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Original poster

Taking my ex to court for £1210-has anyone got experience?

33 replies

Noodge · 06/09/2025 12:58

I know I know, it isn't a life changing amount. But it has REALLY annoyed me. I am not a high earner and I leant a woman I was dating this money in good faith. She was struggling hugely due to an unexpected car bill and was very upset and I had a bit of money in my 'rainy day fund' so I wanted to help her. That was the £1,000. I had already leant her £200 prior to that, and then she asked for another £10 to buy lunch at work and told me she'd give it back at the end of that day and never did.

She is meant to pay me on the 12th, in installments of £200. That's our agreement. But I have a real feeling that she won't.

She has the sort of job that I think wouldn't favour her having a court order on her, full-time employed. Has anyone done anything like this before and can advise me what might happen in this type of circumstance?

OP posts:
MondeoFan · 06/09/2025 12:59

How much is it going to cost you to take her to court? Why don’t you wait until the 12th to see if she does indeed make a payment

Original poster
Noodge · 06/09/2025 13:00

MondeoFan · 06/09/2025 12:59

How much is it going to cost you to take her to court? Why don’t you wait until the 12th to see if she does indeed make a payment

I will definitely wait until the 12th. But I just have a feeling. I hope I am wrong. I think it costs about £70-£80.

OP posts:
Needtosoundoffandbreathe · 06/09/2025 13:07

Happened to someone I knew. Lost a court case for monies owed against a friend they fell out with then refused to pay because they idiotically were convinced on principle they shouldn't pay and ended up with an attachment of earnings order...

You need to send a letter before action if she doesn't start repayments then follow up with a small claim. You need the terms of what was agreed in writing to stand a chance of winning. That's just the first step as it doesn't automatically follow that she'll pay you back. It could be tortuous for you, but should make her think twice before doing the same to anyone else. If she successfully pleads poverty you could end up being repaid at a pitiful sum per week.

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Original poster
Noodge · 06/09/2025 13:12

Thank you. She works fulltime and I don't know what she earns but she is an area supervisor for an elderly care company.

I have screenshots of our agreement and the amount, would that be enough?

OP posts:
Needtosoundoffandbreathe · 06/09/2025 17:52

Should be - all you can do is wait for repayment day and take it from there. If you decide to take action, send the letter - lots of advice online on this - and if no response you can fill in the court docs. Just keep it factual and keep emotion out of it. State how and when you have pursued payment and if she ignores you, you can note that too

Original poster
Noodge · 06/09/2025 19:27

I don't think she will ignore me-I think she'll get angry and msg me some horrible things about how unreasonable and horrible I am and she's so skint and struggling and I'm just awful and she's glad she finished with me etc etc if I'm honest. 😥

OP posts:
viques · 06/09/2025 19:30

The problem is with a small claims court is that you can get judgement , but to recover money you will need to take it further. You do have the moral advantage of winning ( and of making sure that the other persons credit record is fucked) but getting your hands on the money is another issue unless they voluntarily hand it over.

BrightLightTonight · 06/09/2025 19:40

If you don’t have anything in writing that you have loaned her the money, and what the agreed repayments are, you don’t stand a chance.

boredwfh · 06/09/2025 20:18

You can do an MCOL (money claim online) as others have said if you get the judgement you then have to pay more to enforce it- attachment of earnings, CCJ, bailiffs etc.

Original poster
Noodge · 06/09/2025 20:51

viques · 06/09/2025 19:30

The problem is with a small claims court is that you can get judgement , but to recover money you will need to take it further. You do have the moral advantage of winning ( and of making sure that the other persons credit record is fucked) but getting your hands on the money is another issue unless they voluntarily hand it over.

I think (hope) she'll pay it back to avoid all that. I hope. She's very image-aware.

OP posts:
Original poster
Noodge · 09/09/2025 08:03

I've now had a msg asking for my bank details as 'I've lost them as I've had to change my number '. This was on fb messenger--we've always communicated on WhatsApp. I just don't believe her. Nobody changes their number nowadays anyway unless something drastic has happened, she asked for my details again a couple of weeks ago as 'I've had to change my bank' (what a load of tripe). I'm going to look at small claims court. Friend has recommended getting a solicitor but I need to research the implications of that. I've taken someone to SCC before but for a very different situation, do not know what to expect for something like this.

OP posts:
Silverbirchleaf · 09/09/2025 08:07

You don’t need a solicitor for small claims court - that will probably cost more than the claim!

You do the small claims online. There are some fees, but that gets added onto the claim if you win. However, as @viques says, if you win, then that just proves they owe you the money. You may have to escalate the claim, which you can do via the small claims court process, to get bailiffs to recover the money for you.

It’s not an instant fix and can take time.

Original poster
Noodge · 09/09/2025 08:11

Silverbirchleaf · 09/09/2025 08:07

You don’t need a solicitor for small claims court - that will probably cost more than the claim!

You do the small claims online. There are some fees, but that gets added onto the claim if you win. However, as @viques says, if you win, then that just proves they owe you the money. You may have to escalate the claim, which you can do via the small claims court process, to get bailiffs to recover the money for you.

It’s not an instant fix and can take time.

My friend said solicitor fees would get incorporated into the money owed and that they would likely do an attachment of earnings. I'm definitely not expecting a quick fix, do they even exist in today's society!? But I am most definitely not letting her get away with this as well as hugely taking advantage of me in other ways that unfortunately she will get away with.

OP posts:
leopardprintismyfavourite · 09/09/2025 08:24

I’ve done this. Not an ex but a friend.

