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I moved out of province, and had to sell everything. A friend of mine agreed to pay for a bedroom suite, in 5 payments. She made 2 payments, and will not answer my calls, or emails. It is not a large amount that she owes me. Yet I feel very jilted. I need all I can get to start my new life. Is there anything I can do??
There's an old saying. "Verbal agreements aren't worth the paper they're printed on."
But it cuts both ways. She can't prove that she paid you, either.
If you still have receipts of purchase, then they are still yours, and you can claim that you just lent them to her.
Well you say province, so I assume you live in Canada? If you are in the Anglo-American world of jurisprudence there is a thing called the Statute of Frauds. The version in the US says that contracts for sale of goods valued over $500 must be in writing. I assume Canada has the same rule since we here inherited from England. That said, you never said how much she agreed to pay, but if over 500 this could cause you a problem, 'cause if there is no writing there is no contract under this rule. If the value is under $500, my question is how did she pay the two installments? If you gave a receipt or have check number, you can sue her, have a court subpoena her cancelled checks from the bank, you will have provided the dates, amounts and check numbers and if the cancelled checks reflect payments you will have evidence of the agreement. If you have any writings or any witnesses to the deal you can prove its existence through them.
The costs of filing the suit are recoverable as part of the judgment.
To the best of my knowledge, contracts do NOT have to be in writing if over a certain amount.
Certain types of contracts must be in writing though, such as a contract for land, etc.
An oral contact in this case is perfectly legal.
The hard part is proving it.
musthavebeenfate,
If it is not for a lot of money, perhaps it would be easier to just drop it, and learn from this experience.
Or, you can take this person to small claims court.
The lesson you should learn is never sell your furniture on an instalment plan, especially if you are moving out of province, or at the very least, get it in writing.
There isn't much you can do without a written agreement. If you have some record of the first two payments you might be able to take her to small claims court but then you would have to do it locally so that might not work for you.
I disagree--the 3 parts of a legal contract are goods being traded, offer, and acceptance. A written contract just helps states "what, when, and how" and helps protect each other's rights. The fact that the roommate already paid 2 payments shows the acceptance of the goods and one would have a ligimate small claims court case.
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