Should I persue legal advice?

I was dating a guy and I took out a loan to purchase tires and wheels for a birthday gift. The loan is in my name. With the cash from the loan, I purchased the tires and wheels from an online vendor with my checking account, and they were paid in full. While we were dating, I saw no problem with paying the monthly payments on the loan, as it was a gift.





The relationship has ended, and for the first few months after, he took over monthly payments on the loan since we agreed it was the right thing to do. Recently, he decided against paying the loan. He has also refused to give the tires and wheels back to me, so I can sell them and pay off the loan.





I don't feel as though I should have to continue paying the loan while he gets to keep the t's/w's. We worked out a verbal agreement as to how the arrangement would work, and now hes reneging on our agreement.





I want to know if I should contact a lawyer for legal advice (on the grounds that I have a civil dispute for a small claims court)? Do i stand a chance if I take him to small claims court of collecting the money he agreed to pay, and I think he owes?Should I persue legal advice?
First you made the agreement with the loan that you would pay for the tires.





Second, you gave him the tires and wheels





You have nothing as far as a lawsuit.Should I persue legal advice?
Did you ever put this said agreement on paper? Was it notarized? These types of situations are learning experiences, and as bad as it sucks, there is really not much you could do to prove the two of you had a verbal agreement. It's your word against his in court. If you decided to seek out legal advice, you would end up spending a lot of money in court fees, possible lawyer costs unless you represent yourself, and filing costs, etc. It's almost more hassle than its worth and you could possibly end up losing out on more money than you originally spent on tires/wheels.


Honestly, you have a bit of a chance for winning the case but the odds are most definetly against you.
He is not the brightest light bulb in town. Since it was meant to be a gift for him, (and I believe it was for his car) he would not have to return or pay for the gifts.





So, if he took the stuff, you would have to continue paying for it; there is a slight twist to your situation however, you say an ';agreement'; was reached upon breaking up. In this case a verbal agreement for him to take over payments could have been enforceable, but there is one problem. To have an enforceable contract (even verbal agreement, each side must give up something/gain something). I cannot think of anything he gained. Right thing to do (or moral) does not help you. In law they call it a lack of consideration. For an enforceable contract you need two things an agreement (Offer and Acceptance) and Consideration. You have offer and acceptance, but no consideration. What does he gain by making payments or agreeing to make payments. This is where the lack of consideration comes in. Based on what you said, he gained nothing.





There are equitable arguments, called promissory detrimental reliance, but I do not see that working here.





If he were a brighter light bulb (legally speaking), he would not have made any payments.
Unless you have something in writting, you are out of luck.
yes and my legal advice is free of charge, you stated it was a gift. Done. Over. Since when do you make people pay for gifts you gave them?
You have very little to support you. Clearly, there was no agreement for him to pay at the time you bought them. Even if there was, he could reasonably expect you to keep paying for this gift that you gave him but couldn't afford to pay for without a loan. They became his property when you gave them to him as a gift. I'm sure his memory of your verbal agreement will be a lot different from yours. You see, since they became his property when you gave the gift, his agreement could only be a promise to help you out with some money without getting anything in return. That's not a promise you can enforce. Lesson learned.
How much money are we talking about? $500, $2K?





Small claims court or one of the People's courts on TV.





TX Mom