NEVER lend to friends or family if you expect your money back. Britons are owed £1.14 billion by those who abuse friendship or blood ties.
According to a poll, about 11million people have lent more than £100 to friends or relatives and are still waiting for the money to be returned. Generosity is being taken advantage of by serial borrowers who think that loans can be treated as gifts.
Lending money and possessions to work colleagues is particularly risky, according to the YouGov poll for the Post Office, which found that half of us would not trust a fellow worker to settle a debt.
It is estimated that about nine million people have failed to return borrowed items and 75 per cent of people give valuables back in poor condition. The most common gripes were about being given back scratched CDs and dirty clothing.
Lending items to a brother or sister was found to be the safest option, but psychologists say people should curb their generosity and lend things only if they are prepared never to see them again.
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“It is difficult to say ‘no’ when friends or relatives want to borrow, and yet is is often these individuals who are the quickest to take advantage, while being the slowest to pay back,” Donna Dawson, a psychologist, said. “Money issues are one of the biggest causes of family dissension so ensure that what you are lending is really something you want to lend — otherwise resist.”