lent money to a friend

meplus3

hi, i have a bit of a problem. We booked a holiday a couple of months ago and are due to go on 14th august< we were supposed to be going with anther family and they said they didnt have all the money to pay the remaining balance on the date it was due so i said i would pay it for them and they could pay me the money back when they had it. Now they have decided they aren't going and they have said that because they aren't going they dont have to pay the money back to me and that i should just get a refund from the holiday company, the thing is though i can't do that as it states in the terms and conditions that there are no refunds if we didnt pay into the cancellation scheme. is there any way we can claim this money back from them?

roh999

meplus3 wrote: »

hi, i have a bit of a problem. We booked a holiday a couple of months ago and are due to go on 14th august< we were supposed to be going with anther family and they said they didnt have all the money to pay the remaining balance on the date it was due so i said i would pay it for them and they could pay me the money back when they had it. Now they have decided they aren't going and they have said that because they aren't going they dont have to pay the money back to me and that i should just get a refund from the holiday company, the thing is though i can't do that as it states in the terms and conditions that there are no refunds if we didnt pay into the cancellation scheme. is there any way we can claim this money back from them?

a good start would be to stop calling them "friends" if you cant speak to them about it and are seeking help about further action maybe they are just aquaintances.(bad spelling)

meplus3

roh105 wrote: »

a good start would be to stop calling them "friends" if you cant speak to them about it and are seeking help about further action maybe they are just aquaintances.(bad spelling)

yeh you do have a point there, but the thing is they are actually family, its my brother in law and his wife

chalkie99

Who booked the holiday?

If the booking is all in your name then the payments will be down to you alone.

They sound as though they have made it pretty clear that they don't value your friendship so you will probably end up putting it down to a harsh lesson in life and writing off the money.

If it's any consolation then have a read through the "Lending money to friends and family" sticky thread at the top of this section. It is a sticky for a reason, in other words, lots and lots of people have helped "friends out and lived to regret it.

Don't suppose you can get anyone else to "buy" the holiday by paying the balance? You would have to check thoroughly whether a transfer is allowable and the costs involved though.

talana

meplus3 wrote: »

hi, i have a bit of a problem. We booked a holiday a couple of months ago and are due to go on 14th august< we were supposed to be going with anther family and they said they didnt have all the money to pay the remaining balance on the date it was due so i said i would pay it for them and they could pay me the money back when they had it. Now they have decided they aren't going and they have said that because they aren't going they dont have to pay the money back to me and that i should just get a refund from the holiday company, the thing is though i can't do that as it states in the terms and conditions that there are no refunds if we didnt pay into the cancellation scheme. is there any way we can claim this money back from them?

Have you explained the bit in bold to them then? Doesn't seem so.
You could try shaming them into paying up, getting the rest of the family to put pressure on them too.
Other than that, or possibly transferring the booking to another name, I don't see you have much choice.

roh999

meplus3 wrote: »

yeh you do have a point there, but the thing is they are actually family, its my brother in law and his wife

ooooh could get messy then,is it worth it?

meplus3

unfortunately i cant get anyone to buy the holiday from me. i will get the family to put pressure on them to try and shame them into paying. i have explained to them that i cannot get a refund.

Just because they are family doesn't mean i'll let them get away with it, it could get messy but then thats down to them.

could i go through money claim online or the small claims court?

Thanks

money_honey

We had the exact same problem as you, my brother, sister & brother-in-law pulled out of a holiday we'd booked. It was a holiday cottage in the UK and I was expecting we'd lose all our money. I phoned the holiday company and they said although in the t&c's we shouldn't get our money back, we wouldn't be liable for the cost of the holiday if they could manage to re-sell the holiday cottage on their website. They did manage to and we ended up losing all the deposit but at least we didn't have to pay for the whole lot (we couldn't have afforded it). It could be worth phoning whoever you booked your holiday through and seeing if they do a similar thing?

I've definitely learnt my lesson - I refuse to book any more holidays unless everyone gives me the money upfront!

meplus3

i have phoned the holiday company and they said there is nothing they can do, weather they go or not i cannot get a refund.

talana

meplus3 wrote: »

could i go through money claim online or the small claims court?

With what evidence though? That's the crux.
You'd have to prove somehow that it was intended as a loan and they were supposed to pay you back. Otherwise they can simply counter that it was a gift to them.

Sorry for your situation, but as I said I can't see you have any options.

terryw

talana wrote: »

With what evidence though? That's the crux.
You'd have to prove somehow that it was intended as a loan and they were supposed to pay you back. Otherwise they can simply counter that it was a gift to them.

Sorry for your situation, but as I said I can't see you have any options.

This is certainly a possibility. On the good side they might pay once the court summons is issued and even if it does go to an actual hearing the judge must decide "on the balance of probabilities" who is telling the truth.

My gut feeling is that he would be on your side but this is by no means guaranteed.

Even if you win the case, you then have to enforce the judgement and this is a whole new ball-game.

It might be a good idea to send a "letter before action", well-written and typed and sent recorded or with a certificate of posting, to show that you are not prepared to let the matter drop.

Whatever you do though, any "friendship" is lost.