Loaned £5,500 to a friend, ignored for months, what are my options

arichmond64

amfan wrote: »

However cross at her you may be, and however much you want your money back, it is not her parents responsibility and it is not their debt to repay. They most likely are shocked, and they probably feel very sorry for you. But them being "well off" does not mean they have to repay her debt. Sadly you have learned the hard way why you never lend what you aren't prepared to never see again.

They'll be shocked when Mr Can't Pay we'll Take it Away guy comes to take the stuff from their house :money:

somethingcorporate

Sorry you had to learn this the hard way.

A five minute check on these boards would have shown you this happens on a weekly basis.

The golden rule is don't lend money you cannot afford to lose/wouldn't give if asked for.

Candyapple

arichmond64 wrote: »

They'll be shocked when Mr Can't Pay we'll Take it Away guy comes to take the stuff from their house :money:

It doesn't work like that unfortunately. If you win your case, you will then need to pay out even more money (in the hundreds) to send in bailiffs and even then they can only take her possessions, not her parents.

And if you pay out even more money for an attachment of earnings order, it still doesn't mean anything especially if she is self-employed as she can just pay herself a lower amount to avoid having to pay you back or the amount would be reduced to something silly like £20 per month.

Best of luck getting your money back, it would be nice if you kept the thread updated of your progress or how the story ends.

DCFC79

arichmond64 wrote: »

They'll be shocked when Mr Can't Pay we'll Take it Away guy comes to take the stuff from their house :money:

Unfortunately it's not the parents who you lent the money too, a bit unfair on the parents imo.

arichmond64

DCFC79 wrote: »

Unfortunately it's not the parents who you lent the money too, a bit unfair on the parents imo.

I understand this, what I mean is I'd like to think a decent parent would be a little more proactive in helping to resolve the situation, after all it will be their house which the baliffs go to eventually and her daughter who won't be able to get a mortgage or move out when she's got a CCJ against her name.

NCC-1701

arichmond64 wrote: »

I understand this, what I mean is I'd like to think a decent parent would be a little more proactive in helping to resolve the situation, after all it will be their house which the baliffs go to eventually and her daughter who won't be able to get a mortgage or move out when she's got a CCJ against her name.

I suspect the daughter owes the parents a whole lot more than £5.5k already.

amfan

arichmond64 wrote: »

I understand this, what I mean is I'd like to think a decent parent would be a little more proactive in helping to resolve the situation, after all it will be their house which the baliffs go to eventually and her daughter who won't be able to get a mortgage or move out when she's got a CCJ against her name.

The bailiffs won't go after her parents house for her unpaid debt. And eventually she will be able to gain both a rental or a mortgage once her credit file has repaired. Having children does not mean that you are responsible for all the debts they rack up. Would you expect your parents to step in if you decide you don't want to pay your credit card? I understand you're angry, but you have to look at this logically and turning up on her door expecting her parents to pay you back is certainly not logical.

StopIt

arichmond64 wrote: »

I understand this, what I mean is I'd like to think a decent parent would be a little more proactive in helping to resolve the situation, after all it will be their house which the baliffs go to eventually and her daughter who won't be able to get a mortgage or move out when she's got a CCJ against her name.

And when the Bailiffs get shown receipts showing that the items belong to someone other than the debtor, you'll be paying their bills, with nothing to show for it.


The person involved is an adult, and their parents are not responsible in any way, and you're being churlish to suggest that they should be acquiescing to your potential threats of sending the bailiffs round. They don't need to help at all, so stop thinking they should.


You're fully entitled to seek a claim in the county court, and likely escalated to the High Court, to get this money back. However, it looks like you've been duped and if the person involved hasn't got the money, you're in bother.


You say they run their own business. Is the persona sole trader or personally liable for the business? if so, it may be possible to get a HCEO to seize business assets to pay the debt. You need to seek legal advice however and be prepared to not get a penny back, especially if the person is in mega debt already.

sourcrates

Candyapple wrote: »

It doesn't work like that unfortunately. If you win your case, you will then need to pay out even more money (in the hundreds) to send in bailiffs and even then they can only take her possessions, not her parents.

Not strictly true, if you obtain a CCJ against her in the county court, you can then transfer up to the High court straight away for a fee of £66.

https://dcbltd.com/debt-recovery/

You can then engage DCBL (stars of cant pay well take it away) to visit her to enforce the judgement.

Visiting her commercial premises will most likely be the best bet.

macman

The debtor is described as a 'venue stylist': not my area of expertise, but I doubt that her commercial premises, if any, contain assets worth £5,500. A car is the most promising item to be seized, but of course may be on finance.