can i do this

[lady1947]

My son and his girlfriend owe me money from a bank loan which i stupidly got for them , they have not made any attempt to pay , they are now on benifits , she has recently been evicted from her house through none payment, she asked me if would store all her contents from the house which i have done , My question is can i legally hold all of her belongings , untill i get some money from her ,her house is on the market for sale . please help me .

[ErikaPNP]

No, you cannot legally with hold the belongings of someone else, even if they owe you money. Only a court can order goods be seized and auctioned for cash (for the likes of council tax arrears), an individual does not have the right to with hold, sell or in any other manner forfeit another's belongings.

 

From a legal point of view, there isn't much you can do if someone owes you money, unless you have a legally binding (court enforceable) loan agreement with your son/his girlfriend.

[lady1947]

Oh Dear That is not what i was expecting , i was hoping you were going to say YES , Thank you very much for your answer though , kind regards Sandy

[Conniff]

If that is the case, you could at least charge them storage fees and then won't have to return it until those fees are paid.

[lady1947]

Connif if i can do that legally , then thats great news , Thank you very much

[GuidoT]

Have a read here.

[pompeyfaith]

Other than that and if that does not work your only option is court but how that would go im not sure as the bank loan is in your name i guess.

 

PF

[bonjob]

of course not. i agree with erika that

you cannot hold the belongings of

someone else legally. Only a court can order

goods be seized and auctioned for cash.

 

 

EDIT

Edited April 25, 2009 by pt2537
commercial link removed

[lady1947]

Thank you everyone for your replys I guess its been an expensive way to learn never to lend or help family members when it comes to money , kind regards Sandy