Dear Christine,
Life is so short. Anything can happen to you anytime as sickness does not discriminate. Yet people still live as though nothing can affect them. People are so ungrateful and can be so deceitful. I just don’t know how they sleep at night.
I loaned a friend a good couple hundred dollars, telling them they could take their time and pay me back, figuring they would use their discretion but some people seem to have no conscience whatsoever.
Months passed and I never once called and asked. We were friends still, or so I thought.
Then I called one day and asked this same friend a favour; they said yes, okay. I waited. I got no call about the favour.?So I called again. They told me they would call me back.
Another day passed; they never did so. I said to myself maybe they meant no and not yes. So I didn’t think I should have asked again. I’ve never ever heard from them about that favour.
I was confused but I was not mad or anything. I just forgot about it. More months passed and I said I would call and ask about the money. The person said to me: “I don’t know.”
When I called again I was told: “I will bring it for you.”
I waited a whole day and night; no call, nothing. So I called again and was told they had to do something with the money in a very firm voice. I was shocked.
I cried that night because I really needed the money.
More months passed, almost a year now and I?started to get some of the money. Yet I did not get all.
I said I would give it a little more time and then ask for the rest. Another month passed and then? I called. To my shock and surprise, the person told me that they could not recall being lent that amount. They could only remember another figure, which I knew was incorrect.
I could not believe that after what I had done for them, someone could hang me out to dry like that.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not bothered about the friendship.
I have left it all up to The Almighty and hope people understand that when you do bad things to people, you do not prosper because the world is a cycle and things come back to you.
I am not wishing bad for anyone as I am not that kind of person. But this is a terrible thing to do to someone who has done you nothing.
This is the worst and hardest lesson I have learnt in my life and have ended up receiving less than what I have loaned.
– Honest Person
Dear Honest Person,
It is sad when people take others’ kindness for granted. Even worst, when they are dishonest about the transaction. It leaves you feeling cheated and used.
Lending money to friends and family is usually a tricky proposition.
You feel obligated to assist them as they are close to you, but you are conscious that because of their closeness they may try to take advantage of the situation and not pay you back, or not do so according to the terms they agreed to when you lent them the sum.
This is precisely what happened to you.
To be quite frank, what happened was all your fault. You trusted the individual and never had a written contract drawn up between you and witnessed by someone to ensure they met their end of the agreement. The reality is that you trusted this person on face value alone. As a result, you were burned.
I am not being hard on you, just practical. The lending of money is a serious thing and the only way to impress the gravity of the situation is by making what can be termed a legal contract.
Of course, people will object and bad-mouth you by saying that you don’t trust them, but those who don’t want to submit to such an arrangement are the ones who will most likely have an excuse when the money is due.
You have learnt your lesson the hard way.
In these tough times others are sure to come to borrow from you if they perceive that they can get money easily. I hope that next time around, you make them sign a contract to protect yourself.
– Christine
