To have sen demand letter to ex?

This isn't true at all, FYI @parsleydog .

A verbal contract is just as valid as a written one (the problem is having evidence, but you only need balance of probabilities, and you said your friend has text messages), and all the terms not explicitly stated would be deemed to be "reasonable" ones - so maybe a few months for a holiday, not at all forever.

If he has already sent a formal "letter before action" - which he needs to do - and she hasn't responded in the time specified, I would suggest he issues the claim in the money claims online portal. It wouldn't cost that much for £1.2k, and having actual proceedings started does tend to get people to focus and pay up.

I've done this for friends who had freelance/self employed work and people thought they'd be clever and not pay. Usually trades, so no written contracts there either.
It works well, it's reasonably fast, and it has a pretty high success rate. I think he should, she's just taking the piss.

For £1200 I would risk the £80

If he has enough evidence otherwise it won’t be that cheap by any means, and providing we are hearing the full story. For example, what happened on this holiday, or what could she say happened? Sometimes you just have to pick your battles.

It would cost £80 to take it to small claims court which would be recovered with the debt.

He is not unreasonable and she is a dick for agreeing to pay half and then going back on that.

If I was him I'd go down small claims route if I could afford to potentially not win.

I'd hope the small claims would spook her into paying.

I'd basically take it as far as I could afford to "loose" money wise on the principle of the fact she should pay it back, even if that cost me some money. I'd want her to have negative consequences too, such as affected credit rating or being made to pay it back. She went on the holiday under that agreement and should stick to it

Op whatapp messages are deletable. Make sure he saves them independently so she can't delete the proof he needs that she agreed to pay. I would include the wider holiday context messages too just in case she claimed she wanted a cheaper holiday. Also the break up text showing that they separated AFTER he requested payment.

I've also done small claims and it was very straight forward and affordable. Don't bother with legal advice, he has everything he needs.

But Vinted is very different due to the nature of what it is. The contract is implied when buying and selling on a site specifically for buying and selling.

Nope, he wouldn’t at all. Like others, I’ve used small claims court several times and wouldn’t hesitate to use again. Screen shots of WhatsApp’s messages and maybe 30 mins of filling out the online forms. Very low cost which you get back if you win

I took Vinted to small claims and won without any legal help

Again, this is strange advice. They are not bringing a huge cival law suit. And an agreement in writing is considered legal. Citizens advice has printable advice in their website.

It isn’t true @parsleydog . If no date for repayment is stated then a loan (which is what this is in substance) is general interpreted as repayable on demand on reasonable notice. I would therefore write formally giving say 2 weeks to repay, send one reminder then start court action. Make sure she knows no further notice will be given and he will look to recover costs on top (not sure he can as not my area but pressure can only help and seems fair he shouldn’t be out of pocket).

If she is issued with a small claims court claim it had the potential to affect her credit rating, especially if she still doesn't pay.

For the sake of a small claims court fee I'd have a go

Nothing to lose and £1200 to gain

This is exactly right. WhatsApps are able to be used in court but only if they show the intent of a contract such as price, scope and payment terms, which is unclear here.
Imagine I go on a date with someone, in a text I say “sure, I’ll pay half” and he then takes me to a fine dining restaurant, orders the most expensive things on the menu with wine pairings for each course, then takes me to small claims when I refuse to pay half.
It doesn’t work like that.
Now if he’s said, “We’ll go to x place, you’ll need to pay half, it will cost £x and I will need you to pay on the night” and I’ve agreed to those terms then that’s a different story.
Anything else sets a dangerous precedent, not just for singles who might inadvertently end up in court for agreeing to buy the coffees on the next date but then decide they don’t actually want to see that person again, but imagine in business you ask someone to come and clean your windows, person shows up, cleans your windows, then goes that’s £17k excluding VAT. The CONTRACT protects both parties as important details like cost, scope of the work and payment terms are mutually agreed and become a contract, so it’s actually the contract that courts enforce, not just agreement to something.

So WhatsApps of themselves are not necessarily enough unless they meet this requirement, and if in any doubt a solicitor should be consulted, which is when it does get costly.
Or. You get burned and you learn your lesson.

She is a dick but I don't think you could prove in court that it was owed. He needs to chalk it up to bad experience and move on.

This, we did small claims against a family member who owed us a little over £1400 we had WhatsApp messages as proof. We won

did He book and pay for the holiday on the basis she would pay him back or did he just ask her to pay as the relationship was souring
why did she dump him?
I suppose she should honour the agreements and pay him back but a guy chasing payment would give me the ick (I would still pay and then dump)

I’ve used small claims twice and the forms were quick and easy. IANAL but I feel like the WhatsApp messages would be enough proof. Definitely worth a shot for £1.2k!

(Both times, the other person paid up just before court. They’re banking on it being a bluff, but why should your friend be out of pocket?!

Small claims process is the way forward. Designed to not require a solicitor and relatively affordable and simple. The WhatsApp messages should be proof enough if they are clear on what she has agreed to pay. Don’t be put off, for £1.2k I would.
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/legal-system/small-claims/

He would need a solicitor for this. The WhatsApps don’t sound strong enough to constitute a contract, so he’d be daft not to get a solicitor to help him make a case, especially if she gets a solicitor too. Plus mediation would also be required. So no, not worth it except to make a point as this isn’t a slam dunk win.

Where do you get your legal advice from? The small claims court is cheap and easy to use...you fill in an online form. Even a fully trained solicitor would be worth using for £1200 and the evidence the guy has

If this was me sorry if this sounds wrong but an ex who is just been on holiday with wouldn’t be able to contact me if we got back and broke up they’d be blocked, gone, zero, dead to me. If you go on holiday together and break up straight after surely something bad happened or you’d have split up amicably before you went no? I wouldn’t be able to answer a message, my phone would be of no use to you.

Small claims court isn’t a huge amount of hassle. I’ve used the process twice and both times the people I was claiming against paid up a few days before the court case. I think they thought I wouldn’t go through with it and that I was making idle threats. To me, £1.2k would definitely be worth it.

If there's no proof in writing she said she'd pay it back by a certain time then either the debt isn't enforceable at all or she has until basically forever to pay it back if no terms agreed.

So good luck taking her to court. I mean I don't condone her not paying but I just think it might not be worth the hassle.