If I loaned someone money and they aren't paying me back?

mel

While at law it sounds like you have a contract, it will all come down to evidence. There mere fact that you haven't written the agreement down on paper doesn't mean that it's not a valid agreement but you are going to have a hard time proving not only that the agreement existed but what the terms of the agreement are (eg what was agreed in respect of when he would pay you back).

Any evidence you have of the loan will be beneficial if you try to take the matter to court (eg transfer slips for the money to your friend, any emails discussing the loan etc). Small claims court would probably be the place to start as you don't usually need lawyers to bring actions.

Any action you take in future (eg if you ask the person for the money back) - put it all down in writing (at the very least in an email) so have evidence of it.

Judge Judy would probably be able to solve your problem :)

Electric

To take legal action, you require documents.

Ask ICICI Bank people in India. They are the experts in that field. They will guide you how to get back your loan amount.

sherwan666

yes u can . have u had any witnesses at that time u made a deal?

Tia

The thing about loaning money is that it's basically a crap shoot as to whether or not you'll actually get it back. Ask the guy for the money back or if he can make some kind of payment arrangements. You can take legal action, but why clog up the courts with something so petty.

Next time remember to only loan money if you can afford to lose it.

Angyles Cerddoriaeth

You can file suit, but you realize the case would be a "He said/She said" situation. Filing a case though, may scare the person into paying you and you may never need to even go to court.

snervel

yea let me know when you find out cause i loaned sombody two grand an am worried

Chantla

if you can prove that he has paid some of the loan...like some receipts and have some witnesses of this verbal agreement then you have a good chance to file a lawsuit in a small claims court. You have to be prepared though. Try to have as much proof as possible. Also keep in mind that court costs money and that usually cannot be part of your lawsuit amount.

Goober

Do you have $50 I can borrow?

Joe K

Yes. A verbal agreement holds up in any small claims or civil court. It would be hard to prove if the person denies that the transaction took place or claims that their understanding was that the money was a gift.

Because there is no paper trail your best bet is to hope that this person is honest in court.

My Big Bear Ron

do you have any written documents supporting your case?

LordM

Verbal agreements will not hold up in court...UNLESS there was a nuetral third party that witnessed the transaction. Be smarter in the future. ALWAYS make agreements like that in WRITING

ag_iitkgp

Do you have any evidence ??????????????

Joker

A verbal agreement will boil down to he said she said in court. Hopefully you gave him a check or some other instrument that can be tracked to prove you loaned him the money.

If you loaned cash I'd forget about collecting.

magerious

If you can get him to admit he borrowed money from you in front of a judge then yes, you can take Civil action against him. You have to get his full name, address, and fill with your local civil court/small claims. Make sure you have any evidence you can bring, like witnesses BUT no witness statement if they cannot be present at the time of trial, because that is inadmissible.

ElfRuler

You need to get a promisory not from him now. ASAP. With his signature. That way, if he doesn't pay, you can have a good claim in Court. Verbal agreements are so hard to prove. Did you agree on a time frame. Maybe he can pay in installments. If he just seems that he's not going to pay, try to get him to acknowledge the loan during a taped telephone conversation or text message or email. Anything that you can take to court.

Good luck with the deadbeat.

Goose&Tonic

You can take legal action but you have to have proof. You don't even have proof that you gave him that money! Judge Judy would toss you out of her court in a heartbeat.

retepsumdac

Some places won't honor a verbal agreement. If they do, get a Warrant In Debt served on them. If that doesn't work, call GUIDO!!

okiedokey

Nag and stalk his @ss til he pays!
use guilt trip as much as possible

LA :0)

First contact the person and tell them that you know it's been a while but you need your money. If he refuses then contact an attorney for a free consultation.

gabs4_28

yesu can take a legal action, but u have to have some proof

Answers1

Take him to small claims court. You do not need a lawyer. But you should have evidence of the amount, interest rate, time to pay back, and amount of periodic payments like some kind of note, witnesses or both. Otherwise it's "he said vs she said" and you will lose. It would also be helpful if you had a record of his payments up until he stopped paying. You could also talk to his parents. Good luck.

bookish

You know what they say: a verbal agreement isn't worth the paper it's written on.
You could try small claims court, but without anything in writing, this person can claim you never gave him any money. Even a canceled check would be helpful.

sheeny

If there is no written agreement, you are pretty much screwed. Take this as a lesson learned.

meridian

yes, of course. but it's going to be tough if you don't have any evidence of you loaning him money. is anybody there when you loaned money? a witness would be good. then you can go to civil court, and ask a lawyer to see what can he do.

Illy

2 words judge judy!!!

littlechrismary

Civil matter. Small claims court. Whoever has the most paper wins.

Ingrid

You could try to threaten with small claims court, but it's never a good idea to lend anyone money. It's hard to collect, as you can see.

Try small claims.

Rjmail

Unless you have some proof that it was a loan and not a gift, it would just be your word against theirs. You can always try legal action and hope for the best. But, it might be better to just tell the person your problem and why you need the money back now. And if it doesn't come, just write it off as a learning experience on not lending money either without something written, signed, and witnessed, or just give the money and don't count on getting it back, up front.

autumnlotus

Is the amount large enough to warrant a legal suit?

Basically, you have 2 options:
1) ask your friend to return you the money (assuming you lent the money to someone you know well);

2) accept that you'll never get the money back, and take this (loss) as an expensive lesson never to be repeated. The moment you agree to lend someone your money, treat it as good as gone

LORD Z

You need to prove you gave him the money. You need to prove that it was a loan, ie, that he owed you interest on the loan. And, you need to prove that you made an effort to collect the loan. If you can prove these elements, ie, a cancelled check with the word loan on it and another cancelled check with the words loan payment on it, you can sue . Otherwise, you are out of luck.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: