I'm taking someone to small claims court. Any advice?

[AudioFreak]

The semi-long story:

I had a friend who, over the summer, was in a bit of a tough situation and I loaned her some money. She had to get back to New York and was flat broke at the moment, but was going to head back to her family so she could sell her car that was sitting in her father's garage as well as some other stuff. She was to pay me back with the proceeds from this sale.

So I loaned her some cash for travel and bought her a plane ticket to PA where she was going to visit with friends for a few days before catching a ride with a family friend back to NY with the expressed understanding that she would be paying me back within a week with the sale of this car. Well her trip goes to hell and at one point she gets stranded so, being the bleeding heart that I am, I sent some more money Western Union to help her get all the way to her father's place.

So grand total, this girl owes me about $500. She was supposed to have sent me the money but said since she was coming back to AZ for a week or so that she'd just bring it with her. Then when she gets here, she claims she accidentally left the cashier's check back in New York. I smell a rat but she says her dad is sending it to her mother's address in AZ and that she'll call me when it comes. The whole week she's here there's no sign of this check. She leaves for NY without saying goodbye. Then I don't hear from her at all.

I call her mother about a week after she left and her mom has not heard about this whole "mailing a check" business and hasn't seen anything in the mail from her ex-husband at all. Her family and friends here in AZ have not heard anything from her at all. I make many attempts to reach her via telephone, e-mail, MySpace and text message. She replies to none until about 2 weeks ago (I was supposed to be repaid in JULY) saying she had a bit of a breakdown and would be in touch when she was doing better.

In the meantime though she apparently changed her phone number and got another tattoo. :mad: So I've decided it's going to be necessary to take her to small claims court as she's obviously not going to respond unless I take drastic action.

So here we are:

So first I know I'd be best to send a letter of demand stating my grievances and specifying the debt owed and giving her X number of days to settle the debt or I will file papers in court. According to what I've read, since at the time she was living here and the loan was issued here in AZ, I should file for court here in AZ.

Just curious if anyone has any recommendations on how I should proceed, things I might be unaware of, hidden pitfalls, etc...

I realize that winning in court and actually getting the money are completely separate issues, but at the very least if she gets a real job and doesn't pay, I can garnish her wages.

[Fnord]

Consult a lawyer. Even if he/she does not actually represent you in court, it's still a good idea to get a professional opinion on how solid your case is, and why it may not be so solid.

Who knows? You may luck out completely, and the plaintiff won't show. It's not always the case, but it could mean that the judge automatically decides in your favor.

[quixotecoyote]

For $500 and someone on the other side of the country, you should consider what it's worth to you, because if NY is like MO, you have to pay for your own collection efforts.

[fagin]

Money and friends rarely mix. Call it a gift and move on.

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

Do you have any sort of signed loan or IOU or such like? If not, forget about it.

~~ Paul

[AudioFreak]

No, all I've got is testimony from my roommate who was there as well as my bank statements to show that I am, in fact, missing this money.

[Jeff Corey]

And a lawyer will probably cost more than $500. Consider it a relatively cheap test of who you can trust. I've had to spend more to find that out.

[Kaylee]

I think you got good advice from the other JREFers. It's very frustrating to see people get away with outrageous acts, but sometimes the best thing you can do is to cut your loses. And make sure that all your mutual friends know.

The only thing I'll add is that this company is a good resource for legal and small business issues:

www.nolo.com

Just in case you need it in the future, or you just want to build up some background knowledge in a few areas. I've read one or two of their books -- they aren't page turners but they are easy to read.

[Gord_in_Toronto]

You could try F.O.G, aka Fear of God, approach.

For a few bucks you could get a lawyer to send her a registered letter saying that more or less unless she pays up you intend to take "Legal Action".

IANAL

[Susan Gerbic]

The nolo press books are really good for handling these kinds of things yourself. The registered letter is also a good idea, but it will just be dumping more money into the sewer because you know she isn't going to pay a dime back. And you won't do anything about it if she does not respond.

Remember you also are not exactly sure where she is now, so there might be problems serving her (more money) for small claims court.

We have a great radio lawyer here in California (KGO) and he is always going on about this kind of stuff.

I will channel his opinion here....

You don't have anything in writing. She isn't going to pay you back even if you win in small claims court. This is going to make you crazy. Consider this a good lesson, lending money is never a good idea. What have you learned from this? It's ONLY MONEY.

Len Tilman always tells people that it is just money and you shouldn't allow it to make you crazy, just move on.

In my opinion - It could be worse, you could have a child with this flake. I would tell everyone I could and ruin her ability to do it to someone else. You will never see a penny and she was never your friend. Scum like this don't deserve friends like you.

Susan

[rjh01]

If you do not like the advice of the people here, here is another option
1. Do nothing. Just wait.
2. She will come back to you again, with another bleeding heart story about needing money
3. Tell her you do not have the cash on you but will send the money later.
4. Go to step 1.
5. Do not exit this routine.

You get the picture? She will depend on you for the money, then get into trouble because she does not have it. Just make you do not have any witnesses to your promises.

[NoZed Avenger]

I realize that winning in court and actually getting the money are completely separate issues, but at the very least if she gets a real job and doesn't pay, I can garnish her wages.

A number of states do not allow you to garnish wages for something like this. It may also be difficult to apply a judgment in another state cheaply.




.






I do not know these states' laws on the subject; I am not familiar enough with your case to give any advice; I am not offering any legal advice for any purpose and you should not accept this as legal advice; your mileage may vary; if rash develops, discontinue use; not for internal consumption, if swallowed, induce vomiting (try reading a post from MdC or Phil); Professional driver on closed track, please do not try at home; Montana residents add 7%.

[Foolmewunz]

Gord's advice is about the only thing that might merit any results without costing you more than you recover. Get a cheap or legal aid lawyer and send her a nice formal threatening letter. Hope for results. Don't do much more.

I can't speak to jurisdiction - maybe one of the attorneys here could - but I'm not sure if the comments about filing in NY are correct. I'm also not sure that it matters. If she doesn't show up and you get a summary judgment against her, you still have to get it enforced, and if she's of legal maturity, that's mean nailing her down to a location and even getting a lawyer or sheriff's deputy to call on her. As you seem to indicate that she travels a bit (no doubt on the generosity of others like yourself), this wouldn't be easy. And if you file in AZ, she just has to make sure you don't know if she comes back to visit (or that she doesn't come back to visit and thus can't be served).

[Rob Lister]

If you take it to court (even all by yourself) you'll certainly win because she will not show up to make a defense...but then what? A court judgement and $2.50 will buy you a nice latte at Starbucks. If you can't afford collection costs (>$500) then it is not worth it.

You could theoretically sell the dept to a collection service but for that amount I'd be surprised if you got 10 cents on the dollar. Heck, I'd be surprised if you got 1 cent on the dollar.

$500 to find out a "friend" really isn't is worth more than $500. Move on; you already have far more than that with which you started.

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

The only entity I ever took to small claims court was the United States of America. They like to settle for petty amounts, so I won.

~~ Paul

[AudioFreak]

I suppose in this case, it looks like Gord's approach seems like the most valid.

[CptColumbo]

See if there is anything her mother can do. If she is a minor you may be able to hold her responsible, but that would cost more than you're trying to get back. Chalk it up as a lesson.

[Thanz]

I suppose in this case, it looks like Gord's approach seems like the most valid.

Only if you like throwing good money after bad. Doing a small claims court action yourself may be cheaper than a lawyer's letter, and instead of just threatening LEGAL ACTION, you have taken it. Small claims court should have some sort of guide to help you in the process.

In fact, here it is for Arizona: http://www.supreme.state.az.us/info/brochures/smclaims.htm


That is, if you decide to do anything. I'd suggest talking to someone at the small claims court office.

[FramerDave]

I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV.

But here's what I would do:

1. Send a letter, certified with return receipt requested, to her outlining her debt to you and giving her a deadline by which you expect payment. You will have proof that she received the letter, and if she doesn't pick it up, it will be returned to you. Keep it, unopened, as proof that you made an effort to collect the debt.

2. Have an inexpensive lawyer draft and send her a letter, again certified with return receipt. That may be enough to scare her into paying.

3. Decide if it's worth spending any more effort or time on. If you file in small claims, notification of this might be enough to scare her into paying.

But as others have said, if it goes to court you may have a hard time with just a verbal agreement.

[Kaylee]

Only if you like throwing good money after bad. Doing a small claims court action yourself may be cheaper than a lawyer's letter, and instead of just threatening LEGAL ACTION, you have taken it. Small claims court should have some sort of guide to help you in the process.

In fact, here it is for Arizona: http://www.supreme.state.az.us/info/brochures/smclaims.htm


That is, if you decide to do anything. I'd suggest talking to someone at the small claims court office.

If you talk to someone at the small claims court office, I would ask them if losing a judgment in court becomes part of the public record that anyone can inquire about.

I suspect that it does, and having it be a matter of public record that you are a deadbeat probably doesn't help when one is job searching or applying for a car loan or mortgage. You could mention that while trying to collect your money from her.

Of course she could always show up in court, and the main problem is that you don't have an IOU or any other form of proof that this wasn't just a gift.

[AudioFreak]

I DO have chat logs of her admitting that she owes me money and claiming that the check hasn't arrived there but that her mom will be in touch with me, and another one talking about how her boss was giving her an advance so she could pay me back. I also have the receipt from Western Union from when I sent her money the last time. So I've got enough to show that funds are owed to me. Bleh...

[Kaylee]

I think that's enough proof for small claims court.

Find out how much it costs to file, see if you can get court time during non-working and/or non-school hours (some small claim courts have evening hours) and decide if its worth it to you.

I would do it with the expectation that I might not get the money*, but that I'd be making sure that her action had consequences. I would not do it though if the filing fees were expensive and/or if I had to give up pay, class or a lot of study time.

ETA: FWIW, I wouldn't hire a lawyer. This is strictly small claims court stuff and hiring a lawyer would just be throwing more good money after bad.

You don't need one anyway. You have everything you need to get this a matter of public record that she is a deadbeat. You just need to decide if this is worth it to you.

ETA2: I know that sometimes people can have their bank accounts frozen, but I don't know whats involved to get that kind of judgment.

[ravdin]

I had to take action in a small claims court a couple of years ago. My ex-landlord refused to refund my $1,600 security deposit when I moved out. It was a bit of trouble, but worth the effort (I did recover the entire deposit).

I don't know how it works in AZ (I live in California). I did get a free legal consultation, but if I remember right, the service was specifically for landlord/tenant disputes. Still, you might want to go to your local courthouse (or check online) and see what resources might be there.

If you want to follow up with this, I recommend that you start by making a request IN WRITING to get your money back. Be clear that you intend to take legal action. It's good evidence to produce in court, as is a canceled check.

On the other hand- if I were in your shoes, I might consider taking the advice from others in this thread and cutting my losses. This person sounds like a crummy friend and for the low price of $500, she's out of your life forever.

[tkingdoll]

Judge Judy!!!!

I'm serious. Submit your case here: http://www.judgejudy.com/home/home.asp

[Brown]

The number one rule about small claims court: Don't expect to see Judge Wapner.

Judge Wapner, who starred on "The People's Court" for many years, gave everyone a fair shake. He listened, he asked hard questions, and he gave reasons for his decision. Many people find that small claims court is not at all like Judge Wapner's court, and they felt that they did not get a fair shake at all. Like all human occupations, that of small claims judge has its good apples and its bad apples, and many in between; suffice it to say that many litigant seem to encounter small claims judges that they deem to be bad apples... largely because the judge was not like Judge Wapner.

