Lent money to "friend"

paulwellerfan

judge judy would have it sorted in a jiffy. :-)

antrobus

kzfocus wrote: »

... Is her current address needed in order to proceed?(

I think so. There's certainly a big box labelled 'Defendant's name and address" on the front of the N1 claims form - I assume you're going down the Small Claims Court route, and after you've handed the form in the court normally notifies the defendant by post.

I don't know if there are any alternatives if you don't know the current address, but if don't know the current address it may well be hard to enforce the judgement, so it may well be easier just to find it out.

The easiest way of finding out where someone lives is to pay a tracing agent to do it for you. No idea what they would charge for a one off trace for a private client these days, but they will do it, and given the info that you already have, I don't think it would take them that long either. An alternative would be just to type their name into Google and see what turns up. It's remarkable what information is out there when you look for it.

pmlindyloo

I wonder if it is possible for you to get some sort of evidence where she admits that you lent her the money?

You are obviously in contact with her - is this by telephone - can you record the calls? Can you text her and keep copies?

I am not a fan of Facebook but is she a member and could you contact her this way?

It seems to me that you do need to have some proof that you lent her the money and she accepts that it was a loan.

I know that it will be difficult to get the money back and may cost a lot in solicitors fees so accept that people are suggesting that you put it down to experience. However, if you had some written evidence that it was a loan then you stand a greater chance.

If I were in your position I would get the evidence before you go down the solicitor route. In fact if you have evidence you could probably do it yourself through the small claims court and save yourself a lot of money.

Some detective work is needed here!

I am not someone who believes that she should 'get away with it' but you have to be realistic. No evidence of a loan = little chance of winning.

If you have evidence then there are many avenues to explore to recoup your loss - attachment of earnings etc etc.

It would be a long drawn out process but if you have the time and energy then it can be done.

BargainGalore

You still need her address for court papers dont use a solicitor all it will do is cot you more money and you may still not have a penny back if she decides to be difficult or worse has no money

She cant be a real friend if she values money more than doing the right thing even paying a small amount in dribs and drabs, no friend she is

kzfocus

Thanks for the advice. I have a number of emails stating the money was loaned and she would repay it as well as bank receipts for when the money was paid into her bank account. I'm hoping the letter from the solicitor will be enough. The main stumbling block is getting her current address. I have managed to get together a lot of info via a number of means including google etc. Hopefully enough for the solicitor to trace her. I know roughly where she lives. I appreciate it will cost to pursue but £3,500 is a lot of money to me. Either way I've certainly put this down as a life experience. My mistake for being trusting.

steve237

I leant 'a friend' £2500 once and it was a nightmare getting it back. I bugged him via phone and following in car (he had moved house) until he paid me back between £500-1000 a month BACS transfer. I managed to trick him into thinking he still owed me £500 so it paid off in the end as I was £500 up for my troubles!

Took almost a year though. Never again.

Mallotum_X

steve237 wrote: »

I leant 'a friend' £2500 once and it was a nightmare getting it back. I bugged him via phone and following in car (he had moved house) until he paid me back between £500-1000 a month BACS transfer. I managed to trick him into thinking he still owed me £500 so it paid off in the end as I was £500 up for my troubles!

Took almost a year though. Never again.

Thats the spirit, if people mess you about steal from them...

steve237

Mallotum_X wrote: »

Thats the spirit, if people mess you about steal from them...

This bloke lied to me from the very start until the very end of this saga. He refused to give me his new address. He asked me for the money for a business emergency that transpired never to have existed. Meanwhile he was living in a luxury 5 bed detached home in a leafy suburb whilst I desperately needed the money I lent (on a 2 week loan) almost a year later. it even had an effect on my relationship!

If people class this as stealing, that's fine by me, I call it justice - compensation for messing me around and causing me massive financial problems.

dtsazza

Mallotum_X wrote: »

Thats the spirit, if people mess you about steal from them...

To be fair, if there had been any sort of formal contract drawn up, the penalties for conducting the account in this way would likely have been similar.

Paying 20% of the principal would likely have been a reasonable interest rate on the loan anyway, never mind the late payment fees and punitive interest rate (not to mention £25 for sending each letter!).

If it had been multiple thousands of pounds of overpayment that's pushing it, but to my mind that's an entirely reasonable response to the situation.

skintandscared_2

dtsazza wrote: »

To be fair, if there had been any sort of formal contract drawn up, the penalties for conducting the account in this way would likely have been similar.

Paying 20% of the principal would likely have been a reasonable interest rate on the loan anyway, never mind the late payment fees and punitive interest rate (not to mention £25 for sending each letter!).

If it had been multiple thousands of pounds of overpayment that's pushing it, but to my mind that's an entirely reasonable response to the situation.

Agree totally. If this loan had been taken out with a high street lender the interest alone would have been higher than the £500 "extra" payment, let alone the penalties for late/non payments. Good for steve237!