Brother in law demanding repayment of money given as gift

mountainofdebt

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

Civil courts are really quite expensive places to run. Someone has to pay for the court buildings, court staff, judges......

For a case of this size it would cost less than £100 to put a claim in which if the boyfriend lost, he would have to pay.

neverdespairgirl

mountainofdebt wrote: »

For a case of this size it would cost less than £100 to put a claim in which if the boyfriend lost, he would have to pay.

Yes. But there was a dispute about whether or not bringing a case such as this would be a waste of public money. It would, because public money is spent in running courts.

LannieDuck

My only qualification to comment on this is that I've watched a lot of Judge Judy :P

I think the fact that he signed something to say he owed it would go against him (the coercion is a bit tenuous retrospectively - the BIL could just claim that he and OH were getting everything sorted out at the same time before OH moved out), and the fact that he's started to pay some of it back will also go against him.

However, he should be entitled to a proper account of what the £500 is for.

Honestly, I would just pay it and then never, ever borrow off BIL again. I realise that when he's already in debt it's not easy, but in the long-term £500 is a small price to pay for a reasonable relationship with family (esp if there's a chance he might actually owe them the money...).

Mrs_Imp

If you believe that BiL will take it to court and win, then you should write them a letter outlining a repayment plan that's affordable, eg £5 a month. Make sure you keep a copy and send it recorded delivery. The judge won't look favourably on a case that's basically been resolved.

heartbreak_star

Is it worth trying to sit down and talk this through with someone impartial as a mediator?

HBS x

Brighton_belle

LannieDuck wrote: »

Honestly, I would just pay it and then never, ever borrow off BIL again.

My understanding is that he didn't knowingly borrow most of it in the first place? Much of it was gifts at the time. It was decided retrospectively to call them 'loans' when the fall out happened.

I would suggest that he never ever accepts any 'gifts' or invites anywhere from his b-in-law again as they may suddenly become 'you owe us for that'.
He definitely should get a compete breakdown of what is owed and what for - including what he has already paid off.

podperson

Does the document he signed state the amount of the 'loan' on it?

Bufger

So his brother gave him £500. £150 of that was to pay a loan for him but he doesnt know what the other £350 was for and he didnt think to ask?

If someone gave me £350 i'd like to know why.

It sounds like your fella was given some money to get him out of a tight spot. He has decided it was a gift but the generous party obviously didnt intend it as such. Your fella should pay it back as morally and legally its the correct thing to do.

Falling out with family for £350 really is low. if thats the price he puts on his relationships then i'd be weary if I were you.

Mojisola

gibboelli wrote: »

He knows £150 was when the brother in law paid his loan for him, which he has paid £100 back of and will be paying the other £50, he still isnt sure what the rest is for.

He beleives its for various things that were bought for him as gifts and with no agreement or understanding whatsoever that he was to pay back but now brother in law is angry with him is saying that it was on a 'loan' basis. This is why he has asked him for a breakdown.

Bufger wrote: »

So his brother gave him £500. £150 of that was to pay a loan for him but he doesnt know what the other £350 was for and he didnt think to ask?

If someone gave me £350 i'd like to know why.

It doesn't sound as if he was given a lump sum of £350.

I would ask for a breakdown of the balance and then write a letter, as suggested above, offering £5 or £10 a week.

LannieDuck

Brighton_belle wrote: »

My understanding is that he didn't knowingly borrow most of it in the first place? Much of it was gifts at the time. It was decided retrospectively to call them 'loans' when the fall out happened.

I would suggest that he never ever accepts any 'gifts' or invites anywhere from his b-in-law again as they may suddenly become 'you owe us for that'.
He definitely should get a compete breakdown of what is owed and what for - including what he has already paid off.

Ah, sorry, you're right. I did read that in the OP, but didn't proof read my response before I pressed send. It should have read "I would suggest he never accepts any gifts from BIL again."