lending money

[julia.simons]

i lent my ex boyfriend �550

this was when i was with him. we spilt up last August. i have been asking for the money back ever since but he has made excuses. is there any action i can take because i really need this money.

[lady_p_gold]

If there is nothing in writing it will not be easy. What you could do is write to him and ask for the money and hope that he replies saying 'I cannot pay you back yet' or something that shows he did actually borrow the money. Or you could ask if he could pay ten pounds a week, or anything to try and regain your money. To be honest I think you might have to chalk it up to experience and next time you will know not to lend money to boyfriends or friends. If you write to him and say that you would have thought he would have felt that a moral person would repay something which you now need for your own finances, he might just have a heart.

[julia.simons]

i have an email saying he cant pay it back right now with an excuse, will that be good enough prove.?

[lady_p_gold]

It might be worth a try but I am not a lawyer hopefully someone else might answer or go to the CAB and they might help you as to how go about claiming it

[vicars]

See a citizens advice bureau - they are free and good at things like this. Appointing a solicitor will prove costly in relation to what you need. Don't give up but keep pestering weekly, bit by bit. Maybe you could ask his parents!

[themas]

A contract doesn't have to be in writing (but is much more difficult to prove if it is just verbal). If you have an exchange of e-mails which include the amount of the loan and his comment that he can't pay it back yet then that seems to be quite good proof. But could he still argue that you agreed when you loaned him the money that he would pay it back when he was able to, rather than when you asked for it?

You could send him a "letter before action" saying you would start a Court claim unless he pays you in a short period (say 14 days) and point out he will have a bad credit record if you do this. If he doesn't then pay you issue a Court claim (and have to pay a fee - which is added on to the debt), and the judge decides the case. If you win you still have the problem of getting the money - if he genuinely does not have it this will prove very difficult and you could be further out of pocket than you are now.

A CAB can advise you. Also look at the court service gov.uk website.