My colleague came to me in tears and asked to borrow 3k

[Motheroffive999]

She will lose her home and has 3 weeks to find it.
I didn't know what to say , I don't have that amount of money , I have some savings but not that much , and I may need it.
Today she asked for 1k which of course I still do not have at my disposal, but could get it in a few days.
I am torn , I don't want to be unkind but she has bought things recently , lots of small things , things that I do not have the spare money to buy.
What can I do ?

Management have a duty of care towards the OP and her colleagues to protect them from this woman.

Asking colleagues for money at work would be gross misconduct and instant dismissal or at best suspension while an investigation is carried out into potential fraud.

She is 100% not genuine.

hmmm. She has asked you twice. I would call that pressure and I would be mentioning it to my boss. Its generally not appropriate work behaviour, she shouldn't even have asked you once. If I was the manager (and I have been a manager) I would want to know because I would put a stop to it. I would try to do it gently but I'd not allow it.

I wouldn’t ask anyone at work for £30 let alone £3000! It’s actually a cheek especially for that amount.

At 5 months you don’t know her anywhere near well enough to be lending her thousands of pounds that you know you’re unlikely to ever see again. Perhaps ask yourself why she went crying to you and not someone else at work? Maybe she thinks you’re a soft touch but please don’t be. Just tell her no. Not even one thousand. Especially when she’s splashing out on things you can’t afford. Her lack of control with money isn’t up to the rest of you to resolve. Don’t say anything to your employers at this stage.

She sounds like a con artist to me.
I think best option is to be a broken record here, 'no can't afford it' on repeat. Don't be drawn into justifying or explaining your stance if she questions you steer the conversation onto ways that she could get advice and help.
Hopefully she'll soon realise that you're not going to be a soft touch.

Absolutely do NOT lend her the money!

No, she should absolutely say something to employers now so this woman doesn’t have the opportunity to con anyone else. She may already have conned people out of money or attempted to, so the OP needs to come forward that way others may do as well and it will prevent it from happening in future.

Don’t say this as it implies you have plenty of money you could access at a later date.

You don’t have the money and you can’t offer what you don’t have. Which is a good thing as it takes away the stress of the decision.

I would probably suggest that she speaks to her bank or to citizens advice, or a reputable debt adviser who can possibly help with some kind of debt repayment plan and advocate on her behalf. I guess what it’s important is to know how she has ended up in this situation.

Good god no! Do not lend her any money. You’ll never see it again.

And yes to reporting her. It’s totally
inappropriate to be asking colleagues for money.

What is your job - without outing yourself - some jobs you are not permitted to lend or borrow money.

You can help by pointing her to places/people who can help, like CBA. Don't enable her in any other way, she could be borrowing off you to pay others back!

DO NOT under any curcumstances lend her any money. I'd direct her to contact Citizens Advice.

I’m sorry but lose her home over £3k. Does that sound right to you? She’s a work colleague, right? Why is she asking you for money? I find that extremely odd. Screaming red flags all over this. Firmly say no and let her deal with it.

@Motheroffive999 You have to say no, OP. We would all like to do the nice thing, and in an ideal world you would be able to loan her some money, but the issue here is that there is no way for you to get this money back.

Don’t lend her the money. Be kind and sympathetic, advise her to apply for breathing space and seek advice from a debt advisor like step change.

I’m not saying it’s not a scam or anything, but I don’t think it’s odd in itself that someone is saying they could lose their home over £3k. That could be 3 months rent arrears.

the bank don’t all offer 1 year payment break this is really danagerous advice. If the poster is looking at eviction then the bank won’t give a payment holiday the eviction is a last resort by a bank.

Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t give money you don’t have to a work colleague you’ve known 5 months. Tell her to approach work they may be able to help with a loan paid back out of her salary

She doesn't have any money probably because she has spent what she does have on little things that you choose not to waste your money on.

Why should you (who spends cautiously) give her your savings? Why would you even consider it? It's your money, not hers.

Agree If the lady has defaulted on a mortgage and is in mortgage arrears the bank can legimately apply for a possession order and if they have still defaulted the bank can enforce it with an eviction. the 3k may be mortgage arrears. It is not the amount that matters but the length of the missed payments. The story may be true but I do find it odd that she has asked a work colleague for money.

Tell her to bog off.

She's not going to lose her home over £3k. If they're at risk of their home being repossessed / kicked out for failure to pay rent, it's very unlikely that £3k will stop that happening. If they don't have the money this month, and have to ask for loans from virtual strangers, they're not going to have the money next month.

So no, you shouldn't loan any money, especially when you're low on savings yourself.

Personally, I wouldn't tell your boss, but I would point your colleague in the direction of help, like citizens advice bureau, charities that help with debt, benefits advisors, and EAP helpline that might be provided by your employer.

This. You are absolutely allowed to say no.

Never ever give her any money Op, I doubt shes genuine.

💯 do not lend ANY sum of money! You’ve only known her 5 months, you have no idea how genuine this is or if you would EVER get any of it back.

DO tell your boss, just flag it up not to get her in trouble as such but to ensure it’s noted it’s happening in case. As others stories have shown - you don’t know who else is being pressured into this with a sob story.

Absolutely not,a gambling or drug addiction. Landlords and mortgage lenders don't turf tenants out for 3 grand. I know someone like this,she is banned from every corner shops for miles for racking up slates of about a thousand pounds a time despite them earning a high wage