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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

BF asked to pay debt four years later

51 replies

Bizawit · 02/02/2020 20:13

About 4 years ago my BF went on holiday with an old school friend and two other guys (known to BF, but only loosely). During the trip one of these guys suggested renting a car. He took responsibility for organising the rental/ driving etc.

The holiday ended up being somewhat chaotic and money was not fully squared between the friends by the end of the trip. One of the outstanding issues was a parking ticket. The guy who rented the car said that he would wait until the ticket arrived and then work out who owed him what.

My BF heard nothing further from this guy for the next four years, until Sunday when he received a group email saying he (car rental guy) had finally calculated what everyone owed him !! Apparently my BF owes him £100. My BF is between jobs at the moment and definitely does not have £100 to spare!!

I think that given this holiday happened 4 years ago and the guy never bothered to ask for the money until now, the debt should be assumed to be written off. I think it’s really cheeky to come asking for it all of a sudden 4 years later..

AIBU?

OP posts:
TheBigFatMermaid · 02/02/2020 20:16

I think that he is equally skint right now and clutching at straws as to where he can get any money from.

At best, get him to show the ticket and how much it was, at worst, ignore!

AnneLovesGilbert · 02/02/2020 20:18

£1000 for a parking ticket? Or other stuff too?

Whynosnowyet · 02/02/2020 20:19

Well obviously he needs to ask friend for copies of the paperwork.

Whynosnowyet · 02/02/2020 20:19

And surely only the driver would pay the ticket?

OnlyAboutTheGarden · 02/02/2020 20:21

So between 4 people the parking ticket was £400!

No way. The actual parking ticket must have been a lot less than that. Ask to see proof. You'll probably find the guy ignored the ticket and costs mounted, that's on him not your BF. Your BF should have paid a quarter of the original ticket.

Iminaglasscaseofemotion · 02/02/2020 20:21

So he didn't pay the parking ticket and now they have slapped on a load of extra fines and chasing him for the money.

CunningOperative · 02/02/2020 20:39

It was equally cheeky of your boyfriend not to follow up after the holiday and settle his debt.

CalmdownJanet · 02/02/2020 21:01

No way, he clearly didn't pay the parking ticket and is skint and looking for money, not a hope. I might pay the original cost divided by 4 but only (a) after I saw the ticket and (b) depending on who was at fault for getting the ticket in the first place

allthedamnvampires · 02/02/2020 21:02

Unclaimed debts aren't enforceable after 5 or 6 years depending where you live in the UK so this is within the time. Why should your boyfriend not pay?

I would ask to see all paperwork before deciding what to do. In part because if it's owing and your boyfriend doesn't want to pay, are you cool being with a guy like that?

EmmaC78 · 02/02/2020 21:05

If he provides proof of the amount owed then your boyfriend should pay. The other guy should have asked for it sooner but equally your boyfriend should have asked what he owed before now.

PooWillyBumBum · 02/02/2020 21:06

He should have asked sooner but your boyfriend should’ve also offered and checked what was owed sooner because that’s the decent thing to do. He doesn’t sound like a catch.

cochineal7 · 02/02/2020 21:09

Was this for the parking ticket only or also car rental?

londonrach · 02/02/2020 21:10

Bet of both here cf. you bf should have chased and settled debt 4 years ago but £100 for four people is £400. As for proof and breakdown of debt. Your bf needs to pay what he owes just questioning if that much

Groovinpeanut · 02/02/2020 21:16

If your boyfriend knew there was a parking ticket debt in the offing he should have contacted the guy and chased it up. He should obviously now ask to see paperwork in relation to the debt and clear his share.

Original poster
Bizawit · 02/02/2020 21:17

@CunningOperative I get what you mean, but I don’t think I agree. Car rental guy is an adult and in charge of his own finances. He said he would wait for the bill and then let them know what they owe him. I don’t think it was on my BF to follow up. They never really knew each other before the trip and haven’t been in touch since. It sounds like the other guys didn’t follow up either since this was a group email to all three of them.

OP posts:
Original poster
Bizawit · 02/02/2020 21:21

Also @PooWillyBumBum he’s definitely a catch thanks very much and he will definitely pay because he’s honourable/ honest like that. He probably won’t ask to see the ticket either because he’s too polite. But I personally still think it’s ridiculous of this guy to follow up 4 years later, and I agree with PP who say that he’s probably now skint and looking for a way to make some cash!

OP posts:
Soontobe60 · 02/02/2020 21:22

Your BF should have paid up at the time, not wait for someone else to chase him up. That being said, I'd want to see the ticket before paying up.

Elieza · 02/02/2020 21:23

They are all needing to get together and see who owes whom what. Taking evidence of any debts incurred.

If people owe money they should pay. But considering it took the bloke four years to confirm the amount he thinks they owe I’d expect to be given the same amount of time to pay. I’d give him a tenner a month towards whatever debt I owed. Not some kind of debt plus fees thing that the guys now got for ignoring the ticket. Just a quarter of the original ticket plus whatever else is owed.

Nobody should make money from this. Nobody should lose money from this. Unless they were stupid and incurred fees in which case it’s that one individuals fault and he should pay the fees as the others didn’t get the bill from him.

YorkshirePud1 · 02/02/2020 21:23

He definitely shouldn't just pay £100 without seeing proof of the original parking ticket. The only way it would now be at £400 is if he allowed it to escalate - most likely to enforcement agents - and that's definitely on him. Once he sees proof of the original parking ticket, he should pay his share of that, though of course it's not really fair for this guy to have waited 4 years to ask for it.

SuperMeerkat · 02/02/2020 21:24

Something sounds a bit dodgy here @Bizawit Your boyfriend definitely needs proof of the charges and whilst he should definitely pay his share of the original fine, it’s not his problem to pay any charges added on top. If his mate incurred the fines then he is liable but if the rental guy has just added them on then it could be more tricky.

BoxedWine · 02/02/2020 21:25

Yes it was on your boyfriend to follow up. The responsibility was equal. That said, get proof.

BoomBoomsCousin · 02/02/2020 21:28

It wasn't necessary for your BF to follow up, but he doesn't get to just write it off if he didn't follow up. He knew there was a debt there - he had no reason to think he had been absolved of the responsibility to pay what he owed and he'd made no effort to pay it.

I think it's reasonable for your BF to a) ask for the paper trail for these debts (it sounds like a lot for a parking ticket, but the US can be quite harsh especially for things like parking in disabled pays/blocking fire access/etc) and b) tell him he can't pay up now but will once he's working again.

seltaeb · 02/02/2020 21:30

Debts do not magically disappear into thin air just because they are not paid. Your BF has a moral obligation to settle his debt providing the evidence is provided. Your Bf's current circumstances are irrelevant. However he could negotiate the amount given the time lag.

gamerchick · 02/02/2020 21:31

Tell him to type out ' that's fine, just send me a copy of the current paperwork and I'll pay them directly.'

I doubt anything will come of it.

JellyfishandShells · 02/02/2020 21:31

I know that parking/ driving infractions in Italy can take over a year to be issued - and then more time processed through the rental car company at the Italian end and then on to the renter.. Have heard of it being nearly three years and people being very surprised after thinking it had been forgotten ! Was it Italy, OP ?

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