l lent �10,000

[joannepage]

I lent a friend �10,000 to buy some equipment with nothing in writing, how can I get my money back

[Robert G]

How long ago did you lend the money? And do you want the money repaid in full, or in instalments? Regardless of the answers to these questions, you really should attempt to get the loan, and an acknowledgement of it, documented.

[STAH]

In short, there is nothing that you can do to get your money back. I have heard f such things going through a small claims court whereby the debtor gets a CCJ against them - however, the creditor (ie you) may have got something in writing outlining the details of the debot or loan.

I do hope, that you are not experiencing any difficulties in getting monies owed back to you.

I am so so sorry that this is not the answer that you wanted to hear - I hope that if anything has gone sour it works out to be in your favour.

Good luck.

[Robert G]

There are things you can try, and one of them might do the trick. I was in your position (or one similar to it - which is why I asked you a couple of questions), and now I am receiving repayment in monthly instalments.

[themas]

A contract can be verbal or in writing. If it is verbal (as apparently yours is) the difficulty is in proving it to the satisfaction of the Court. Presumably you did not give him/her �10000 in cash, so can you get a copy of the cheque, or bank statements, to demonstrate that you did pay �10000? If you can do this, then he/she would have little alternative but to admit you paid them the money. (Even if you did pay it in cash you presumably drew it out of a bank or savings account and could provide evidence of this.) If they thought it was not repayable they would then have to persuade a judge that it was a gift. Was anybody else present when you discussed the loan, or did you tell anyone you were loaning the money? If so, these people could - if necessary - give evidence to back up your case.

If you get this far you then have to show what term the loan was for. Did you agree a repayment time when you made the loan? If not, then I think you are probably able to demand repayment at any time on reasonable notice. If, at the end of it, you succeed in Court and get a CCJ, you still have the problem of actually getting him/her to pay. There are various enforcement procedures (bailiffs etc.) that can be used.

All the above is based on going to Court but before that stage you must attempt to get repayment, including writing to him/her detailing the debt and the arrangement you had and attempting to agree repayment arrangements. Send all letters by recorded delivery and keep copies. To help, you can get leaflets from your local County Court office on the procedure (or they may be on the Court Service website).

When/if you need to make a Court claim you will have to pay a Court fee, which is added on to the amount you are claiming.

[joko]

try to get an email from them where they admit they owe you it - don't make it sound like thats what your doing though. (emails can be traced and therefore verified as definitely coming from their computer.)

or try to get a taped phone conversation.

even if these are dubious in court the fact you have them may scare this person into believing you have them bang to rights and agree ot pay up