The number two rule about small claims court: have all of your evidence in order. Bring all of your bills, your canceled checks, your photos, your other documents, all of the evidence you think you may need. Put it in a coherent order, and make notes for your own benefit so that you can tell the judge in just a few words what the item represents. (In defense of small claims judges, they see a lot of windy litigants, and they prefer litigants who get to the damn point. They also see a bunch of lazy people and nuts, and if you have organized your evidence, you will be telling the judge that you are neither lazy nor crazy.) If you have witnesses, have them ready to go, and be able to tell the judge in just a few words what each evidence you believe each witness will provide. In most small claims courts, you are entitled to ask questions of the person you are suing; so prepare a list of things that you would like your opponent to admit (and which you think your opponent will not be able to deny). For example: "Do you agree that I loaned you $_____?" "Do you agree that I made the loan on or about _____, 2007?" If the other side admits a fact, then you don't need to present any further evidence to show it; but don't expect your opponent to admit anything. Be ready with your evidence in case there is a denial.

The number three rule about small claims court: Listen carefully to the judge. When the judge asks you a direct question, give a direct answer. Sometimes the judge, by the nature of the questions asked, will be suggesting to you how the judge thinks you ought to answer. If the answer the judge wants is not the truth as you see it, do not answer so as to please the judge. This is very easy rule to say, but a very hard rule to live by. Human nature is to try to answer as one thinks the judge would prefer.

The number four rule about small claims court: Stick to the case. The case is not about who is an a-hole and who isn't. The case is not about what efforts were made to try to settle the matter before going to court. So avoid name calling and trying to point out irrelevant anecdotes to show that the other side is a slimeball. Once again, this is an easy rule to say but a hard one to abide by, because human nature is to try to paint your opponent as a jerk in general, even though your case is about your opponent being a jerk on a particular matter.

[pipelineaudio]

You could try F.O.G, aka Fear of God, approach.

For a few bucks you could get a lawyer to send her a registered letter saying that more or less unless she pays up you intend to take "Legal Action".

IANAL

that's the one

it CAN work, doesnt immediately work on deadbeat bands, but sometimes you get weird phone calls or letters 5 years later about "what can I send you to take this off my credit rating?"

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

Large Louis from Providence is available.

~~ Paul

[AudioFreak]

huh?

[gnome]

I found out something disappointing about Judge Judy (if it's correct)--the losing party does not actually pay any money to the victor--the award is paid by the show. In fact, even the loser gets paid for their appearance. I don't know if that was true on Wapner and other similar shows also.

But it kind of spoils it to know that the guy that screwed you is actually rewarded for making a spectacle of it on TV, even if you get your money.

[AudioFreak]

Hey, if it helps her pay her bills I couldn't care less. I don't care where the money comes from; her or FOX! network. All I care about is getting paid and severing any ties I have with her.

[NoZed Avenger]

I found out something disappointing about Judge Judy (if it's correct)--the losing party does not actually pay any money to the victor--the award is paid by the show. In fact, even the loser gets paid for their appearance. I don't know if that was true on Wapner and other similar shows also.

But it kind of spoils it to know that the guy that screwed you is actually rewarded for making a spectacle of it on TV, even if you get your money.

This was true of the Wapner show, and I assume it is true of all of them -- it is the incentive for people to come on the show in the first place.

IIRC, the original show had a fund for the total "jurisdiction" of the "court." Any award was paid out of that before the loser received anything. The award against the loser would be taken from his "share," and would therefore reduce (and I think possibly eliminate) any recovery.

So if it makesw you feel better, the losers are getting less than if they had won, and they might be walking out with nothing.

[Tanstaafl]

And a lawyer will probably cost more than $500. Consider it a relatively cheap test of who you can trust. I've had to spend more to find that out.


I tend to agree with this; Been there and done that:
http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?postid=2975761#post2975761

But there's no harm in trying the F.O.G. method, just don't invest non-trivial money in this, you've lost enough already.

[tkingdoll]

I found out something disappointing about Judge Judy (if it's correct)--the losing party does not actually pay any money to the victor--the award is paid by the show. In fact, even the loser gets paid for their appearance. I don't know if that was true on Wapner and other similar shows also.

But it kind of spoils it to know that the guy that screwed you is actually rewarded for making a spectacle of it on TV, even if you get your money.

