Can I take ex Flatmate to small claims court for rent

meggles88

To cut a long story short I ended up having to pay for 2 months rent due to my ex Flatmate being unable to pay.. I had to pay it to prevent us getting into arrears and getting into trouble with the landlord. She said she would give it back but I haven't received anything back as such. She owes me £500. I have bank statements and such to prove it came out of my account but the rent came out of a joint account we set up together.
Part of me doesn't want the hassle and fees but on the other hand I am livid she won't pay it back. Any suggestions are welcome.

DevCoder

You can sue your ex-flatmate using MCOL, although if she has no money then winning will be a hollow victory.

meggles88

I know that she is working an so should be able to pay a small sum weekly or monthly... Only problem is I have no idea where she is living now and she is avoiding all contact with me. Will this be an issue? Thank you for your replies in advance

DevCoder

I assume you've googled her name, most people have a digital presence, facebook, twitter et cetera. Once you've got a rough location then you can try a 192.com search for her phone number/address.

Buzby

If you have no idea where the debtor lives, then you are stuffed. If you cannot serve the documents to a valid address within the area of jurisdiction, this is the first hurdle and pretty insurmountable.

If she is a 'person of straw' is it much easier to take the hit and learn, then move on.

meggles88

I know where her parents live and I know where she works... Wow that sounds a bit strange.. Would I be able to do it through that way? I'm sure I can find out where she lives I just don't want her to do the same to someone else. X

Kayalana99

You just need to get hold of that address anyway possible... be creative? lol

madrhino

Contact her parents and ask for her address saying you have some post to forward to her? But only if you think that she won't have told her parents about the problems between you, as you don't want to give her the heads up that you're trying to get her address

madrhino

If you have parents name and address you should be able to get their phone number.