Money "given" by father

[Edgers]

Hi guys. Bit of a strange one this.

 

 

Last May my father came to the place where I was living with my mates and didn't like the place.

 

 

A week later he skyped me and said he wants me to get my own place and he'd send the money to help me out.

 

 

I found a place, got the costs of moving in and he sent me £2280 (£900 deposit)

 

 

in October last year he emails me asking me to pay the £900 deposit back claiming he's skint,

this coming from a man who has 2 villas in Kefalonia,

a top of the range Audi R8 sat on his driveway

and had a 4 week jolly to Australia in January this year.

 

 

I had no objections to sending back the £900 but says that as this was so close to Xmas I'd sort it out in the new year.

He has now threatened to take me to court and given me deadline of July 31st.

 

 

If I don't meet the deadline then apparently he's instructed his solicitor to add 3.5% interest onto this £900 from the day it was wired into my back

 

 

. Now what I wanted to know is

A, do I have a legal right to pay this £900 as we have no written contract or anything like that and

B, can someone just add a random interest figure onto something like this?

[renegadeimp]

No written contract means he pretty much cant do anything. It would likely be seen as a gift from father to son to help out with housing costs. He also cant add on anything like what he says as its not a commercial loan etc. Did he put any of this in writing? because any solicitor would first say " was there a written contract? Did you follow the pre action protocol?

[Edgers]

I've had no written confirmation apart from his last email stating the deadline and the 3.5% interest costs if the deadline isn't met. The £2280 was given to me to help me out with my new place. I have no mention of any contracts or any such mention that this was a loan. I did however agree to sort the £900 out by July 31st as I have now felt bullied into doing this.

[renegadeimp]

From the info you have given the court would see it as a gift. It certainly wouldnt be a loan without a contract of some kind. Especially since it was a gift and now he wants to claim it back for whatever reason.

[Edgers]

I thought as much. To be honest I think he's using the solicitor speak as a scare monger tactic into making me pay. Like I said renegadeimp, since the day the £2280 was transferred into my account I've had no contract to sign, no written confirmation that this was ever a loan. The only time I have ever stated I'd start paying anything back was when the idle threats started. I'm going to see my local CAB next week to see if u can get something written down on paper to send to him stating that I do not have to make any payments as the money was sent to me and not as a loan.

[BankFodder]

To clarify slightly, transfers of money between family members will generally be seen as having no legally binding significance – but this can change depending on the circumstances. If there is a history of estrangement or if there is a history of loans being made on the basis that they will be repaid then the court may decide to imply that there is a binding agreement.

 

As to whether a repayable loan can be made without a contract – yes it certainly can. There is no need for any writing. A verbal agreement – or even agreement implied from the circumstances will be perfectly adequate to provide an obligation to repay the money.

 

If your father was held to be entitled to repayment I doubt whether the court would enforce the interest. However, your father could claim a percent interest from the date of the demand for repayment – or at least from the date of failure to pay by a particular deadline. By today's interest rates, 8% is a lot.