Yes, that is true. The costs are paid by the show, as is a fee to both parties. But in most of these cases it's the only way you'll ever get your money. If you went to small claims court and won, the other party probably doesn't have the cash anyway.

[NewtonTrino]

It's pointless to try and collect this. You can write off bad debts on your taxes and that is exactly what I would do. It will be the cheapest way to collect at least a part of the debt and you don't need to pay anything. Even if you get a judgement you have zero chance of collecting on it.

[AudioFreak]

OOOH! That's a new one. Any special proof I need when filing?

[Tanstaafl]

Darn, I forgot to mention the write-off.

Yes, by all means do that. No special documentation needed, though you want to save all that you have for the (unlikely) event of an audit. I'm not sure if this works if you don't itemize deductions though, maybe not. But I suspect your finances are complicated enough with your audio work that you would itemize already anyway. Or at least you probably should.

[Fengirl]

AF, I realise this suggestion may not achieve the objective of getting her out of your life asap, but have you considered offering her payment terms? (e.g. $x per month over 6 or 12 months, with appropriate interest?) If you at least offer that, and still get nowhere with her, the fact that you bent over backwards to be reasonable will go in your favour if/when you do go down the small claims court route.

Even if you never see a penny of what she owes you, a court judgement against her would affect her credit rating (at least that’s how it works here in the UK - I’m guessing it’s the same in the US?) I would be tempted to pursue an action against her for that reason alone – to make it harder for her to borrow money in the future. (That said, if she’s having to borrow money from friends, it may be because her credit rating is already lousy or non-existent).:(

Good luck!

[BPSCG]

The trouble is, you're not getting her attention. As others have pointed out, you're probably not the only person she owes money to. So when you ask for your money back, she thinks, "Meh, someone else wants money from me..." You notice she's an accomplished liar.

You need to get her attention. Send her a registered letter telling her you're suing her for $50,000. The five hundred she owes you, and $49,500 for pain, suffering, mental anguish, lost time at work, accumulated interest, etc., etc.

Watch her settle for the $500 in a hurry.

Otherwise, Large Louis from Providence sounds like a good approach.

[Tokenconservative]

The semi-long story:

I had a friend who, over the summer, was in a bit of a tough situation and I loaned her some money. She had to get back to New York and was flat broke at the moment, but was going to head back to her family so she could sell her car that was sitting in her father's garage as well as some other stuff. She was to pay me back with the proceeds from this sale.

So I loaned her some cash for travel and bought her a plane ticket to PA where she was going to visit with friends for a few days before catching a ride with a family friend back to NY with the expressed understanding that she would be paying me back within a week with the sale of this car. Well her trip goes to hell and at one point she gets stranded so, being the bleeding heart that I am, I sent some more money Western Union to help her get all the way to her father's place.

So grand total, this girl owes me about $500. She was supposed to have sent me the money but said since she was coming back to AZ for a week or so that she'd just bring it with her. Then when she gets here, she claims she accidentally left the cashier's check back in New York. I smell a rat but she says her dad is sending it to her mother's address in AZ and that she'll call me when it comes. The whole week she's here there's no sign of this check. She leaves for NY without saying goodbye. Then I don't hear from her at all.

I call her mother about a week after she left and her mom has not heard about this whole "mailing a check" business and hasn't seen anything in the mail from her ex-husband at all. Her family and friends here in AZ have not heard anything from her at all. I make many attempts to reach her via telephone, e-mail, MySpace and text message. She replies to none until about 2 weeks ago (I was supposed to be repaid in JULY) saying she had a bit of a breakdown and would be in touch when she was doing better.

In the meantime though she apparently changed her phone number and got another tattoo. :mad: So I've decided it's going to be necessary to take her to small claims court as she's obviously not going to respond unless I take drastic action.

So here we are:

So first I know I'd be best to send a letter of demand stating my grievances and specifying the debt owed and giving her X number of days to settle the debt or I will file papers in court. According to what I've read, since at the time she was living here and the loan was issued here in AZ, I should file for court here in AZ.

