Can these people be made to pay me back?

I live in Phoenix, AZ. After inheriting a bit of money from my father's estate, I found out that I have many more friends than I thought. To make a long story short, these so-called "friends" had absolutely no problems borrowing my money. However, almost every one of them are having a hard time when it comes to paying me back. I have almost $10,000 lent out to various people, almost all of whom are avoiding me now. I've asked for repayment or when they can start to repay and all I get are excuses. In fact, some of these "friends" have been down-right hostile with me. Is there any recourse? Unfortunately, I only made two of them sign hand-written IOUs. The biggest loan I made totalled $5,000 (he signed an IOU) and the smallest is $340 (she didn't).

Patricia Haines said:

I live in Phoenix, AZ. After inheriting a bit of money from my father's estate, I found out that I have many more friends than I thought. To make a long story short, these so-called "friends" had absolutely no problems borrowing my money. However, almost every one of them are having a hard time when it comes to paying me back. I have almost $10,000 lent out to various people, almost all of whom are avoiding me now. I've asked for repayment or when they can start to repay and all I get are excuses. In fact, some of these "friends" have been down-right hostile with me. Is there any recourse? Unfortunately, I only made two of them sign hand-written IOUs. The biggest loan I made totalled $5,000 (he signed an IOU) and the smallest is $340 (she didn't).

Click to expand...

and what lesson have you learned from this experience ? All I think you can do it take your chances in Small Claims Court..

Patricia Haines said:

I live in Phoenix, AZ. After inheriting a bit of money from my father's estate, I found out that I have many more friends than I thought. To make a long story short, these so-called "friends" had absolutely no problems borrowing my money. However, almost every one of them are having a hard time when it comes to paying me back. I have almost $10,000 lent out to various people, almost all of whom are avoiding me now. I've asked for repayment or when they can start to repay and all I get are excuses. In fact, some of these "friends" have been down-right hostile with me. Is there any recourse? Unfortunately, I only made two of them sign hand-written IOUs. The biggest loan I made totalled $5,000 (he signed an IOU) and the smallest is $340 (she didn't).

Click to expand...

HomeGuru response: file court action against every single one. The ones that you do not have IOU's for, I hope you have cash receipts or cancelled checks.