"Friend" owes me £thousands. Please help

tania-jo

Ok, firstly, if I could turn back the clock I would.It seems like a crazy thing to do looking back.
5 years ago, my husbands friend was running a pub. He got in financial difficulty and told my husband that he had to pay off £16000 in business rates to stop the baliffs. He said he had been hugely overcharged but had to pay it off and then claim it back. I had just received inheritance money and let myself get talked into lending this man £16000. It was all going to be paid back as soon as he had sorted out the charges.
Long story short, he hadn't been overcharged so the money never came. He lost the business, and I believe he went bust, but my money was never mentioned. After lots of sob stories he began to pay back £100 a month - after 10 months this stopped. My husband ( now my ex) had sent the odd message to him and gets a message back saying there is no money. I know this guy has since managed to afford a wedding and is working full time. I am now struggling financially and this money would make all the difference.
Having looked online, it looks like I will have to pay out hundreds to try to get the money back, but I just don't have the money.
Can anyone offer any advice? Sorry for the long post. Thankyou for reading.

glentoran99

You could pay our hundreds and get nowhere, have you any evidence of loaning this money?

sourcrates

Hi Tania,

When banks lend people money, they get you to sign a credit agreement, which lists how much your borrowing, how and when you are expected to make repayment, and what interest rate is applicable.

These are called the "prescribed terms", without an agreement containing these legal terms, any money you give to someone, legally, is a gift, did you get this chap to sign such an agreement ?

If not, its your word against his, you could make a court claim against him, but it will cost you initially, and if he dosent have the money, then your unlikely to recover anything.

Basically its a bit of a gamble.

pmlindyloo

I certainly think it is worth writing to this person and reminding them of how much they owe you.

You need to include a payment plan and also the 'threat' of court action.

This will cost you nothing.

At the very least, if they reply it may give you some evidence if, in the reply, they admit to the debt.

It may also be that you are eligible for some remittance of fees if you follow up with a claim.

You could go to CAB for help with the wording of the letter and for further information and support with a claim. They may be able to able to signpost you to a solicitor for some initial free advice.

Although I do not disagree with previous replies that you may decide not to continue with legal action there is absolutely no harm in writing the letter before action and taking further advice.

moneyistooshorttomention

Post 4 has some good ideas.

Certainly it could be a way of providing you with evidence of this loan if this "friend" replies to you.

Fingers crossed for you.

This sort of thing can happen to any of us. I've had someone who was supposed to be a friend try and con me into being guarantor for a loan before (ie she didn't even tell me straight what it was she wanted me to sign). Thankfully - I was too cautious to do so. Funnily enough - it was just after she knew I had received a noticeable lump sum of money:cool:

After this - I've always been very cautious about who I tell whenever I receive a lump sum of money - in case they instantly think of a use for MY money.

sourcrates

This is what Debt Camel has to say on the subject :

http://debtcamel.co.uk/friend-owes-me/

jonesMUFCforever

I have no new advice other than what has been given other than to say please do not spend money on a legal case.

Hard as it is accept the money is gone.
Should you go down the legal route (and your claim is too big for small claims) you face having to pay your own costs and even if you win the chances of getting it back are slim unless he has assets to secure against them.
What are the chances that he will declare himself bankrupt if you send him to court?

fatbelly

tania-jo wrote: »

I had just received inheritance money and let myself get talked into lending this man £16000.... I believe he went bust,.

That's the added complication.

If the debt predates the bankruptcy then it is covered by the bankruptcy even though it may not have been specifically mentioned in the statement of affairs. It would provide a complete defence against any action.

Bankruptcy debts are defined as:
•any debt or liability to which the bankrupt is subject at the commencement of the bankruptcy (being the date of the bankruptcy order),
•any debt or liability to which the bankrupt may become subject after the commencement of bankruptcy, including after discharge from bankruptcy, by reason of any obligation incurred before the commencement of bankruptcy (a contingent liability – see paragraph 40.9),

so you need to check dates: when you lent the money and when (if indeed he was) declared bankrupt.

If he's not been discharged he would still appear on the insolvency register.

If he has, then you may still be able to find him on the London Gazette

tania-jo

Thank you everyone for your replies. The only proof I have is an email, stating that he intended to pay £100 and would have paid off the debt by 2029. I will dig a little deeper to find out if he was declared bankrupt, and will try writing. Thankyou

MrsTinks

tania-jo wrote: »

Thank you everyone for your replies. The only proof I have is an email, stating that he intended to pay £100 and would have paid off the debt by 2029. I will dig a little deeper to find out if he was declared bankrupt, and will try writing. Thankyou

Well that is at least a start and way better than having NO evidence at all.

The issue of course would be if he was made bankrupt...

Regarding the wedding - it is possible for people to rebuild their lives after a bankruptcy, it's also possible the wedding was paid for by his partner/her family/lots of other possibilities... So try not to get hung up on this. A significant amount of my wedding was paid for by my dad as a wedding gift to us. Not saying that it's the same, but just that there could be other legitimate reasons for the lavish wedding without it having been paid for by him?

Best of luck!