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Beware of lending to nearest and dearest, expert warns
17 December, 2007
Consumers should be wary of borrowing from or lending to their friends and family too much, online payments service PayPal has warned
Spokesperson Christina Hoole said that while a lot of borrowing involved short-term loans of small amounts, the long-term borrowing of larger amounts for major purposes was an issue of greater concern.
She commented: "All of this money is real money so just because we've borrowed it from a friend, a colleague or a family member doesn't mean that we don't have to pay it back."
Ms Hoole also warned of the dangers of frequent lending to others, as this could lead to individuals getting themselves into debt.
Figures from a YouGov survey carried out this year indicate that these kinds of informal lending are widespread.
Among the findings to emerge were that ten million lent money to their best friends last month, while 26 million have lent to their family in the past 12 months, with the average figure being £898.52.
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