Seeking outstanding debt

[cantpaytakeitaway]

I loaned a relative money and am writing to ask for that money back (ahead of date at which point debt is outstanding).

Does anyone have a template they could point me to?

I'm seeing lots online that read like debt collection letters, whereas this is merely a "do you intent to pay by said date, if not I'll be taking legal action" sort of letter.

NB: it's a fairly large sum which is why I'm giving advance notice of my intention to take legal action if it's not paid.

Do you have a loan agreement in writing?

Yes we do

What is the point?

If you think that they will not repay the loan then they would ignore your letter, or reply that of course they'll repay.

In order to go through the courts, you're supposed to show willing to resolve out of court first.

By giving them a heads up now this gives them ample time to sort out the money/notify me of how they intend to repay or know that they will be on the receiving end of legal action.

As we have a written and signed agreement in place, I'm not sure what there is to dispute. But knowing this relative, they're probably hoping I've forgotten

I am not UK based so but as far as I know there is normally a certain timeframe that you can bring issues like these to Court. I am not sure whether that is when you lodged the papers or when the court acknowledges them.

So my letter would be

Dear ××××

Please be advised that your outstanding debt is xxx. If full and final payment is not received by xx pm on xx/xx/2021 papers will be lodged to x court in pursuit of debt.

Yours sincerly,
Xxxx

But they haven't broken the contract yet.

If you are asking them to repay you early, all you can do is ask politely. The courts won't support you in demanding the money back. Sending a letter before action in this situation is harassment, which is a criminal offence.

If you are trying to make sure they pay up on the due date, it is too early to send a letter before action. You don't have any cause for action until they fail to pay. You are required to act reasonably and proportionately. Sending a letter before action when they haven't yet missed the payment is not reasonable and, again, could be classed as harassment which, as noted above, is a criminal offence.

At this stage all you can do is send them a friendly reminder that the date for payment is coming up (assuming that is true).

@prh47bridge

If you are asking them to repay you early, all you can do is ask politely. The courts won't support you in demanding the money back. Sending a letter before action in this situation is harassment, which is a criminal offence.

If you are trying to make sure they pay up on the due date, it is too early to send a letter before action. You don't have any cause for action until they fail to pay. You are required to act reasonably and proportionately. Sending a letter before action when they haven't yet missed the payment is not reasonable and, again, could be classed as harassment which, as noted above, is a criminal offence.

At this stage all you can do is send them a friendly reminder that the date for payment is coming up (assuming that is true).

Thanks for this insight. I won't send anything until the date passes then as I absolutely don't want to be seen as harassing them (and knowing this person, I can see them trying to spin it as that).

There's not long to go until this date at all.

A part of me didn't want to "spring it on them" (in case they'd forgotten that the agreed loan period was coming to an end). Especially as it's not a small sum of money.

I would contact citizen’s advice in the morning, they have plenty of templates

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/legal-system/small-claims/making-a-small-claim/

www.rocketlawyer.com/gb/en/documents/letter-before-action

Try these, or alternatively there’s plenty of letter before action templates online

Just to be clear, there is nothing wrong with sending them a polite note reminding them that repayment is due. If you are concerned that they may have forgotten, you should do so. As long as you don't threaten legal action and only send one letter/email, that is not harassment.