Claiming Money From a Former Friend

muddipaws

Since February this year I have agreed with a friend that when I have bought things she will pay half. We have had a major falling out over this person owing me money, which they dont deny but its like pulling teeth getting it. This person admits to a mutual friend it is owned and I have texts confirming so. But as we have fallen out this persons only way of hanging on to our "friendship" is owing the money and they know I need it. Unfortuantely I dont have receipts. I am looking at the government scheme Make Money Claim Online, has anyone used it?

I am furious with myself its owed and i let it get this far, in the meantime this person is boasting online about spending money on things whilst still owing me. I know I cant tell this person what they can spend their money on, but its morally wrong. This person owes me for

£12.00 for sharing the purchase of some cupcakes as a gift to a friend

£35.00 for breaking my coffee machine

£50.00 we agreed is owed me for curbing my alloy wheel when I loaned my car for three days

£60.00 was offered by this person (bill was £120) to pay half taking out friends for dinner

£50.00 for the balance of a holiday ticket ticket for May 2016, which is still has not paid

Has anyone used this service and can I claim

Thank you

Alice_Walker

Sounds more like a case for Judge Rinder!

Anyone is able to claim through the small claims process, winning is another matter, and even then there is no guarantee you will get the money. The costs of claiming plus enforcement could end up being greater than the debt.

muddipaws

I know, and yes Judge Rinder lol

I dont have to take it to court, but at least if I started the ball rolling to let this person know I am serious and morally you cant just not pay money. It sucks, it really does.

Its disgusting and being trusting I genuinely believed this money would be paid

hollydays

Sometimes people on here have said it's probably worth it to get rid of a " friend" like that.

muddipaws

Yes I have had that said to me as well, but its not as though its £10 its nearly £200! Going round spending money is like a smack in the face it really is.

I could not sleep at night knowing I owed that sort of money.

Good grief it took me years to pay off a £28k debt left to me by an ex partner. Got there in the end, and now I fell for this, I could kick myself

I might just put in writing if its not paid within 21 days, then it will be taken to small claims court etc?

ARandomMiser

The golden rule is only loan money on the assumption you are not going to get it back - it shouldn't be like and fortunately in the majority of cases repayment is received, sadly in a few cases there will be someone who wants to leech of anybody they can.

DCFC79

Can I just ask how can 1 break a coffee machine, did she take a hammer to it or drop it on the floor ?

I do hope you get it back.

muddipaws

Well, the pod goes in a certain way at the top of the coffee machine, but as this person did not check, the lid was repeatedly rammed down. When I went to the kitchen to ask what the hell was going on the pod was stuck in the machine. I then put a new one in, and the piercing bit now punctures too big so all the coffee spills out over the machine, its unusable

The car, this person was driving it as a their vehicle was in for MOT and Service. We were going to a shop and instead of driving down the road to turn round, they promptly did a U turn and then they curbed my alloy wheel.

Very annoying

soolin

I must say they must have been a close friend to have been able to borrow your car for 3 days, I never lend my car out. I assume she had full insurance otherwise you might well have had more issues than just a bit of money owing.

LadyDee

£24 for cupcakes? £120 for a meal? Sorry OP, but if you are so hard up for £200 then I really think your expenditure needs a rethink.

To be honest, I'd just put it down to experience, keep a tighter rein on your spending, don't lend your car to anybody and make do with instant coffee.

She's not a friend.

agrinnall

If you decide to pursue this then you should really send the ex-friend a Letter Before Action setting out what you believe is owed and giving a reasonable time for payment to be made (say 14 days) before moving on to MCOL. This will allow you to show a judge that you made reasonable efforts to recover the money before taking legal action.