You do the claim online, if the county court judgement is found in your favour you can then instruct bailiffs, which is what I did.

You’ll have to pay for an address search if you aren’t sure where they live, and then for the enforcement. Please bear in mind those costs also incur VAT.

I think in my case the costs of enforcement were added, along with interest. It was worth doing. But you’re not guaranteed to get the money. And it depends what kind of arrangement you want as an outcome.

Original poster
Noodge · 09/09/2025 08:38

leopardprintismyfavourite · 09/09/2025 08:24

I’ve done this. Not an ex but a friend.

You do the claim online, if the county court judgement is found in your favour you can then instruct bailiffs, which is what I did.

You’ll have to pay for an address search if you aren’t sure where they live, and then for the enforcement. Please bear in mind those costs also incur VAT.

I think in my case the costs of enforcement were added, along with interest. It was worth doing. But you’re not guaranteed to get the money. And it depends what kind of arrangement you want as an outcome.

I just want her to have to pay the £ back that she's stolen from me.
I know her address and her parents address and where she works so I guess that is a good start. Thank you for replying.

OP posts:
Silverbirchleaf · 09/09/2025 09:59

Noodge · 09/09/2025 08:11

My friend said solicitor fees would get incorporated into the money owed and that they would likely do an attachment of earnings. I'm definitely not expecting a quick fix, do they even exist in today's society!? But I am most definitely not letting her get away with this as well as hugely taking advantage of me in other ways that unfortunately she will get away with.

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I didn’t realise the solicitors fees get paid back. However, you still got to consider whether you want this added expense, in case you lose.

Original poster
Noodge · 09/09/2025 10:13

Silverbirchleaf · 09/09/2025 09:59

I didn’t realise the solicitors fees get paid back. However, you still got to consider whether you want this added expense, in case you lose.

Show quote history

True.
I would hope a decent solicitor would have a good idea whether I had a viable case or not.

OP posts:
Elektra1 · 09/09/2025 10:21

This is a small claims court claim which you issue online. The issue fee for this value of claim is £80. You can also claim interest on the outstanding balance at 8% + BoE base rate. However, you can only claim a sum which is outstanding so if you loaned these sums in an informal way, with no set date for repayment, you’d need to make a written demand for repayment first in order for the loan(s) to be due for payment. There is then a 6 year limitation period within which you have to commence the claim, or it will become time-barred.

You will need to set out in the Particulars of Claim the basis on which you say the loan(s) were loan(s) and not gifts, eg refer to any written evidence that you both understood it to be a loan. This could be email, text or a formal loan agreement.

Elektra1 · 09/09/2025 10:22

Noodge · 09/09/2025 10:13

True.
I would hope a decent solicitor would have a good idea whether I had a viable case or not.

Show quote history

It’s not worth paying a solicitor (I am one) for such a low value claim because their costs will rapidly outweigh the sum claimed and you cannot recover legal costs, other than fixed costs (like the issue fee) in the small claims court. So you would not get anything back for your lawyer’s costs.

Original poster
Noodge · 09/09/2025 12:40

Elektra1 · 09/09/2025 10:22

It’s not worth paying a solicitor (I am one) for such a low value claim because their costs will rapidly outweigh the sum claimed and you cannot recover legal costs, other than fixed costs (like the issue fee) in the small claims court. So you would not get anything back for your lawyer’s costs.

Edited
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Thank you for responding. I know I can research it all but it is good to have those 'in the know' inform me.

OP posts:
Original poster
Noodge · 09/09/2025 12:41

Elektra1 · 09/09/2025 10:21

This is a small claims court claim which you issue online. The issue fee for this value of claim is £80. You can also claim interest on the outstanding balance at 8% + BoE base rate. However, you can only claim a sum which is outstanding so if you loaned these sums in an informal way, with no set date for repayment, you’d need to make a written demand for repayment first in order for the loan(s) to be due for payment. There is then a 6 year limitation period within which you have to commence the claim, or it will become time-barred.

You will need to set out in the Particulars of Claim the basis on which you say the loan(s) were loan(s) and not gifts, eg refer to any written evidence that you both understood it to be a loan. This could be email, text or a formal loan agreement.

Thank you..I do have a message outlining the agreement which I have taken a screenshot.

OP posts:
BaronessEllarawrosaurus · 09/09/2025 12:50

Noodge · 09/09/2025 12:41

Thank you..I do have a message outlining the agreement which I have taken a screenshot.

Show quote history

Do you have her agreement it's a loan. If it's just a message you typed to her it just won't carry the same weight especially if it was after the event

Elektra1 · 09/09/2025 17:32

BaronessEllarawrosaurus · 09/09/2025 12:50

Do you have her agreement it's a loan. If it's just a message you typed to her it just won't carry the same weight especially if it was after the event

Show quote history

If she replied to the message acknowledging that she owes the money, this is fine as evidence

Talipesmum · 09/09/2025 17:39

Noodge · 09/09/2025 08:03

I've now had a msg asking for my bank details as 'I've lost them as I've had to change my number '. This was on fb messenger--we've always communicated on WhatsApp. I just don't believe her. Nobody changes their number nowadays anyway unless something drastic has happened, she asked for my details again a couple of weeks ago as 'I've had to change my bank' (what a load of tripe). I'm going to look at small claims court. Friend has recommended getting a solicitor but I need to research the implications of that. I've taken someone to SCC before but for a very different situation, do not know what to expect for something like this.

Do you have evidence that you’ve already sent them to her? I’d just send them again, screenshotted, with a bland “please transfer here as previously agreed”