Lend me a quid: Cost of informal loans to family and colleagues totals £44 a year

YORKSHIRE people lose an average of £44 a year through informal cash loans handed out to friends, family members and work colleagues who never pay them back, a survey has found.
Yorkshire people lose £44 a year typically through informal cash loans handed out to friends, family members and work colleagues who never pay them backYorkshire people lose £44 a year typically through informal cash loans handed out to friends, family members and work colleagues who never pay them back
Yorkshire people lose £44 a year typically through informal cash loans handed out to friends, family members and work colleagues who never pay them back

Those handing out the money will typically start trying to chase it up when the debt reaches just £4, according to the research from Nationwide Paym.

Four-fifths of people surveyed said they start to chase up cash owed to them by a friend, relative or work colleague before it reaches £6.

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And one in eight people would pursue a debt no matter how small it was.

With people being left £40 a year out of pocket typically, they could end up well over £2,000 down over the course of a lifetime of handing out small cash loans to friends, family and work colleagues that they never get back.

Younger people tend to be hardest hit by unpaid debts, the research suggests, with 18 to 24-year-olds losing £74 a year on average in money they loan out that does not get paid back.

Half of those surveyed feel small loans made in this way should be paid back in under a week - while 1% believe it is acceptable to never return borrowed money, the survey of 2,000 people found.

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