Just curious if anyone has any recommendations on how I should proceed, things I might be unaware of, hidden pitfalls, etc...

I realize that winning in court and actually getting the money are completely separate issues, but at the very least if she gets a real job and doesn't pay, I can garnish her wages.

Not sure if I am following this...

For a lousy $500 you are going through all this brain damage?

She's in NY and you are in AZ?

First thing: did she sign anything agreeing to pay you back? If not, your "verbal contract" (if that's what you think you have) is worth less than the paper it's printed on, so you are wasting your time out of the box.

Otherwise, it's going to cost you at least half the 5 bills to get her served in NY. She could easily--and successfully, given what you've told us--get venue switched to NY. Then what're you going to do? Spend $2000 flying to and from NY to persue the $500?

But lets say things go as you think they will (they won't) and you somehow win in AZ (hoping the judge does not look to askance at your "proof" you had her served in NY...)...then what? The suit will be won in AZ...not NY where she lives. Yeah, if she ever comes back to AZ, and buys a house.... Yes, you could record it in NY, too...and there's another couple of bills. And then you can go through the cost and trouble of attaching her wages, and maybe getting a lien on her house (if she has one...I doubt it), etc. More $$ out of your pocket (you DO know none of this is free, right?).

Hopefully she is not a cashier at Walgreens and won't just quit when the garn comes through. And it'll take you a year to collect your $500 plus, I assume, court costs, but that will not include all the other costs.

My advice (I've sued and been sued dozens of times, small claims and district courts): for $500 take it as a lesson learned and get on with your life. I don't think the moral victory you may (or probably will not) win here will be worth the $2-3k it's going to take for you to collect on the $500.

Tokie

[JoeTheJuggler]

First thing: did she sign anything agreeing to pay you back? If not, your "verbal contract" (if that's what you think you have) is worth less than the paper it's printed on, so you are wasting your time out of the box.

<nitpick>
All expressed contracts are verbal. You mean "oral contract".
</nitpick>

[Tokenconservative]

<nitpick>
All expressed contracts are verbal. You mean "oral contract".
</nitpick>

Yeah..um, whatever....

Um, I thought an oral contract was what that Brit actor, Hugh Grant got?

Oh..no, that's oral conTACT.

My mistake.

Tokie

[JK1987]

I was wondering if you could pleased advice me on whether I have a case for small claims court. On November 1st, I agreed to lend a friend £100. I have text messages saved from the person I loaned it too saying that it is for rent because her flatmate has lost his job and the loan would be repayed when he got another job. I then have a message asking if I can put the money into her account, including her bank details and another which confirms that the money has gone through. It also states '... will pay u bak as soon as we have it.'
In January I contacted the girl who I sent to money to and she replied through, email, which I have saved that it is nothing to do with her and I should discuss it with her friend who lost his job.
I went on to contact him and he stated that I would be getting a job the following money (during January,) and that it should be sorted shortly. I then did not receive any other messages from him despite gentle pestering until around March when I received a text message (again saved,) telling me that I will get it back when he has it and to f*** off til then. I left the situation for a while then contacted him again on 19th April through email saying that unless he paid me back I would take legal action in 1 month. I also sent lots of messages between then and now reminding him and I received no correspondance until yesterday evening. Then I received an email accusing me of abuse, harassment and stalkering and saying that there was no time-scale and he would only pay it back when he had a job and was financially stable.
Unforuntely I do not have his new home address, I think he is staying with his grandparents but he claims to be homeless and unemployed. I do however have the girl's address who remains in close contact with him.
I was wondering what I would need to win a case against him or her and any other advice you could give I would really appreciate.
thanks for reading
xxx

[Susan Gerbic]

JK1987 - If you win, then what? Where is this guy going to get the money from? You can't get a lean on his house, is he going to give you his first born child, what? He has no money, he is a loser and will probably have to live his life living on other's goodwill and scamming.

I think that you are losing sleep over this, you are obsessing over this money. Is it the money or the fact that these people got away with it. Do you feel stupid that they were able to con you? Consider it a lesson learned. It could have been much much worse.

