Friends stole money from me

[MeganBoo]

I’m really not sure what to do and the situation is making my depression worse. I’m 23, I have a friend two years younger then me, been friends just under a year, we’ve only met once but we talk every day we both have children similar ages and we seemed to get along a lot and have lots in common. At the end of last year this friend wanted to use klarna to buy a new bed in the Black Friday sales but she said hers dosent work as she owes klarna money so they’ve stopped her using her account (I believed and still believe this is true as I previously owed klarna money and they stopped me accessing my account) she asked if I could use my klarna account to order the bed for her and then she’d pay me the money when the instalments are due once a month for 3 months. The bed cost £500 me being gullible, stupid and too nice I agreed and ordered it on my account she sent me the first instalment straight away of around £170 but I told her it’s not due yet so I sent it back to her and told her to give it to me when it’s due (which would be once the beds delivered) the bed was delivered Friday and klarna tried to take the first instalment out my account (Im a single mum and don’t work due to mental health) I didn’t have the funds for it I contacted the friend and told her she said the beds a different colour to the pictures and she’s gonna return it and that people would come Wednesday 10th to collect the bed so I thought ok once the beds returned on Wednesday klarna will process it and stop asking for money but I’m now getting suspicious as this friend has now blocked me on two of her social media accounts she’s kept me on our main socials but hasn’t replied since Friday it’s raising red flags I’m now getting anxious that the bed won’t be returned tomorrow and she’s trying to scam me I know stupid of me to do it in the first place. It hurts as we’re both Muslim that’s what we bonded on and as a Muslim it’s sinful to do something like this I never thought she’d try to scam me I still don’t want to think it’s a possibility I’m too naive and nice, it’s the fact she’s blocked me on certain socials and isn’t responding that’s now getting me worried I can’t afford to pay £500 for a bed that’s not even mine I have her address but don’t want to show up at hers and cause a scene I’m really stuck I’m gonna wait till tomorrow and see if it’s returned or was thinking to contact the company and see if there’s a return in process please no hate as I’m already hating on myself a lot and feel so depressed I don’t have friends and this was the only person I considered as a friend she works part time so she has a bit of money coming in where as I don’t so there’s no way I can afford this and I don’t want to pay for something that’s for her I’m really stuck and feeling hopeless.

Neither Klarma nor the company are involved in this in any way. This is between you and the ex-friend.

sadly, there were so many red flags here. That she wanted to use Klarma at all tells you it wasn’t in her budget. That she is banned from Klarma tells you she isn’t trustworthy with money.

I would start messaging her now and say even if she is returning it, she needs to pay you and you will reimburse her once you get reimbursed. Screenshot all exchanges.

Klarna are on your experian/credit report, so I really would do as much as you can to sort this out. Report her for fraud at the very least. It will affect your credit score as PP said and will be noted as a missed payment/default on your credit profile.

@Ponderingwindow

she’s ignoring my messages I tried calling every time it says ‘user busy’ I feel like showing up at her address at this point although it’s 40minutes away and she may not be in also she’s in a flat so I’d have to buzz up can’t just knock on her door so that’s a bit of a dead end

Boggles my mind she owed money yet you continued to allow her to borrow more

Buzz a different flat number, tell them you've locked yourself out of the main door and can they buzz you in.

@Ladyj84

Im extremely naive to things due to my mental health issues

Hurtful though it is, some people of all religions will go against its teachings.

She has shown you who she is. Remember that.

I think that the only thing you can do is tell Klarna. You may have broken their terms, but they should set up a payment plan for you. Ultimately, you are responsible legally for this debt, and need to start repaying it or you will get a CCJ.

Neither a lender nor a borrower be, my Mother used to say.

You have been gullible, but done nothing morally wrong. She, on the other hand, will need to face her God with what she has done.

Do you know any of her friends or family? I hate making things public but could you post something on social media and tag some of her contacts saying that you’re worried as you haven’t been able to contact here and that you really need her to make a payment, might shame her into paying.

you really can’t hide your head in the sand, contact klarna to see if it’s possible to do a payment plan over a longer time. If you don’t then the debt will grow bigger and you’ll end up with wrecked credit and possible bailiffs.

is there anyone at all you can borrow the money from? Contact citizens advice for more advice.

First of all, I would be plotting this woman's death.
Secondly, i'd be taking her to court to get the money back.

