Should I sue my friend for failure to pay her long overdue debt?

I'd say, sueing her just means more money out of YOUR pocket. She isn't a friend, she's a user. Type up a professional looking letter saying she's got one last chance to make an arrangement to pay off the debt (say, $5 a week) and that the friendship is at an end. Tell her not to contact you again for money or you'll see it as harrassment and contact the police. AND STICK TO IT. A friendship isn't a friendship when it gets you to the stage of bringing the bailiffs in so it can be cemented!

If I were You I would take her to Judge Judy. I watch this TV- show every day in Sweden. I think she is right and fair. So, why not hang her out. Let her see that it is not OK to borrow without give it back. Money or things no matter. What is not yours, is not yours to keep. Perhaps if you tell her that You have the thoughts of sueing her and mabee she will be in Judge Judy´s court she might come up with the many faster than You think. Who would like to be on a TV-show like that.God Luck

I think it depends on the extent of your friendship. Are you willing to give up the friendship and move on? It will cost you to file charges in court. It's hard for me to say what you should do since I am in the same situation. I have a friend, over 20 years, who borrowed money from me 4 years ago. She promised faithfully to pay it back as soon as possible. It didn't happen. I emailed her the other day and simply told her I wanted so much a month or she needed to get a loan and pay me. Both were avoided by her simply saying she would try. What kind of answer is that one? Now she's trying to smooth things over and it's not working. I am willing to give up the friendship. If she was a true friend, she wouldn't have done this to me. I was used. Next my intelligence was insulted by her lies. I finally told her what I knew and also that she had been spending all kinds of money on her grandchild. She's an adult and needs to be responsible for her debt to me. My husband wants me to sue her but I am willing to keep trying to encourage her to pay me. This whole thing has elevated my stress level and I'm not willing to let it destroy me. She needs to figure something out in order to give back what is mine. She was desperate, I helped and then kicked in the teeth. Pretty sad but her bad choice is running me away. I want my money and she can move on with her other friends and her life. My parents always told me to never loan a friend money. I learned the hard way but felt sorry for my friend and did it anyway.

i dont think its neccesarily to sue your friend, i mean you can negotiate with your friend and give your friend a final note that she need to pay you, its a debt by her she need to pay it. and also try to be very open minded on the setuation maybe its tough for her money wise. so i think give her another chance where she can pay rather than taking her to the court, if she didnt pay you still then you have to do the move for her to pay you back. happy posting!!!

yeah considering your condition you should give your friend a final period to return your money . if you dont get it then you could resort to legal tactics

... If it's not that much, then, well, I don't know. Is it worth hiring a lawyer to sue her with? How much money are you really going to get back in the end? Honestly, I don't think you should have lent money to her in the first place.

first...never lend money to friends or family...failure to pay will damage the relationship...if u pursue a lawsuit just prepare urself to never be friends with this person again...it's up to u to think what's more important the friendship or the money? let this be a lesson if u do decide to keep her as a friend to never lend her or anyone else money. Just simply say no.

For friendships sake? She doesnt seem like that great of a friend.... I would just charge it to experience though... My mom always taught me never to loan a friend any money. If you can afford it give it to them, that way if they pay you back cool, if not at least you werent expecting it. lol But its true. I wouldnt sue your friend, I would just end the friendship. Sueing them would anyway, but maybe one day she will give it back I had two friends that lived with me and I would pay the rent and bills and give them a bill and they would pay me back. Well when time came to move out, one owed $600 and the other owed $200. Neither paid me, I had contracts, but didnt sue them, 2 years later the one who owed $200, came to my house and gave it to me, apologizing for not doing it before. I owed my mom, $600 and she said I'll forgive your debt if you forgive the guy who owes you $600. I did, and it taught me a lesson on forgiveness and showed me how selfless my mother was and made me want to be that way...After all, money is great but you cant take it with you! (when you die) lol!

at this point, I would be really questioning the friendship itself. I mean, a really good friend would never do that to you. I understand that times are tough on many but if she has the money, she should be at least making an attempt to pay you back. You should not have to feel guilty or spend time tracking her down. She doesn't really sound like a good friend.

