Claiming money back from a friend.

jdscott_2

Hello all,

Back in late 2010/early 2011, I loaned a "friend" who shared a student house with myself around £150 (not a great deal to some but as a university student its considerable to me!) However, as the house contracts were due to run out this friend ran off from university back home. It emerged that he had not paid the majority of his rent (£1800) and our landlord suddenly revealed we had signed joint-tenancy agreements (naivety), so myself and my 3 other housemates were liable for the £1800. At the time we couldn't pay so court proceedings began against us.

Then in July 2011 the friend who had ran off sent a message to all of us, apologising for not yet paying back any of the money he owed, but that he had paid the rent. However this turned out to be a lie, and i ended up forking out £450 (1/4 of the £1800 owed) to cover his rent. Since last summer i have had repeated facebook exchanges with the friend where he has admitted that he owes me the money but gives a variety of outlandish reasons why he hasn't yet paid me back the original £150 he owed. On top of this he continues to insist that his dad had paid the rent to the landlord, and the landlord has double charged us. However, surprisingly, he continues to be unable to prove this.

I was wondering if anyone on this forum knew of a way that I could begin to claim money back, i.e. through a small claims court? The £450 I paid for his rent left me in continued debt which has caused significant mental distress over the past year, and any response from the "friend" is rare and usually quite insulting.

Thanks for any help.

MonkeyMad

You could go to court, but I would guess at this point the chance of you getting the cash back is absolutlely zero. Not what you want to hear, and I understand the issues it may be causing you, but the best thing to do it to move on since anything else will just cause you pointless hassle.

societys_child

Send a letter to his dad asking for details of how the rent was paid as the LL is trying to double charge you. Might stir things up a bit . . .

DVardysShadow

MonkeyMad wrote: »

You could go to court, but I would guess at this point the chance of you getting the cash back is absolutlely zero. Not what you want to hear, and I understand the issues it may be causing you, but the best thing to do it to move on since anything else will just cause you pointless hassle.

The chances may be lowish, but definitely higher than zero. It could be that this immature twerp has been playing everyone - not paying £1800, telling his father that the LL's demand for £1800 is because the others have not paid and getting another £1800 off his father. It is a fair chance that he is so immature because his parents have always bailed him out.

So, incorporating society's child's idea, perhaps a letter before action, copy to dad, followed by a claim in the small claims court. And perhaps the other tenants joining in to fund this. £35 split 4 ways probably gives a better return than the lottery.