The court fee would be about £50, or thereabouts.

Without any proof I don't think a court can help but Judge Rinder might take it on

It hurts as we’re both Muslim that’s what we bonded on and as a Muslim it’s sinful to do something like this

as one who lived in Egypt for years, let me tell you that if you had family or friends around and left your phone or wallet out in your house, it would go missing 9 times out of 10. And YOU would be deemed the idiot for leaving it out.

You’re still so young, and it’s sad that you have to learn lessons the hard way, but people you meet only once are not friends.

just because you share something in common, doesn’t mean you’re friends

some of the worst people decide to ‘get’ religion and they use it to divert attention while they take advantage.

you have been scammed and you’ll never see that person or your money again. Unless you know where she lives and go round there and take her sodding bed, or a crow bar to it, you’ll never right this wrong.

lesson learned, you know the truth now, try to ride out the consequences and don’t be so quick to give your money away.

I would do my very best to embarrass her into paying up. Go to her place of work and ask for the money. Let everyone know what sort of a person she really is. I am sorry that you find yourself in this situation.

You're 23 and you can't work due to mental health issues? What, not at all?!

I also notice you're a single mother.

Do you think other people see you as vulnerable and an easy touch?

Have people been using you for money and relationships? It does sound a bit like that.

If you're a muslim, do you attend a mosque - is there someone there who can help you with debt advice?

Or do you have a mental health support worker who can?

Do you have any family who can help you? Brothers? Cousins?

Good advice. When we were stolen from in Egypt that’s what my OH did, told everyone in his area about him stealing from us and it soon brought him out of the woodwork and we got some of our stuff back

But if you KNOW you're naïve, then you should be extra vigilant!

Do you have no other friends or family who can double-check things out for you?

What about the father of your child, does he pay any money to you?

If not, you need to get that sorted too!

Do you attend the same mosque? Could you speak to someone there about it and get support in talking to her (even if not the same mosque actually)?

You got scammed by a stranger.
She wasn't a friend. You only met her once.
You said she is Muslim? Could you contact her community leaders and ask for their help?

It's clear with the benefit of hindsight but the fact she had debt with klarna she was actively avoiding paying back should have been a screaming warning to you.

Its a very expensive lesson for you. Klarna will likely pursue this and you don't need a ccj so you may have to offer them a repayment plan. Or see if they will wait while you go to small claims court. You have no evidence as such but it's worth a shot.

Thank you all for the help the issue is now resolved (I think) the girls contacted me by iMessage and said she’s even at work today and just got her phone fixed as it’s smashed (she told me this prior) she said that she wouldn’t scam me as I have her address especially over a bed she’s saying someone will be collecting the bed tomorrow between 9-3 to return it and that she’ll happily pay me the money if they refuse to take the bed back as “it’s not that much money” but to me it is. But I feel a bit better now she’s contacted me gonna see what happens by the end of tomorrow never doing this again that’s for sure I’m very naive and gullible as you can tell a lot of people tend to walk all over me and use me

Either she pays you back or you get a refund. Ask her to email you details of the return collection,

Make sure to screenshot this conversation just in case. Fingers crossed for you xx

I understand your vulnerability but you will just have to take a hard line now - no lending to anyone. No. Just no. No matter what ❤️

Keep a record of that conversation

Contact her again and say actually you will take the money and hold on to it and when the refund processes then you'll transfer it back to her.
I'm sorry but I don't trust her. She hasn't been reliable financially in the past and she should never have accepted your offer of help as you are not in a position to help, simple. I'm gutted for you and hope that breathing down her neck is going to work as legally you have no recourse. If she is still being wishy washy about this then the only other thing I can think of is the threat of police involvement. Obviously the police can't do anything but she may not necessarily know this.

Yes, screenshot that message and email it to yourself.

I don't understand why you returned the money for the first installment. For Klarna Pay in 3, the first installment is taken when you place the order and it's fully processed once the store dispatches the item. Klarna explains this. If you had kept that, you wouldn't owe them the full £500.

You can't ignore this with Klarna, it will affect your credit score and they'll stop you using from them again. Their contract is with you. Your "friend" is out of order, and I can't see her paying you, to be honest :/

The details of the refund would be for you to arrange also, as it's your order. Go back through your emails and find the confirmation of the order from the company, not the Klarna one. Use the order number and your email or whatever to request a refund.