Ex refusing to pay his debt

[JO206]

Hello,

Long story short my ex was terrible with money, had an IVA before we met bla bla bla
at Christmas last year he had no money to buy his children presents and i lent him money.

We split last month and he still owed £500. When we were a couple he was always claiming he couldn't afford to pay it even though he had money to go fishing etc, hence the break up. Due to his lack of responsibility I got him to sign a loan agreement witnessed by a third party. It states that he must make a payment on 25th of each month with the entire amount being cleared by December.

Stupidly the contract doesn't state how much needs to be paid each month as long as a payment is made. Stupidly thought this would help him out as he had to find a place to live. He basically sent £1 and said thats all I'll get until Christmas now. Which would be fine if I wasn't now being charged interest as it was on my credit card.

Is there anything I can do? Or am I now just stick waiting until Christmas? This is the page of the agreement.

Any help is appreciated.

[islandgirl]

Does he have the money to pay or not is the key question. I had a loan agreement with someone, took it to small claims and won - but there is only a point if he can actually pay!

[JO206]

Well, he has a full time job so yes, if he wanted to he cod pay it back. However, since he left I have found papers he left here that show he had lied about how much rent he pays and how much he earns to avoid paying maintenance for his own children so I am not holding out hope.

[ploddertom]

You could try & get a CCJ against him & may be able to get an Attachment of Earnings if he is employed full time, but he could jack his job in or take reduced hours.

[islandgirl]

That was going to be my suggestion too. Small claims action (you can do it yourself online - it is relatively easy) then attachment of earnings. You might be surprised how quickly he pays it when he finds out his employer will know of his debt...

[ploddertom]

One thing you must always remember when going down the Small Claims route is that yes you may obtain a Judgment against someone but it is no guarantee you will ever get paid. There are the initial Court fees to pay for and enforcement has a cost as well - Attachment of Earnings is £100 I think and although it gets added to the debt outstanding you do have to pay it first.

[JO206]

Thank you everyone. Do I need for him to default on a payment or be a certain amount of time late before I can do this?