Drop it all, delete the emails and the text messages. Let your close friends that know this woman know that she is not honorable. Then get some sleep, go for a walk, pet a kitten or whatever and let go of this stress.

At least you had the extra money, imagine being the one desperate having to have friends ask their friends for money for you.

My two cents

Susan

[Orthoptera]

I was wondering if you could pleased advice me on whether I have a case for small claims court. On November 1st, I agreed to lend a friend £100. ... I was wondering what I would need to win a case against him or her and any other advice you could give I would really appreciate.

£100? Consider it a Sucker's Tax and move on. Extending informal loans like this are only a good idea if you can accept that they are often not repaid. You probably have legal recourse through a small claims court against the girl, from what you've written, since the money went into her account. I can't speak to the specifics of your locale. But consider that even if you did win a judgment, it's still up to you to collect-- which is where you are now. IMO it's not worth the time or effort.

Edited to add: What sgf8 said.

[Rocko]

You've lent it on very nebulous terms; it does seem to have done on the basis of "pay me back when you've got a job"; if he hasn't got a job yet (for whatever reason) then it may be hard to get it back.

There's probably enough to support a claim in there; the stuff you have (texts etc) would probably be enough to prove that he did borrow the cash from you. But as others have pointed out, there's going to be a few problems, not least actually getting the money. It seems quite likely that you'd have to go back to court to take enforcement proceedings - that's just going to be more money, time and hassle. And, given he's apparently homeless and unemployed, there's a fair chance he'll just vanish.

There's a ton of advice online about this sort of thing:

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/claims/index.htm

My advice would be to go to the Citizens Advice Bureau and have a chat to them first; see what they say. Alternatively you go see a solicitor, and get them to write a letter to him threatening court action - see if that scares him into action. You'll have to pay for that, obviously - so the risk there is good money after bad.

TBH I'd go with what the other posters have said; how much time have you spent on this already? Small claims court may be substantially quicker than traditional litigation routes, but it's still time consuming. Given the fact there's no assurance you'll get the money back at the end of it, and the relatively small sum of cash involved, I'd be tempted just to let it go - look on it as money for a lesson learned.

Much like I did when I let a "mate" move in with me without a written rent contract, and ended up having to write off £700 :(

[Rocko]

Oh, also you could try doing the MCOL route; I've never used it so I can't speak for how good it is:

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco2/index.jsp

You still have to pay court fees etc though - straight away you're looking at £30 for your claim. Although that gets added on to what they owe you, you're obviously reliant on them i) being found, and ii) paying up.

[gnome]

My advice: never make an informal loan that you can't afford to eat the loss on if it's never paid back.

If it's enough money that you can't afford it without ensuring payback, make it official on paper with an agreed upon plan for payback that specifies dates.

[Soapy Sam]

Have you considered sending the boys round?

I'd say write this off to experience and be more cautious next time.

[Soapy Sam]

Mind you, I'm cynic enough to wonder how many others he's done it to.

[JK1987]

JK1987 - If you win, then what? Where is this guy going to get the money from? You can't get a lean on his house, is he going to give you his first born child, what? He has no money, he is a loser and will probably have to live his life living on other's goodwill and scamming.

I think that you are losing sleep over this, you are obsessing over this money. Is it the money or the fact that these people got away with it. Do you feel stupid that they were able to con you?

Susan,
Thanks a lot for your advice I really appreciate it.
I guess I was hoping he would be forced to pay it back in installments and assume he must have to get some kind of job at some point.
I do feel very stupid but more just really upset that long-time friends are capable of this.
I think I probably will give up.
Thanks again....x

[JK1987]

You've lent it on very nebulous terms; it does seem to have done on the basis of "pay me back when you've got a job"; if he hasn't got a job yet (for whatever reason) then it may be hard to get it back.

........

