court papers he can apply to have the case transferred to his home court, which will mean you travelling to Scotland for any court hearings.

Even if you do win, there is no guarantee he will pay up. If he doesn't, you will have paid court fees, and then be faced with further fees for enforcing the debt (by sending the bailiffs in, getting an attachment of earnings order if he is working, or getting a garnishee order against his bank account). The fees are addeed to the money he owes you, but that doesn't help if he doesn't pay.

To enforce the debt you have to have his home address/ employer's address / bank account details (depending on how you choose to enforce it) and of course if he moves again you will be back to square one - just more out of pocket than you were before.

Sadly, if someone is determined to avoid a debt, there really isn't any guarantee of getting the money back.