Small claims

johnny_boy_890

my step daughter wanted to move in to a flat of her own. I said I would help her and give her the money so I lent her £5500 for the deposit and I paid £570 for a carpet and also gave her £500 towards wood flooring. I did not get a contract drawn up as she is my step daughter and didnt think i needed to as i thought she would actually pay me back. She earns approx £1350 a month and her mortgage is £194 per month. I said she could start paying me back (£150 per month) once she was settled and on her feet. It has now been nearly a year and I have not had one payment. 

My wife (her mother) tried contacting her and asking her for the money but she actually got her arrested for harrasment and has to go to court and If convicted will lose her job, I have also lost my job back in June due to corona virus. My question is where do I stand if I took her to a small claims court.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Jeremy535897

Without anything in writing, I doubt you will get anywhere.

macman

You may not have a contract, but do you have anything in writing (letter, email, text) that indicates that this was a loan and not a gift?
Given that you are £6,570 down, I'd say that have nothing to lose (other than the fee) by first sending an LBA and then if no response, start the Small Claims procedure. It'll cost you £410 online for a claim of that value.
Quite often, an LBA alone will be enough to make the debtor pay up, but, in the case of your step-daughter, if she is prepared to give evidence that will see her own mother convicted of a criminal offence, then it's not so likely that it will have the desired affect.