Loaned money to a friend

cola1099

I regretfully loaned money to a 'friend' in April, and he said he would pay me back at the end of May. May has obviously come and gone and now I do not hear from him at all. Prior to me loaning him the money, he had been calling me daily almost begging for the money so he can pay for his wedding, and he said he would pay me back at the end of May, as he had some funding that was coming through regarding the financing of a property. 

We unfortunately did not sign an agreement, but I told him I dont feel comfortable loaning the money to him as these circumstances tend to break up friendships. He said he understood and said if I don't get the money by 31st May, I should complete an RX1 form (I've never heard of this before) to put a restriction on his property.

Now that we're in June, I want to complete the RX1 form but I dont know how it works and if this is even the relevant form to fill out. I am content with taking him to court if need be as I took out a loan to lend to him, thinking that he would pay me back, so now I am paying interest on top of the principle borrowed. It's all a mess and I regret having ever met him.

Can anyone advise on the next best steps etc. For added context, the amount I loaned to him is £10k+

Thanks in advance,
EB

HumberFlyer

Regretable for you.... You don't want to lend to a friend / family member but you don't sort of mind as long as they pay back when they should. I have lost two "good friends" (never to speak to again)  through doing a loan......... never again (I hope).......... whatever, I hope you can get it sorted.

MattMattMattUK

cola1099 said:

I regretfully loaned money to a 'friend' in April, and he said he would pay me back at the end of May. May has obviously come and gone and now I do not hear from him at all. Prior to me loaning him the money, he had been calling me daily almost begging for the money so he can pay for his wedding, and he said he would pay me back at the end of May, as he had some funding that was coming through regarding the financing of a property. 

We unfortunately did not sign an agreement, but I told him I dont feel comfortable loaning the money to him as these circumstances tend to break up friendships. He said he understood and said if I don't get the money by 31st May, I should complete an RX1 form (I've never heard of this before) to put a restriction on his property.

Now that we're in June, I want to complete the RX1 form but I dont know how it works and if this is even the relevant form to fill out. I am content with taking him to court if need be as I took out a loan to lend to him, thinking that he would pay me back, so now I am paying interest on top of the principle borrowed. It's all a mess and I regret having ever met him.

Can anyone advise on the next best steps etc. For added context, the amount I loaned to him is £10k+

Thanks in advance,
EB

Unfortunately you probably need to write off both the friend and the money. 

Is there even any record that this was a loan rather than a gift, do you have a repayment schedule in writing? If there is then you could obtain a CCJ if you know his address, you could then take enforcement action against him to recover the money, provided that he has the assets in the first place. 

cola1099

MattMattMattUK said:

Unfortunately you probably need to write off both the friend and the money. 

Is there even any record that this was a loan rather than a gift, do you have a repayment schedule in writing? If there is then you could obtain a CCJ if you know his address, you could then take enforcement action against him to recover the money, provided that he has the assets in the first place. 

There isn't a record perse, most of our communication prior was via video call. All I have is the RX1 form he sent me with the details of his 'so-called' property, and a text with him asking me for my bank details. I'm not sure if I can obtain a CCJ as I'm not sure of his current address. I only have his previous address that was once linked to his credit and the address of a property he has

MalMonroe

Unfortunately you couldn't afford to give him any money so you had to borrow yourself, with interest. And now you are left in a worse financial position than your 'friend' - who isn't paying anything. You had the feeling you shouldn't do it since you told him "I don't feel comfortable loaning the money . . . as these circumstances tend to break up friendships." You were right. And this is no friend - plus you don't seem to know much about him since you say you're not sure of his current address and speak of his 'so called property'. 

I'm not sure why he wants your bank details now - I wouldn't give them to him if it were me, he's had enough already.

Do you still have any recordings of the video calls? They may be acceptable as proof, if the loan and promise to repay are mentioned.