I don't know if that's the best thing to do.. if i were in your shoes, i wouldn't let this go to the court.. i mean, you can still settle everything without filing a case against her.. why don't you just make some arrangements? ask her to pay you a certain amount of money every month until you get fully paid..

For me, i will not take my friends to court over money matter if in the first place i am not under any obligation to loan her the money but merely based on my pity on her and believed that i should help a friend in need, if she still in a desperate state as before, then i will just forget about asking my loan be paid back and see it as a gift to a friend. If she has the ability to pay back the loan like she just won million in sweepstakes or lottery, then i will ask for my loan repay, if not, i will take her to court if i have documents proving i loan her the money and is not a gift.

Depends how you really want to go about this. I read, "The best way to help someone, is to help someone that cannot pay you back." Sounds good but you have yourself to think about too. Now, big question is: before you gave her the money, did you have her sign something? Did you have her sign something that states she's aware she owes you money and for how long at what amount? The reason I ask is because if you do go to court with her, unless you have something in writing, you may as well not show up at all. Good luck. *Pleiades

If she is still your friend. try and sit down with her and work out a payment plan either weekly or monthly. I would stress however that if not in a position to pay anything i would put this one down to experience and write it off. I would not sue this person. It would cause a lot of pain and anxiety. Never a lender or a borrower be. x

When you lend friends or family money you should just write off. Then if they pay you back it is a bonus. If you did not have to give you would not have. you helped someone out in there time of need and that has reward for you. Trying to sue someone in small claims court is a shallow process and there is no teeth for collecting the money. Nobody is going to go to jail becuase they owe you money. The friendship could be a problem already because the money loan must sit between you to as an 800 pound elephant. Let it go and move on, you will he happier and the better person. The idea is they will never ask you again and if they do you can remind them you have been stiffed twice.

It sounds as though the time has come to sue her. You may lose a friend but haven't you already lost one because she hasn't paid you even after an official reminder? There are two ways of making a 'loan' to a friend. Either you give them money without any expectation of return or, if you do expect a return, you make every effort to see that it is returned by a certain time. It is fine to be able to help out a friend in need but it's no use waiting until you desperately need the money you lent before asking for it back. Yes, I'm afraid that you should take her to court. It may 'teach her a lesson' and it may alienate her but, frankly, her kind of friendship is not very valuable.

I think taking her to court is the best way but then again if you can't afford lawyer fee it may not be a good solution your friend is a lawyer but make sure you know how much he will charge because court trial may be time consuming and you have to pay for his time

I think you will lose more money if you sue her because of the lawyer's fee... so since she is your friend... the best thing is to talk to her outright... and tell her that you need the money that she borrowed... A friend who is also a priest once told me never to lend money to friends... because that can be the reason for a certain good friendship to end... instead... give it freely if one can afford it... so that the friendship will be strengthened...

Bringing someone in court is not the best option, specially for small cases like this. The case will eat considerable amount of time and resources of the complainant and the accused long before the case will be settled. However, it looks like your friend is one of those type who can only learn the hard way such as going to court. Imagine, she is fond of borrowing money without paying. Worst, she has the means to pay (with her husband working abroad). She's not paying not because she can't but because she won't. But then again, you have also to consider, will your friend be able to pay if you sue her? Remember that suing entails additional cost for you at first which will be passed on later to her when she's found guilty. Summing up every expenses and the amount borrowed, can your friend pay at all? If she can, by all means, see her on court. But if she can't, then it is best to charge everything to experience and start distancing yourself to her.

You should understand that lending money to friends means giving your friend money. never loan a friend money unless you are willing to get nothing back. if you have to sue the person, then its not a real friendship. By the sounds of this friendship, it may not be worth it. This person sounds like a deadbeat. Go ahead and sue and stop lending this friend money or stop being friends with this person.

I say charge it to experience. if you really value your friendship then money is no big deal. what you lend is what you are able to give. maybe your friend really needs money because it's not only you that she's indebted to. if you see her squandering money, or if she looks like she's well off to pay you you should just ask her to pay you (in the face).