ex-friend refuses to pay back money owed...please help!!

[cncdlc]

ok...about a year and a half ago a friend of mine was moving into a new house...she was short on her closing costs by $300...being the good friend that i am i immediatley went to the ATM to withdraw the amount she needed and took it to her (it was the day of closing)...a lot of things have taken place since then so needless to say we are no longer friends...she paid $20 and stopped...to make a long story short she is refusing to pay me back and i do not feel she should be able to get away with this...i have a printed out email of her saying "i'm not going to pay you the money." what im wanting to know is if i have a case or if i go to court will i be wasting my time...i do not want to pay to process a claim and then go in there and loose...is my word and the email i have enough proof to win in court?? please help...

 

[CraigFL]

The issue in court will be if the money was a gift or loan. You have two things that are in your favor that it was a loan --- a $20 payment and an email that she is not going to pay you the money. Unfortunately, since there was nothing written down, the amount could be disputed as well as how much has already been paid. My philosopy on this is that it is worth taking someone to small claims for something like this. It's a PITA but if nothing else, it teaches them a lesson.

 

[ilovetwins]

you against her

In court, the $300.00 could be viewed as if it was a gift. Verbal agreements don't really stand in court, unless she admits to the judge that it was a verbal agreement. Look at things this way, if you ever loan money out, don't expect to get it back. people are shady.

 

[cncdlc]

First, let me start off by thanking you for responding to my post...second, i do agree that my chances are not 100% or maybe not even close to getting my money back, but i do watch a lot of small claims court on television and it seems to me the judge rarely just throws out a case unless they are both acting like fools...i was thinking that since she said in the email i printed "i am not paying you the money" that that was admitting that there was money owed...i definately agree with what you said about not loaning money out b/c people are shady and trust me, i will not in the future, but are you saying that i have no chance at getting this girl in court and making her pay for what she has done?? it's no longer about the money to me, it's strictly principal so i am out for teaching her a lesson!! there has been many other things she has done to me and i am not a happy camper if you get my drift...wouldn't the judge listen to both sides of the story then decide who he/ she believes the most? she doesn't have proof that i didnt give her money but i DO have proof that i did...

 

[seniorjudge]

Q: i will not in the future, but are you saying that i have no chance at getting this girl in court and making her pay for what she has done?

A: You have about a 50-50 chance, more or less.


(The court shows on television are about as realistic as cop shows.)

 

[cncdlc]

ok well, obvously I am new to all of this and my only goal is to get advise and opinions of others...QUESTION: what are PM's and the short list .... STATEMENT: from your quote you posted you mentioned that i was putting words into peoples mouths...never did i intend to do that nor do i see where i have done that...perhaps you could enlighten me and explain your reasons for thinking in such manor.

 

[xylene]

ok well, obvously I am new to all of this and my only goal is to get advise and opinions of others...QUESTION: what are PM's and the short list .... STATEMENT: from your quote you posted you mentioned that i was putting words into peoples mouths...never did i intend to do that nor do i see where i have done that...perhaps you could enlighten me and explain your reasons for thinking in such manor.

You are referiring to the signature line.

This is the line on a persons post that appears after every post make.

Mine is a reference to Frank Zappa. Get the idea.

 

[cncdlc]

Thank You For Clearing That Up...the Last Thing I Want To Do Is Offend Someone