Can you be taken to Small Claims Court over a loan from a friend?

martin2345uk

So an acquaintance of mine is currently getting extremely stressed over this situation, I have tried telling him I don't think this person has a case but I want to ask here to get other opinions...
Basically, a friend of his lent him £1,000 before furlough, and it was agreed he'd pay her back as soon as he could. When he was able to pay some back, he asked for her bank details, but apparently she refused, asking instead for the £1,000 in one go "by the end of the month" which he can't afford to do. He is totally willing to pay in instalments as per their (verbal) agreement. He now says he's had a letter in the post saying she's taking him to the small claims court?
I don't know how this all works, but I don't see how she could have a case if he's willing to pay in instalments and literally can't afford to pay it all? Would the court force him to?
It's stressing him out much more than is healthy so I said I would try and find out a bit for him...
Thank you in advance!

bradders1983

The courts are ridiculously backlogged at the moment anyway, how quickly has he agreed to pay the £1k back?

In theory: yes she can do what she is doing, however if she succeeds or not is another matter.

martin2345uk

£200 a month he says, which sounds reasonable to me especially as she'd agreed to that previously.

bradders1983

In which case he will have paid it all before a judge even sees it, and £200 a month will more than likely be deemed acceptable by any judge should it even get that far that quickly (and he may only owe £200 or £400 by that point anyway at worst). Let her crack on and waste the £60 online fee, although I suspect she is probably bluffing.

Also a case is weakened by a "he said, she said" scenario anyway, unless she has anything in writing then she will struggle to get a judgement, but not impossible.

macman

'As soon as she could' has no legal meaning whatsoever. Is there anything in writing to prove the agreement? If not, then even if he were to admit the debt, there is no requirement to pay it back 'on demand'. 
The most a court would do is perhaps to ask the defendant to voluntarily agree to start repaying £x per week. 
Effectively, your friend was offered an interest-free loan without agreeing the terms for payback, and the lender is now suffering the consequences.
Sounds to me more like the lender has simply sent him an LBA in order to put pressure on to extract some initial payment. 

martin2345uk

Thank you guys, that's kinda what I thought but nice to have it confirmed a bit!

PixelPound

martin2345uk said:

£200 a month he says, which sounds reasonable to me especially as she'd agreed to that previously.

Send a letter, recorded, offering to pay £200pm. Put that amount in a savings account opened for that reason. By the time it comes to court, your friend can show a copy of the letter, proof of postage and a statement showing money put aside as claimant refused to give bank details. Court does not like it's time being wasted and £200pm to repay over 5 months seems reasonable. 

Has he had anything formal from the court or just a letter stating "going" to take to court.

zippygeorgeandben

If it was me I'd just leave it and then offer £20pm - what a so called friend!

JamoLew

nic_c said:

martin2345uk said:

£200 a month he says, which sounds reasonable to me especially as she'd agreed to that previously.

Send a letter, recorded, offering to pay £200pm. Put that amount in a savings account opened for that reason. By the time it comes to court, your friend can show a copy of the letter, proof of postage and a statement showing money put aside as claimant refused to give bank details. Court does not like it's time being wasted and £200pm to repay over 5 months seems reasonable. 

Has he had anything formal from the court or just a letter stating "going" to take to court.

This - seems like the best way forward