A pal of mine owes me back money I lent to him months ago and hasn't given me a cent. I'm thinking about the small claims route but wonder... does it at all matter about my credit? I owe some thousands on credit cards and my banks I wrote bad checks and have been keeping low so they don't pursue it. It's worked for many years. I don't want to 'bring attention to myself' and get busted with some small claims cases of my own. Since none of the places have ever come after me for the money I owe. All I keep getting is some creditor letters offering me to pay a small amount to erase the debt. I don't thinkl a judge would care or it'd hurt my case or nothing but I don't want them collectors getting to me.

You don't get busted (assuming you mean arrested) for debt or for having debt brought to the attention of your creditors.

Unless someone is looking for you and searching through Court filings to locate your name your personal debt history has nothing to do with your claim against your friend.

The bad check charge - if the authorities are looking for you and check the names on Court filings, yes, you could be located.

Makes sense. I don't live in same town where I wrote the bad checks anymore so no one should be looking for me . My friend can't be a **** and turn in my info for the bad checks and etc if I sue him? He got some dirt on me and I don't know if he'd be a weasel or if I could sue him again for giving out my info or bringing up my bad debt.

First, please watch your language on the legal threads.

Second, your friend can do anything he wants with info he has on you at any time, any place. If he wants to cause problems for you, yes, he can certainly report your whereabouts to the authorities.

If he is telling the truth you have no action against him.

I'm going to step outside of the legal guidelines of this particular forum. What I find incredibly humorous about this thread is that the OP is upset because someone owes him money. Yet in the same paragraph, proceeds to admit that he owes numerous people money and hasn't paid any of them.

Black pot, black kettle??

Is there a written agreement for repayment?

If there are warrants for your arrest for bad checks, yes, you filing may trigger some notice. But the judge cares less and will not allow those facts to effect this case, or this case the others cases when they sue you in the same court. I will note filings are public, so when people you owe, see you suing someone for money, they may decide to sue you also

Yeah I admit I owe money but that shouldn't keep me from getting paid what I'm owed. If the judge ain't looking at my past, then the law sees it the same why I do right?

We got no written agreement but from what I'd already learned it don't matter I just gots to show the judge I gave money with my bank account and it wasn't paid back.

Got you I'll watch out for that then but I don't know if antyone would come after me anyway since it been so many years.

Warrants never die.

It been years now and no warrants issued.

If you've checked with the Police and there are no open warrants I don't understand why you are concerned.

It been years now and no warrants issued.

If it has been "years" them most likely the SOL has passed even on collecting the debts unless they got a judgement previously also

When and if you stand before a judge it will he he said/she said. No written agreement and no proof exiosts so this is a crap shoot.

Like I said before, I'm worried that he'll bring up all this to the people I owe and THEN creditors will come after me. I wasn't thinking about jail as much as just being sued.

The years passed uhhh it been about 2 1/2 years. I don't have any judgments I know of. Some credit card tried to take me to court but nothing happened with it.

ballengerb1, what you talking about? I read up and if people borrow the money they owe it. It don't matter if it is on the paper or not it's an oral agreement. Don't matter what he says, he knows he borrowed the money and I got proof that I took the money out of my bank and he put in his bank with my bank statement. Plus he got no job so how in da world is he going to convince the judge he just had the money? Can't have lots money without work.

Please stop using either text speak or street talk or whatever you are using on the legal boards.

It's going to boil down to your word against his - that's what we are trying to tell you. If you "read up" and know something we don't know under these circumstances, please post it.

The Statute on debts does NOT run in 2-1/2 years so you could be on the hook for past due accounts.

Sorry m'am.

I get that part and 'read up' I mean I have looked at some other posts and OP's are always told to go to court because just because it's not on paper, doesn't mean it's not a loan. You know if he tried saying it was a gift. I don't see what he can say that the judge wouldn't see he owes me this money.

We go to court, I show I took out all this money, he suddenly got all this money, and then what? With my small income it wouldn't be a gift, he'd have to admit to it being from me and borrowed. And he has no job so there's no way he can show he had this money on his own. I figure I have a very good case.

Oh I know that but I just figured if I was going to get warrant it would have been done already. Plus I still shop at all the same stores paid with bad checks and never had a problem. If they wanted me arrested why would they let me still shop and I've even been carded so they know my identity.

Sorry m'am.

I get that part and 'read up' I mean I have looked at some other posts and OP's are always told to go to court because just because it's not on paper, doesn't mean it's not a loan. You know if he tried saying it was a gift. I don't see what he can say that the judge wouldn't see he owes me this money.

We go to court, I show I took out all this money, he suddenly got all this money, and then what? With my small income it wouldn't be a gift, he'd have to admit to it being from me and borrowed. And he has no job so there's no way he can show he had this money on his own. I figure I have a very good case.

Oh I know that but I just figured if I was going to get warrant it would have been done already. Plus I still shop at all the same stores paid with bad checks and never had a problem. If they wanted me arrested why would they let me still shop and I've even been carded so they know my identity.

I'm confused. How are you going to prove that he is the one who received the money? Did you write a check? How are you going to prove that the money went from your account to his?

Your income has no bearing on whether something was a gift or a loan. And no, he doesn't "have to admit" that you lent it to him.

A company will not arrest you for bouncing a check. They will sue you. The judgment will show up on your credit report.

As has already been discussed, your only option is to go to court and sue your "friend" for the money you lent him. Hopefully you have some proof otherwise everything is hearsay and the judge will have to decide who's lying and who's being honest.

What am I talking about, well, to start with you have not told us there is anything in writing or any other documented proof of a loan. Your friend can just deny there was a loan. Your account activity and his account have no real leverage in court, its not proof. It easily boils down to he said, she said. If you want to read up try this, especially paragraph #2 Trial evidence: the rules of ... - Google Books (http://books.google.com/books?id=uRg-AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA657&lpg=PA657&dq=proof+of+a+loan&source=bl&ots=mDzMWMr2qs&sig=kkah6XWzI87hN9UcSunMwGMepO4&hl=en&ei=n7btS-nOLcP6lweg9dm1CA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CDcQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=proof%20of%20a%20loan&f=false)

Thanks both for informing about the proof. It was a loan in cash. He's my pal and it wasn't on my mind to get it in writing. I don't get how I'm supposed to prove anything. He took the cash and used it and deposited some. How does anyone prove their case like that? I know there are many cases of cash loans with no write ups. And with 'he,said, she said', I watch the court TV and the plaintiff usually wins anyway even without documents since why would you be going to court over money if never lent it in the first place?

Oh and does it matter to the judge if a couple times I told him he didn't have to pay me back and it was cool? I read in another forum that it doesn't matter if I said that since it's also not in writing. I called him up and he's trying to say I said he didn't have to pay me back.

I already told you how you "prove" your case - you are more convincing than he is when you explain the situation to the Judge.

Court TV is just that - Court TV. Whatever plays and sells to sponsors and gets air time. Not necessarily good or viable law.

Why would you go to Court over money if you never lent it in the first place? Because you need money, because you want to hassle him, who knows.

If you told him he didn't have to pay it back and intend to go to Court and lie - then it's time to close this thread. Everyone has spent enough time and trouble (and done enough research) on this issue and now we find out you told him he didn't have to pay you back?

In fact, now that that little nugget of info has been disclosed, it IS time to close this threead.