There's some info in this link - https://debtcamel.co.uk/friend-owes-me/

And Citizens Advice may be able to offer some advice - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

In your place I would have to try everything I could to get the money back - it's a sizeable amount - and I do hope you manage to get it back. And of course, this person would be immediately struck off my list of friends. 

I'd never lend anyone anything that I couldn't afford to lose - because very often whatever it is that's borrowed will not be returned. (Learned that lesson the hard way myself. . . )

enthusiasticsaver

It looks like you have been scammed to me. 

elsien

MalMonroe said:

Unfortunately you couldn't afford to give him any money so you had to borrow yourself, with interest. And now you are left in a worse financial position than your 'friend' - who isn't paying anything. You had the feeling you shouldn't do it since you told him "I don't feel comfortable loaning the money . . . as these circumstances tend to break up friendships." You were right. And this is no friend - plus you don't seem to know much about him since you say you're not sure of his current address and speak of his 'so called property'. 

I'm not sure why he wants your bank details now - I wouldn't give them to him if it were me, he's had enough already.

Do you still have any recordings of the video calls? They may be acceptable as proof, if the loan and promise to repay are mentioned.

There's some info in this link - https://debtcamel.co.uk/friend-owes-me/

And Citizens Advice may be able to offer some advice - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

In your place I would have to try everything I could to get the money back - it's a sizeable amount - and I do hope you manage to get it back. And of course, this person would be immediately struck off my list of friends. 

I'd never lend anyone anything that I couldn't afford to lose - because very often whatever it is that's borrowed will not be returned. (Learned that lesson the hard way myself. . . )

Other than using them to pay some money back, I’m really not sure what you think the problem with handing out bank details is? Name sort code and account number were on cheques for years. This is no different. 

GrumpyDil

As you put friend in quotes the first question is was he really a friend or just some random you knew for a short time who persuaded you to lend him some money. If it was the first then you may have some chance but if the latter my gut feel is it was a scam from start to end.

In all honesty I would not lend money to a friend unless they were really close, really desperate and I could afford to lose the money. 

Herzlos

I'd contact a solicitor about trying to start legal action to reclaim the money and see what your options are.

I'd also contact the police as you were co-erced into a scam.

How close a friend are they? Can you apply pressure in some other way such as talking to the new wife or his parents? Does he actually have any money?

macman

An RX1 form basically puts a restriction on the sale of the property, in this case until the charge over it is removed by the debt being paid. However, it's completely pointless unless the property is to be sold. Otherwise the charge can remain in place for decades, and you won't see a penny of your loan.
You do have an agreement, albeit not a written one, but a verbal one is equally enforceable in law. The problem is it's your word against his that it was a loan and not just a gift. Since £10k is the limit for small claims process action, you probably need to see a solicitor if you want to move this forward. However, if he doesn't have the money, then getting a CCJ won't change anything, it'll just cost you more in fees and legal expenses.

Ryan_Holden

He's a friend. But you don't know where he lives. He's not taking your calls. You have nothing in writing and everything only by unrecorded video call. And before you'd even loaned him money he gave you a contingency plan for what would happen if he didn't pay.

I think it's pretty obvious you've been scammed, and I am so sorry for you. But you've also been incredibly naive. 

If you're going to involve any third party to help you, you need to be prove it wasn't a gift.

Do you have a text, an email, a WhatsApp message, a message on Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, anything where you're even just discussing him borrowing money from you?

A written agreement with a repayment schedule would have helped you prove it wasn't a gift and was in fact a loan, but it wouldn't have have helped you actually get the money out of him if he doesn't have the money to pay you with in the first place. You can sue, if you win he'll get a CCJ, but still no guarantee of the money.

As others have said, the RX1 form would only help you if he owns his property and if he sells up. And even then, you've still got to wait for him to actually sell or move, but even before that you've still got to prove that it's a legitimate debt. I suspect that if it ever got to that point he would claim he thought it was a gift. 

I don't suppose you can even know if the RX1 would work and if he even owns the property since you don't actually know where he lives.