Family Member Owed a Large amount of Money

[Sid Ney]

Hi,

 

Sorry if i'm posting this in the wrong section, i'm not even sure that it is something that people may be able to help with.

 

Anyway, i won't go into full details, but a family member is owed a large (six figure) amount of money mainly due to unwise business decisions and also being, well conned is probably the correct word to use.

 

So if it is something that someone may have some good advice on recovering the debt i will post the whole story so people may be able to help.

 

P.S. Not trying to portray a sob story but the person concerned is in their eighties and could possibly be made homeless quiet soon due to this situation.

 

Any help or advice would be hugely appreciated.

[citizenB]

I think we would need more information.

 

Who owes the family member the money ?

 

Is there some form of contract or agreement in place - are you prepared to issue a claim against the person/company who owes the money ?

[Sid Ney]

Thank you for your quick response.

 

Sorry i did'nt want to post all the information if i was asking in the wrong place.

 

The (very) basic situation is that they lent someone a large (£200,000+) amount of money to help them expand their business, and a repayment agreement was drawn up.

 

Unfortunately the recipitents business eventually folded, but the loan was made to the person as an individual so the debt still stands, but we believe the person who owes the money is now further in debt and that the bank is about to forclose on their mortgage and repocess their house. This being the only thing they have of any value will just about end any possibility of them being able to repay the debt.

 

So, yes they woud be prepared to make a claim against the person but are not sure as to what assets they have. Do you know whether it is possible to find out if anyone else other than their mortgage company could have a charge on their property and if so how, and possibily how many and what value? I suppose another question would be whether the actual repayment document would be a legally binding document as i don't think it was drawn up by a solicitor.

 

I know i'm waffling on somewhat and being rather vague, but i'm trying to ensure that the people involved would'nt be identified (if that makes sense).

 

Thank you

 

Sid.

Edited October 28, 2014 by citizenB
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[citizenB]

Ok, well if there is a proper agreement in place, then you would be classed as a creditor and as such I would have thought there would be some way of getting at least some of the money back.

 

I will try and find someone who might be able to help.

 

I have to say, the sum you have mentioned is far outside of the sums we normally deal with on here, but at the very least we should be able to point you in the right direction.

[Sid Ney]

Thank you very much, your help is much appreciated.

 

Sid.

[steampowered]

You can see what charges/mortgages are registered against the property by doing a search on the land registry website, which will cost a few quid. This won't tell you the value of the outstanding debt though.

 

I can't comment on whether the repayment agreement is legally valid without more information about the document. If the document was signed after the loan was given in order to change the terms of repayment, there is a good chance that it might not be binding for lack of consideration (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consideration_in_English_law). However, even if not binding, it would be good evidence that a verbal agreement was reached for repayment of the money.

 

You could try to take this person to court and then use the judgment to get a charging order over the property, which would help to give you a better chance of recovery if this person gets into more debt. That would help you to the extent there is equity left in the house after the mortgage company's claim.

[ericsbrother]

Do you think there was any intention to repay the loan? If not a complaint to the police for fraud would be a step forward. You mention relative being conned so if you think that I would suggest there is some mileage there.

[Sid Ney]

Do you think there was any intention to repay the loan? If not a complaint to the police for fraud would be a step forward. You mention relative being conned so if you think that I would suggest there is some mileage there.

 

This is something i have thought about, but i'm not sure how we would prove that there was no intention to repay the debt. I personnaly, now knowing most of the facts about the debtor believe that they had know real intention of repaying the money, but proving it is a completely different thing.

[ericsbrother]

Then report anyway. The police will know if there is something iffy in the past. You dont have to prove it, just make a complaint.