parkhigh

Hi This is a bit of a strange request and a very long story but in short Im looking for a solicitor or debt collector who may be able to assist with recovery of monies that are owed to me.

Basically my very close friend here in Aus (not now) went to London last year to visit her daughter who is a teacher on a working visa. I used my foreign exchange account to facilitate a transfer for her at a higher rate last Sept which was fine. In March I needed to deposit 10,000 ukpds into my account to facilitate my parents to come here and spend on their house etc. They gave us money when we first came 5 yrs ago and we have been slowly repaying them back. I organised a transfer and was unaware that the foreign exchange company had kept my friends daughters details on account and deposited into their account. When liaised with them apparently the question was same account as normal and having made multiple deposits previously i said yes. This negates their responsibility to us so lesson learned if you pay anyone else make sure you delete their details as to be honest I had forgotten that I had even made that transfer for her. Despite numerous requests by myself, the bank and the foreign exchange organisation she has been non responsive. They have all advised her that she has committed fraud and yet she still doesnt reply.

Myself and my husband have been liaising with my so called friends (her parents here) to recover the funds and at first initial denial, despite evidence from paperwork that funds are in her account. The mother works with me so you can gather its tricky. Then had the spiel about she is busy marking papers, got problems with a parent at school and so on and so forth. Money was deposited in March and no funds back yet.

We have advised them that we will now move to prosecute her in an attempt to recover funds and the foreign exchange organisation happy to support in this ie paperwork etc. They have also suggested debt collectors but they are expensive. I have told parents that a prosecution for fraud against a teacher Im sure will have serious consequences for her future prospects and her working visa in UK currently but no response.

Then we received an email from the daughter admitting spending all the money stating that she did not know where it came from and "naively thought it was a windfall" anyone know of going to the bank to withdraw twenty pounds to discover ten thousand there? As you can imagine my response was not positive. She stated that she will repay but when she chooses to do so and sent back 2,000 which was apparently the unspent funds. We still need 8,000.

My husband and I went to my friends house and to be honest it got quite heated and they were not happy that I said we will have to use legal means to recover debt. Hence the email above. We then both received a visit from our local constabulary with ivo's so cannot visit again. Its a very difficult and sad situation and never having even been involved with the police other than with my role as a nurse its pretty shocking. The police officers knew me and know that we have been friends for a long time so figure its unfair but they have to follow protocol. Naturally we are going to contest and I have had to discuss with my employer who was equally suprised.

Anyway long story short I am wondering if any solicitor or debt collector is willing to assist in locating her and writing to her on our behalf. I can provide bank details, her name and our foreign exchange company can also assist. However, Lloyd's will not provide her address due to privacy reasons but will release to a solicitor or a debt collector may have other means.

If anyone can provide some advice I would be most grateful, I just feel so frustrated as I cant do anything and that amount of money is so hard to come by and its not mine. My parents were not able to visit in August for our daughters Holy Communion because of this, and this really upset everyone. Unfortunately both my parents are elderly and profoundly deaf without speech and communication is via an interpreter which is hard and they dont really understand what is happening.

If anyone has had any similar experience or can provide any help whatsoever I would be most grateful. Im happy to pay for the service I just want to recover the money and I would like to make her accountable for her actions. I am fearful that she may soon leave the UK and then I have almost no chance of recovering these funds.

Thanks in anticipation Irene

goldchoccycoin

I would suggest posting this request on the UK based moneysavingexpert.com website (the forum part) run by Martin Lewis. There are some very helpful and knowledgeable people on it.

I wish you the best of luck.

parkhigh

hi thank you for your reply i wasnt aware of this site i shall have a look today thank you very much

NedKelly

I think you need to employ a rottweiler type solicitor as soon as possible. There is no doubt she owes you the money, the very fact she paid you back £2000 proves it. When the funds appeared in her account it would have been clear where they had come from. I know it costs money to employ a solicitor but from what you have said you won't get your money back unless you do. 8 months is too long already. How long was it before she got the money and you asked for it back?