TBH I'd go with what the other posters have said; how much time have you spent on this already? Small claims court may be substantially quicker than traditional litigation routes, but it's still time consuming. Given the fact there's no assurance you'll get the money back at the end of it, and the relatively small sum of cash involved, I'd be tempted just to let it go - look on it as money for a lesson learned.

Much like I did when I let a "mate" move in with me without a written rent contract, and ended up having to write off £700 :(

Rocko, thanks a lot for your advice. It really helps to know that others have gotten themselves into a similar mess. I guess I will probably try to move on, forget about it and learn never to trust anyone especially good friends! x

[Michelle Lyon]

Don't you dare write it off. She'd just do it again to someone else. And I don't know about anyone else but $500 to me is an awfull lot of money. That's a month's rent!

I can only speak from having been through this in CA. Check with AZ courts to see what they offer and what the laws are.

In CA, you can consult attorneys for free at the courthouse for advice on a small claims case. You can also set up a mediation for free before filing papers, to try and resolve the dispute that way, out of court. And, it's good to start with mailing your demand to her first. Send it certified so you have the receipt for court, and she can't try to claim that you never asked her for the money.

If you do have to file a small-claims suit, add the cost to it. (If she owes $500 you would then add filing fees, court fees, attorney consultation, any other expenses, to that $500.) You would file in the county where the event took place, so yes, in your home county in AZ. Be prepared to cover your butt when you go; you are the plaintiff so the burden of proof is on you. Bank statements alone may or may not be sufficient, but if you sent it Western Union, and you have receipts showing that she was the one who picked up the money, that would work. You need to prove that after you withdrew the cash, the cash went to your friend.

Another factor here is that you did not execute a written contract with the friend. It was a verbal agreement, which holds in court but only if nobody has anything on paper. Witnesses are also usefull, but, she is also allowed to bring her own witnesses. It will largely be your word against hers. Be prepared that you may not be awarded the entire amount.

If you are awarded and she still does not pay, you have to take it to collections. I've never done that but I hear it's a pain, and expensive. But again, that cost can be added to her bill. I'm not sure though, that garnishing is appropriate; I think that's for cases like child support, medical bills, unpaid traffic tickets. But check it, and hope that the case doesn't come to that point of going to collection.

Always, always execute a contract. Friends and family are the ones most likely to take advantage of good people. It's not a matter of trust, it's a matter of covering everyone's butts and making the terms clear. A real friend would understand. When you loan/borrow a lot of money, draw up a contract.

[DevilsAdvocate]

For the original post: It seems you both agree she owes you the money, so you don’t really need a court to decide the issue. It is a matter of collection. Your best bet is to appeal to her, her mother, anyone she knows, to make payment or at least some payments. If that fails, you can hire a collection agency. The agency will probably take 50%. So, if the agency succeeds, she will pay $500 and you will get $250.

If you look at small claims, the deciding factor is cost. You don’t want to throw good money after bad. A court judgment in this case probably won’t help you collect. It will help a collection agency collect, but you will still have to pay them the same.

So, as many posts have suggested, the best hope of recovery is to appeal to her conscience (you lent her money in good faith in times of trouble and only ask for repayment on reasonable terms) and to threaten action (you are fully prepared to take her to court, hire a collection agency, and take any other legal action to collect. So she WILL pay eventually, even if it means most of the money she pays ends up going to lawyers and collection agencies. Why not pay me directly instead of going through all that?)

[Susan Gerbic]

Personally I would like to see these losers pay up big time. If you make a big nasty stink about it then hopefully they will never take advantage of friends again.

But speaking from a divorced woman who could easily take ex back to court and win. I don't want the hassle. Be honest, don't you feel a lot better knowing you are right but also just letting it drop? I know once I made the decision to just let it go, I was able to sleep better at night. Besides you can still tell everyone who knows her/him that they are a loser.

Don't you dare write it off. She'd just do it again to someone else. And I don't know about anyone else but $500 to me is an awfull lot of money. That's a month's rent!

Is there somewhere you can rent for $500 a month still? Wow!

$500 is a lot of money to some people, but to others not so much. In the cases of these two people who loaned out money, they clearly had the money to lend.

Susan