Gave friend a loan and now he is refusing to pay

burnt1

A few months back a friend text me asking me for a loan, I kept the text message and have proof of the money been withdrawn from the bank. Although it was cash I gave to my friend, will the text message be enough proof to take the matter further, as my so called friend claims he can not pay it back..... what are my options

hullaballoo

Ne'er a borrower nor a lender be, unfortunately. There's very little, in reality, that you can do about it.

raindog.promo

Go to Citizens Advice. They can give a more definite answer of what options there are.

seamus

Your only option really is to sue him for the money. This is a long and expensive process at the end of which you are unlikely to receive all of your money or any of your solicitor's costs. So unless your name is Ben Dunne and you handed over the cash in a very large brown envelope, there's almost nothing you can do apart from learning from the experience.

helimachoptor

Something like this is the reason why you should never loan to friends.

burnt1

Am willing to do whatever legally it takes, surely the text is enough evidence to get a judgement against this person??

johnfás

burnt1 wrote: »

Am willing to do whatever legally it takes, surely the text is enough evidence to get a judgement against this person??

You would have to ask the judge that and you are looking at several thousand to find out what the judge will say.

dats_right

I've acted in a number of these types of cases recently, so can say that much of what has been said is utter tosh, Seamus has been closest to the mark though. Let's be clear, it is possible to sue your friend, even without text message, and provided you win your case you will recover the full costs against him. The problem is that your solicitor will probably look for a retainer i.e. cash-payment up front to bring your claim, in case no monies are ever recovered from the chap. If and when you obtain judgement against your, presumably, former friend there will many enforcement remedies open to you e.g. installment orders, committal, judgement mortgage, etc.

All that said, there are so many variables that it is impossible to advise fully on a website such as this, you will need to make an appointment to meet with a solicitor to discuss your options fully.

axer

dats_right wrote: »

I've acted in a number of these types of cases recently, so can say that much of what has been said is utter tosh, Seamus has been closest to the mark though. Let's be clear, it is possible to sue your friend, even without text message, and provided you win your case you will recover the full costs against him. The problem is that your solicitor will probably look for a retainer i.e. cash-payment up front to bring your claim, in case no monies are ever recovered from the chap. If and when you obtain judgement against your, presumably, former friend there will many enforcement remedies open to you e.g. installment orders, committal, judgement mortgage, etc.

All that said, there are so many variables that it is impossible to advise fully on a website such as this, you will need to make an appointment to meet with a solicitor to discuss your options fully.

Excuse my ignorace, but how does that work exactly.

Take for instance if I am the c'unt who got the money and is refusing to pay back.

The OP takes me to court and says he gave the money to me on such and such a date and has to proof such as the text message and the withdrawal slip.

I say no he didn't. Whilst I did text him to see if he would lend me the money, he never actually gave it to me.

How can a judge possibly make a judgement against me without any proof in that instance?

The OP has proof that I asked for the money and that he took money out but what is to say the OP didn't lose the money on the way to me and then tried to sue me so that he would not be out of pocket or that he changed his mind but used the money for something else but tried to get money out of me too.

Then there is the matter of the text message. Who is to say it is even real unless a court order is taken to get the records from vodafone and even that record, I believe, only logs a message sent - not the contents of such a message. It is possible to spoof a text message.

I am just curious how such judgements could possibly go the OP's way.

partyguinness

You havent mentioned how much money was lent but District Court Debt collection proceedings is the way to go if it is under €6350.

Get your solicitor to draft your Civl Bill and serve it. You may succeed and obtain a Judgment but actually getting the money is another matter.

partyguinness

axer wrote: »

Excuse my ignorace, but how does that work exactly.

Take for instance if I am the c'unt who got the money and is refusing to pay back.

The OP takes me to court and says he gave the money to me on such and such a date and has to proof such as the text message and the withdrawal slip.

I say no he didn't. Whilst I did text him to see if he would lend me the money, he never actually gave it to me.

How can a judge possibly make a judgement against me without any proof in that instance?

The OP has proof that I asked for the money and that he took money out but what is to say the OP didn't lose the money on the way to me and then tried to sue me so that he would not be out of pocket or that he changed his mind but used the money for something else but tried to get money out of me too.

Then there is the matter of the text message. Who is to say it is even real unless a court order is taken to get the records from vodafone and even that record, I believe, only logs a message sent - not the contents of such a message. It is possible to spoof a text message.

I am just curious how such judgements could possibly go the OP's way.

Both parties would give evidence in Court and the Judge would decide who to believe.

Its the District Court not CSI Miami...:)