Dorothy

I'm also thinking you need to get the UK police involved. Perhaps a visit from them regarding the fraud might help? If their daughter were possibly going to be arrested for fraud maybe the parents would come up with the cash. You have an admission of guilt by her, so carry through with your threat to involve the police.

harrip

I've used these guys in the past - http://www.onlinerecoveries.com

Chasing debt is difficult and if you can keep the personalities out of it, it leads to a less stressful life.

Good luck.

saxtonj

I may have this wrong and read it wrong, but are you saying you deposited the funds into her account by mistake? she didn't do the transfer?

if so - this can't be fraud can it? she didn't fraudulently advise you to transfer that money? she did nothing except check her bank account and see 10,000 pounds there.

Now the question of whether it is wrong to spend that money is justified yes - she shouldn't have, but i doubt fraud has been commited here?

I suspect this is a civil case (as is all debt recovery) rather than a criminal case so whilst it is wrong - i doubt the police can do anything?

But yes it was wrong so good look to you in recovering, but it is at your own risk when transferring monies across accounts etc.

As for the IVO's i understand that, the debt isn't with her parents and even professional legal debt collectors have to follow rules, and cannot just turn up at peoples houses.

Good Luck with it.

Regards

James

goldchoccycoin

I don't know that it's fraud (as in if that's what it's called) but it's definitely against the law to spend money you know is not yours. There have been several cases of this happening (banks making errors etc.) and people being prosecuted.

Example:
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/f...-1225700237411

And a UK article;

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/savings...in_page_id=111

stuie83

I completely agree with Dorothy, contact the police in the UK. As the poster above has quite rightly highlighted people in the UK have been prosecuted for knowingly spending money which was not theirs. They might magically find the remaining £8000 if the police go knocking on the door, saving you £££s in legal fees.

If your friendship is beyond salvage you've little to lose.

parkhigh

we actually didnt realise for almost 4 months which i know sounds crazy now as i dont check my uk account and i get paper statements 6 monthly, when i realised mum and dad couldnt access money i knew then there was a problem. Because i use intepreters its proves quite time consuming.

The bank also say the same thing re the money, her parents argue that the bank couldnt trace where it came from, the fact that she could have just refused the money and it would have gone back to the foreign exchange company.

parkhigh

Would love to get the police involved but I dont know her address, otherwise my brother may have already been there. To obtain her address a solicitor or debt collector can request it. Thats my dilemmna. I have advised her parents that I will prosecute if necessary as it is fraud and the bank have written to her advising her of this, however as its our money and not theirs they are not so keen to assist.

parkhigh

Thanks what details did they need from you and what sort of costs were involved? cheers

parkhigh

Yes youre right i transferred the funds incorrectly but she spent it knowing it wasnt hers. The bank and the foreign exchange co both say its fraud, im not an expert but i have heard of cases where people are prosecuted for spending money ie dispensed out of cash dispensers etc that isnt theirs.

The ivos were a suprise particularly as we have been good friends. Had her parents been apologetic etc it would have been easier to take particularly as the reason it occurred is because i did her a favour in the first place. Netherless it was my mistake but now it has to be rectified. I just want to resolve the situation as quick as possible and im sure a letter from a solicitor or a debt collector on her doorstep may suddenly turn the tide in my favour.

parkhigh

Thank you for those articles they make interesting reading, maybe i should email her those links to jog her into action.

HelenTD

There are dozens of websites offering access to white pages, electoral rolls, etc, to trace people in the UK, such as:
http://www.tracingpeopleuk.co.uk/ or http://www.192.com/. You might be able to get her details for a very small amount of money, or even for free.

As her parents have had IVOs issued against you in Australia, if you contact the daughter directly, just wondering if there is a risk that you would get into trouble from the UK side as well.

Good luck, it's a terrible situation for you to sort out.