Liability in Loans | Legal Aid

Questioner

Good day We have a son (unemployed) who moved in with his girlfriend four years ago. We warned his girlfriend at the time that our son can't manage money; don't give him any opportunity to access your money. In February 2013, we borrowed €6,910 for a bailiff who said they would be evicted the next day. We immediately told him this was a loan and that we would receive €200 each month until the debt was paid off. Nothing was received. On September 25th, they were evicted and came to stay with us as homeless people. It was, of course, a very tense situation in our home. When, after much questioning from us, our girlfriend (along with me) checked her account (after about two years), it turned out that our son had transferred the maximum amount of money from her account to his account immediately after her salary arrived. They were living together from this account. After this, our son left (he is now homeless). We advanced some money to our girlfriend so she could get her life back on track. The total debt has risen to €9,257. After living with us for three months, she refused to sign a payment plan and left. Afterward, she received a phone call from her father, saying she wouldn't be paying because she'd already been punished enough. Our scheduled meeting for December 29th to reach an agreement was canceled. Further contact is impossible. Now I've found a letter on my computer that my son's girlfriend drafted and sent to a bailiff. It states, "...Besides these arrangements I've made, payments have already been made by family members of approximately €9,500, which it's my turn to pay off after all the payments." My girlfriend filed a complaint against our son and blamed him for everything (including our debt of €9,257). Ask: Can I hold her liable for the debt based on the verbal agreement with the quote from the letter to the bailiff? If so, what and how can I best convey that to her? Yours sincerely

Lawyer

Good morning, I understand that you have a verbal agreement, namely a loan agreement. To obtain compliance, it is important that you can prove that your girlfriend borrowed the money from you (and did not receive it). If you haven't agreed on installments, the money is immediately due and payable. You have a document in which your girlfriend refers to the amount to be repaid to her family. The question is whether this is sufficiently specific to serve as evidence of the agreement. Perhaps you transferred the money with the description "loan" or "advance," and this can serve as evidence. You can ask the Legal Aid Desk to write a letter (or see the "documents" section above; the first document is a sample demand letter). The Legal Aid Desk can refer you to a lawyer if necessary.