Like a true Banker and Financier, I always try to make sure that I don't get into the debt book of anyone. But, most importantly, I like to only give loan to people when the chances of getting my money back are very high. Also, I believe it's not just enough to get the money back, I like when the money gets paid back in full payment and at the exact time they promised to pay back.
Believe me... If everyone that gets a loan from a family, friend or financial institution gets to service their debt and pay off whatever they owe at the right time, it will be a lot easier for more people to get loans when they need them. You know, dealing with people is already a risky business because you know that things can go sideways, especially when you are giving loans to them.
What's interesting about all these is that you can never be too careful. My money is still in people's hands and so many of them are sitting on it while acting as if they don't know that they are owing me money.
Hah!
Humans!
One of the experiences I have with a debtor which is still shocking to this very moment happened in the last quarter of 2021. The bloke is a good Uni friend of mine and we are still good friends till this very moment, but he did me dirty back then and he's still sitting on my money till this very moment.
The whole incident took place when I was relocating from the Southeastern part of Nigeria to the South-Western part of the country. I bought a couple of items online and it was obvious that I will no longer be in the East when the product becomes available for pick-up. Since my friend is already in Lagos, I verified if it would be convenient for him to help me pick up the items and he said "Yeah".
With that said, I had to use the pick-up station closest to his address for the item. I made payment and gave him the receipt he would be needing for the pick-up. Just then, he informed me of two shoes he would like to buy from the online shop. Two fairly decent shoes. According to him, he didn't have money in his Bank account to make the payment. However, he has enough cash.
He asked if I can help him make payment for his items so that both mine and his items would get to the pickup station at the same time. Well, that wasn't a big deal because I had enough money in Bank to make the payment. Besides, I believe he has the cash and there won't be any problem getting my money back. That was the deal.
Goodness, Gracious!
How long has it been since then?
It's almost two whole years and I'm yet to get the money for the shoe. I know my chances of getting that money back are low partly because I no longer ask for the cash and also because he seems okay being in my debt book. However, I've already written that off as bad debt.
I've made peace with the fact that I won't be getting that money back and my guy is still my friend. Nothing changed. However, he knows that we won't be starting any other sort of Creditor/Debtor relationship any time soon.
Was I disappointed in how things turned out?
The money he's owing me is a huge figure. However, I'm not a bit disappointed by how things turned out. I'm not a naive idealist who believes that the world is a fairytale, so I know how people can be people. Besides, I've heard and seen worse incidents of debt defaulters during the time I spent in the marketing unit of a reputable commercial Bank in the Northern part of the country.
What I know about myself is that I can give free money to just about anyone, if I can afford to do that at the moment. If someone asks for money, I can give that to the person if I can afford that. However, if you ask for $1 loan and promise to pay it back, even if you are family, I expect you to stick to your words and pay off your debt.
It's as simple as that.
Thanks For Not Missing Any Full-stop Or Comma.
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