Friend owes me £150, how do I get it back?

iammag

First of all, apologies if I've posted this to the wrong section, I wasn't sure where else to ask.

A couple of years ago, an old friend of mine moved back to the area and got a job where I worked. She didn't have much money and was staying with relatives almost an hour away from the office which wasn't ideal, so we decided it would make sense if she lived with me for a while until she could afford her own place.

A few weeks passed and her phone stopped working, so she asked if I would be willing to sell her mine. I was due an upgrade anyway, so we agreed £300, in two £150 instalments.

I got the first payment almost straight away, but before I could get the second she was let go from her job and decided to move back home to Cornwall (I'm in Shropshire). Before she left, she assured me she would pay me the other £150 as soon as she got a job, but as you can probably guess I've still not received anything.

Every time I contact her about it, she apologises and promises she'll pay me at the next pay day, but it never happens. I even agreed to let her pay back in smaller monthly instalments to help her out but nothing. I'm not desperate for the money, it's more a matter of principle that I don't want her to get away with it when all I did was try to help her out.

I didn't think to get her to sign any sort of contract at the time, but I've got plenty of texts and Facebook messages where she admits she owes the money and agrees to pay it back, so what are my options?

Thanks, and sorry for the long story

wiogs

I think you may have to put this down to experience.

You could post, publicly, on her FB and say you are aware that she has no money so just to pay back as and when.

Might shame her, but you would also be likely to lose this "friend"

System

you could try smaller instalments. Say £50 each time she gets paid.

sulphate

Someone who doesn't have much money perhaps shouldn't commit to buying a £300 phone!

You could try a tougher approach assuming you haven't done so already, saying "sorry but I really need that money by x date, as my car needs servicing/my boiler broke/whatever, here are my bank details please make sure the money reaches my account by 1 November" and keep sending similar messages until the money appears (if it ever does).

I used to have a friend who could never budget her cash, would plead poverty and myself and her other friends all believed it so we all used to lend money to her now and again. Then once I came with her when she did a weekly shop just for herself and she spent around £80 not just on food but also things like dvds, clothes etc. Then at the end of the month I'd get a txt (also sent to a dozen other people) begging for £200 because she couldn't pay her rent. This time I told her I wouldn't be lending her anything because if people kept doing so she'd never learn to budget. Our relationship quickly deteriorated.

Since then one of my main irritants is people who don't pay money owed. I also never lend money to people apart from close family unless I'd be happy never to see it again.

iammag

@wiogs: Yeah, I thought that might be the case. I was hoping there'd be some legal action I could at least threaten her with, even if I didn't go through with, but I knew that was extremely unlikely for such a small amount (even though it's not a small amount to me).

I'm not too fussed about the friendship at the point, the only time we ever talk now is when I'm chasing her for the money. I was very lenient to start with because I knew she had no money or job, but she's had a job for a while now and she's just been on a Caribbean holiday, which is why I'm so annoyed because it feels like she's taking the p*** a bit. I'll try the public shaming route and see if that works, thanks for your reply.

pmlindyloo

iammag wrote: »

First of all, apologies if I've posted this to the wrong section, I wasn't sure where else to ask.

A couple of years ago, an old friend of mine moved back to the area and got a job where I worked. She didn't have much money and was staying with relatives almost an hour away from the office which wasn't ideal, so we decided it would make sense if she lived with me for a while until she could afford her own place.

A few weeks passed and her phone stopped working, so she asked if I would be willing to sell her mine. I was due an upgrade anyway, so we agreed £300, in two £150 instalments.

I got the first payment almost straight away, but before I could get the second she was let go from her job and decided to move back home to Cornwall (I'm in Shropshire). Before she left, she assured me she would pay me the other £150 as soon as she got a job, but as you can probably guess I've still not received anything.

Every time I contact her about it, she apologises and promises she'll pay me at the next pay day, but it never happens. I even agreed to let her pay back in smaller monthly instalments to help her out but nothing. I'm not desperate for the money, it's more a matter of principle that I don't want her to get away with it when all I did was try to help her out.

I didn't think to get her to sign any sort of contract at the time, but I've got plenty of texts and Facebook messages where she admits she owes the money and agrees to pay it back, so what are my options?

Thanks, and sorry for the long story

Since you have evidence that you loaned her the money and she has agreed to pay it back then you can write her a Letter Before Action (this is what you put at the top of your letter)

In your letter you have to set out what has happened - on (date), you ................................ Then set out the dates of the monies that have been forthcoming and the total owed.

Continue by saying that you have offered to let her pay back @....per month but this has not been acknowledged.

Therefore you expect to hear from her within 7(?) days and if not then you will begin court proceedings as is your legal right and court costs may be awarded to you.

Presumably she has a job now so can pay.

Often a letter before action does the trick although it may end the friendship (if there still is one!)

If she doesn't reply then you can make a small claims through the court. Google for more information. It is relatively straightforward but you may not want the hassle.

Good luck.

iammag

@sulphate: It sounds very similar to my "friend". She had no money when she moved in with me but as she was working she obviously had a bit of income, and I wasn't charging her rent. She had a gym membership whilst she lived with me, and she always had money for food and clothes, so I figured she could afford the £300, I just wasn't expecting her to lose her job and move back home.

I've tried being a bit tougher, but without having anything to threaten her with she'll just keep promising and never delivering. She asked for my bank details a few months back after I chased her for the money, but she never paid. It's just an empty promise every time. And seeing on her FB that she's just been on a Caribbean holiday is the last straw. I'm the same as you, I can't stand people who don't pay what's owed and take advantage of people who just try to help. That's why I don't want her to get away with my money.

Trust me, I have learnt from this experience, and I won't be lending money to anyone else in a hurry. I'm in a similar situation with my sister too, she owes me £500 which I doubt I'll ever see again, but it's more difficult when it's family, which is why I'm determined to get this money back from my "friend".

sulphate

I would post on her FB wall something like "sounds/looks like you had a great holiday, I can assume now you can afford to pay me back so would you mind doing so by the end of the month because my boiler has exploded and I need to get it fixed before winter. I'll message you my bank details again" or whatever excuse you want to say for needing the money. Then message your bank details to her again so she can't say she lost them. This might shame her.

If you don't get the money by 1 November send her a letter before action as someone else suggested. It might scare her into paying.

People like her and my friend get away with never paying money owed because people let it go for the reasons you've said "it's not much money" etc but it also means they never learn.

iammag

@pmlindyloo: This is perfect, just the sort of thing I was after. No matter how much chasing I do, if I don't have anything actionable to threaten her with then she'll just keep fobbing me off with empty promises, so a Letter Before Action sounds perfect.

I did look up small claims court before, but the fees put me off a bit, especially considering it isn't a huge sum of money. Even though I have the proof where she's admitted to owing me the money and agreed to pay it back, I have no idea if texts and Facebook messages will be enough in court. But I really do like the idea of a Letter Before Action, so that's definitely the route I'll go, thank you so much

Kaimoo

We have several friends who owe us money, not much but it probably adds up to over £1000.

We have put it down to experience, all we get is excuses and it got to the point where we don't contact them and they won't receive any help from us again. Lesson learnt never lend to anyone unless they have the means to pay you back in full on pay day

RAS

The other thing you can (apparently) do is to start the on-line application for the small claims court, grab a screen shot and send her a copy.

Just you do not hit the confirm button on the small claim so do not have to pay the £75 fee.