My best friend is currently fighting with the family of her ex boyfriend. To unravel the situation: It is on their side about 120 euro, which he has deposited with her for a vacation not taken together. She should pay this back promptly or from November in a monthly rate of 20 euro (offers from my best were 10 euro - 15 euro per month). My best friend loaned a Nintendo Switch + accessories and games worth around 500 - 600 euro to the family. She is now threatened that if she does not pay as requested, all loaned items will remain with the ex's clan, regardless of whether they still comply with the request or not.
Does that qualify as theft? Receipts and a list of items loaned are available on our website.
I don't know, but I assume that legal action can be taken against it. It was only borrowed and had nothing to do with the 120 euro at the time. So I don't think the family can keep the device.
However, it shouldn't be theft either, since it was borrowed.
So your friend has a right to surrender according to 985 BGB to surrender her property.
Your ex must of course give her back the loaned items.
A theft can be present here because he is trying to unlawfully appropriate someone else's thing
There's probably nothing in writing for the money or the items.
So there's a statement against a statement.
And if it were, it would not be theft, but embezzlement, which means that you can't simply offset two facts against each other.
That you have to argue about such children's stuff.
If your girlfriend is embezzling money that doesn't belong to her, that's pretty tough. This money was given to her for safekeeping, not "borrowed". That would be a criminal offense.
Why doesn't she pay the money back immediately, as it should be?
She lent the Switch to the family - one has nothing to do with the other. The family can't set off the switch for the money.
The German Civil Code (BGB) regulates in § 604 that your girlfriend is of course entitled to the return of the borrowed item, provided that the time agreed for the loan has expired.
Stupid, if you haven't found time - that's how arguments very often arise.
Of course, your friend can now ask the family to hand over the loaned items within a certain period of time (e.g. 14 days).
Accordingly, she can file a report with the police if this does not happen.
BUT the friend can also file a complaint for embezzlement of the money and he does NOT have to be satisfied with an installment over many months.
So - your girlfriend should pay back the money directly, as it should be, and at the same time the ex should bring the switch back.
Can't be difficult at all.
There are proofs of purchase for the loaned items that are with my girlfriend. Since she bought the things from her employer (Gamestop) and employees received a discount, it is correspondingly difficult for the Ex family to prove otherwise, as no one else works there in their environment.
Doesn't embezzlement actually only apply to public pawnbrokers?
Is that theft already?
No, it's embezzlement. From both sides. And both sides do not have to be satisfied with an "installment payment". In other words: The 120 euro can be reclaimed in one piece, as can the devices.
And to be honest, I wouldn't wait a year for the minimum sum of 120 euro, which was only given for safekeeping, to be paid back. Even the 20 euro a month would be too little / too long for me.
