Loan to friend

tacpot12

BaileyOllie said:

Soot2006 said:

The family don't owe you any money.

Calm, factual letter to the Executor of the estate, including evidence of the debt. It should then get paid off as part of winding up the estate.

I did that and ended up with the police on the phone accusing me of harrassment

You are going to have to ignore the police on this point. Don't harrass the family, do write to the "Executors or Personal Representatives". You don't need to know their names because you are not suing them personally, you are suing them in their role as executors.  Do not under any circumstances talk to the police without a criminal solicitor being present. If you don't have a criminal solicitor with you, say NOTHING. If the police come to your house, don't let them in. Don't answer the door. Don't let anyone else let them in. 

If you have legal insurance, use it, because the police will not accuse a solicitor of harassing the family without a lot more evidence than they are trying to use to frame you. 

BaileyOllie

The police woman was proper rude,  said it's a civil matter that I am owed money and by asking for it back I am causing harrassment,  My cousin reckon's I should just write it off now and he's much more worldly wise than me BUT I am not writing it off..... I think he is more concerned I will end up with a criminal record

TBagpuss

BaileyOllie said:

The police woman was proper rude,  said it's a civil matter that I am owed money and by asking for it back I am causing harrassment,  My cousin reckon's I should just write it off now and he's much more worldly wise than me BUT I am not writing it off..... I think he is more concerned I will end up with a criminal record

Unfortunately the police are not always very knowledgeable about the law. However, your best bet is to put everything in writing, and to keep copies - that way, if they make allegations against you you have the evidence to defend yourself.

As other's have said, write to the executors (https://www.gov.uk/search-will-probate should tell you if anyone has been granted probate or letters of administration, and if so, who) If there isn't anything (which there may not be, if it was a small estate) then write to whoever has been speaking to you, address the letter to "Personal Representatives of [friend] " and set out 
1. What is owed
2. the fact that you have been in touch and were told it would be dealt with but haven't heard further, and asking them to confirm wat stage they are at with administering the estate and when you can expect to hear further.

If you don't find anything on the probate check also ask them to confirm who the executor / administrator is. 
Unfortunately, if they won't respond then you will ultimately have to decide whether you think it is worth trying to pursue it further

naedanger

In most cases death in service benefits don't form part of the estate. (See link below.) So based on what you have said it sounds possible that the estate is insolvent, in which case you cannot legally force anyone to return your money. (I am not saying this is fair, just saying what the legal position might be.) Of course you can still sue the estate (just you might not be able to recover any money if you win).
https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm17051
"In most cases, lump sum death benefits are paid at the discretion of the pension scheme trustees or providers even where there is a nomination that expresses a wish as to the beneficiary. They are not then part of the estate or chargeable to Inheritance Tax." [My emphasis.]

elsien

The police harassment warnings are them saying “we need to make you aware that we’ve had a complaint, and if this continues then there is the possibility we may take this further. “
They can be incredibly unfair because there’s little to no investigation, just the complainer’s word for it. Although they are also not a formal caution they can stay on file - if issued with a harassment warning you would need to make a complaint if it was unfair.
Having said that, it should not stop you chasing a legitimate debt, otherwise anyone pursuing a small claims judgement would have one slapped on them.
So it’s about how you do it (eg sending to estate administrator, as above) and keeping copies to show you are being polite and making a reasonable request. Which is why I would suggest sending things in writing is the best way to cover your back. 

Savvy_Sue

BaileyOllie said:

Yes I have evidence,  bank statements, all kinds.... I don't want it to cost me any more than the fee because I am self employed and can't work at the moment due to shielding.

I'd just say that bank statements aren't necessarily evidence of a loan. You can prove that money left your account, and it may have her name against it. But it doesn't prove WHY the money left your account: where's the proof you didn't owe it to her? 

Does the 'all kinds' include something like a letter or an email saying something like "thank you for lending me £600, I will repay it this way"? 

I'm not disbelieving you, just pointing out a possible problem. 

Marcon

BaileyOllie said:

Soot2006 said:

The family don't owe you any money.

Calm, factual letter to the Executor of the estate, including evidence of the debt. It should then get paid off as part of winding up the estate.

I did that and ended up with the police on the phone accusing me of harrassment

That sounds very unlikely indeed. How do you know it was the police and not someone pretending to be a police officer?

BaileyOllie

I thought that at the time,  so once I hung up,  I rang the police back and it was genuine 

Marcon

BaileyOllie said:

I thought that at the time,  so once I hung up,  I rang the police back and it was genuine 

Sorry to labour the point, but you rang them back...on what number? The one which showed up on the incoming call? 

BaileyOllie

I googled the police force and phoned them. Cos it was out of my area