Money taken by coercion and deception, can I get anything back?

[brokenbitbybit]

Im trying to support my friend and help her in anyway possible which is why im posting here for advice.

She was in a relationship for around six months. During this relationship she naively has been coerced into transferring him £1200. Not all in one time, but it was £50 here, £200 there. She's a lovely kind hearted trusting person but she's been totally naive and he's taken advantage of that. He emotionally manipulated her, lied about needing get a taxi to visit a seriously ill uncle (since found out uncle is alive and well and never been sick!) amongst other random excuses for needing money.

When she wouldn't pay he then would threaten suicide etc, so she transferred it to him.

The relationship ended and he was so verbally abusive to her, he's blocked on everything and on the occasions she's unblocked him to ask for her money back the disgusting abuse starts again.

She went through a small claims court, which he ignored all letters to. So she paid extra to have his bank account frozen, which has happened today and they have retained a whopping £3.47!!

The total he owes now due to court costs is £1463.

Is there anything else we can do? I don't know where to look for support, what to suggest, she's the last person in the world who deserves this.

He has a source of income by working cash in hand and claiming universal credit, which she has proof of, but it has transpired that his money seems to be going on drugs! She has text messages of him admitting the money he owes etc.

Thanks in advance for your time

If she won the court case she can use bailiffs after the date passes for him to pay can't she? The paperwork will give her rights.

She “paid extra” to have his bank account frozen 😂

@Doggymummar I think that bailiffs is the next step but he lives with his parents so not sure how they will determine what goods could be taken.

@Differencesclear yes, £119 extra it cost her to be precise. Not sure where the joke is there but I'm dying to know if you'd care to enlighten me?

She must have won judgment if she got the account frozen (third party debt order?)

Don't know if attachment of earnings would work if on benefits and only doing cash in hand work?

When I was owed much more by someone and received judgment, they tried various pressure/harassment tactics on me and claimed they had no assets to give a bailiff, but I stuck to my guns and said that was for the bailiff to decide and I started down the high court enforcement officer route. They paid up in full before I had to instruct anyone.

Good luck to your friend, I hope she recovers the money.

I think your friend just needs to be very determined and not give up.

If he hasn't got any money or assets then how does your friend think the money will come from for her to be paid back.

@GladWhere from the universal credit he receives? Or the hundreds he spends on coke

Thanks for sharing @Howdoesitworkagain I hope she sticks to her guns

Universal credit won't be docked more than a nominal amount, otherwise he'd be destitute. The cash in hand wages are untouchable as they don't officially exist!

@Bobtheamazinggingerdog thanks, I thought that might be the case

Ahh it's so frustrating

Oh dear

you can’t pay £119 to get someone’s bank account frozen.

It’s only via a court order

I think either you or her or likely both have got yourself a little confused

@Differencesclear No need to be like that - especially because you’re wrong. The court fee for applying for a third party debt order is £119. Fancy that!

@Differencesclear
Oh dear

You seem to have gotten yourself confused whilst trying to be a clever dick.

This was done through the court and £119 added on to her costs.. clearly she did not just randomly pay £119 to have someone's bank account frozen. Silly me thought that would have been obvious since I was talking about court AND posted in legal matters 🤦🏼‍♀️
Perhaps I should have simplified it, especially for you.

Have you nothing better to do? I posted here for advice not some sarky unhelpful comments, perhaps you got lost on your way to aibu dear? 🥱

If the small claims court finds in her favour that's a legal obligation for him to pay. If he doesn't pay the next step is a CCJ which will deduct from his official income but that will be at a rate that doesn't put him in poverty which could be 50p per week.

I think your friend may have to accept she is very unlikely to see her money again. What a horrible experience for her.

Thanks @YireosDodeAver she mentioned something about him having six years to pay so maybe it's that but I need to talk to her properly when she's not so upset

@NigelHarmansNewWife I am afraid that might be the case too, she's learning a very expensive lesson bless her

She will get it back in dribs and drabs like you said expensive lesson

If she really wanted to make him pay she would report the company he is working cash in hand to hmrc this would mean to get a source of income he would have to legitimately work and she would get it a bit faster

No chance of her getting the money.

@Theunamedcat
She has reported him on gov.uk apparently, so hopefully this happens!

her legal advisor did not do a very good job! we would have advised against going down this route because it is just throwing good money after bad. it would have been better to writ this off. very difficult to get money from a non earner with only benefits coming in.

Yes

but you don’t pay “extra” for a bonus to freeze a bank account!

And the grounds are along the lines of “I gave him money for taxis to hospital but turns out his uncle is not ill”

One option is she is to write it off as a bad experience and life lesson. Not worth the stress that the chasing will cause.

The problem with this kind of thing is that the money was given to him willingly. She wasn't held at gunpoint. It's her word against his that it was coercion and fraud. He asked for money. She handed it over. If I were the boyfriend, I would just say that the money was a gift. In the end, she's not lost her house or life savings. It's just over a grand.

Does this mean that for every time a relationship breaks up, the party that's pissed off can go to court with an itemised list of expenses and demand it back?

I'm sorry but your friend needs to learn a lesson and not get in relationships with unemployed druggies and if someone threatens suicide because you don't hand over £50, ask them if they need a rope and tell them to fuck off.

She gets 6 years to enforce the CCJ after which it vanishes. She won't be seeing that money again unfortunately. I hope she's taken a lesson from it (been there, done that myself!)