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Q: How do you collect debts in China - Is it even possible?
I lent a former neighbor/slash friend 5,000 yuan after his young kid got hit by a car in the parking lot so she could get rehab. He signed a note to repay i six months. It is now 9 months. Any suggestions?
You're friends with Slash? That must be mega cool.
coineineagh:
I want a slash friend/neighbour too! I can picture it now: "Do what I say because my family has guanxi with the government. And we can contact triad mobsters if needed." "Well, I have a slash friend. He's my neighbour." "SORRY SORRY DON'T KILL ME!!!"
Did you ask for it, maybe he forgot. !
Usually a piece of paper with a signature on it is worthless in China, unless you are a judge/mayor/president with the full backing of the legal system. Maybe there is such a thing as a small claims court, I don't know. I would think it happens often that people have a spat over even smaller amounts.
Forget about the money! It is common in china that some chinese dont pay back their debts.!!
Best not to make any trouble with a slash friend. He might "repay i" with a slash to the neck.
Best not to make any trouble with a slash friend. He might "repay i" with a slash to the neck.
For a foreigner, it's almost impossible. For a local, they come to your house and cause trouble. Such a thing happened to me. A local worker didn't like the pay I offered him for the terrible job he did so he came back with his family and for 3 days, pounded on my door, destroying my property and physically accosting my family until I lost my temper and decked him. The police took his side without listening to a word from me and I went to jail and had to pay him more than 10 times what I owed him. This is the Chinese form of justice.
Don't lend money. If you do not want to give it away, then lend nothing. Especially in China, there is no rule of law. So unless you are willing embarrass yourself in the process, forget it.
look on it as a 5000 RMB lesson in local culture.
if failure to lend money to a 'friend' makes me a bad person in the eyes of local people, it is one thing that doesn't bother me. 
Don't ever lend money, especially to Chinese people.
Problem solved.
More seriously, the only way you will get your money back in China is by using your fists.
xinyuren:
I've invested some time and money in proving or disproving this notion. In most cases, I was not being a fool, but I had money to spare and I was more curious about the results than worried about getting my money back. My conclusion? I gave 7 "loans" to various Chinese "friends". I received 1 repayment. While hardly an empirical study, I conclude that your statement is essentially an honest one. Giving loans to Chinese people is generally an unwise move if you're counting on getting your money back.
Did you actually ask the guy yet?
I suspect everyone above is right and it'll be an expensive life lesson about trusting people with money but who knows, you might be pleasantly surprised.
The last time someone pulled that on me was another foreigner as it happens. I played nice for a while, then once I realized he was out and out taking the piss I called him up and said, "I'm coming round and you're going to give me that 1000 yuan" and low and behold, he met me with it at the door.
I think you are going to have to ask for it back if you want or need it back. I perceive that a lot of face is involved when money is lent or borrowed. They may assume that by returning the money to you they are showing they think you need or care about such a small sum of money which may hurt your feelings or cause you a loss of face. Trying not to be put in that situation they simply wait for you to tell them directly.
Whatever you give, consider it gone.
Unless you have leverage.
If you expect to get back something you give, ponder your leverage.
I'm having bother with her indoors at the moment, well since yesterday. Sometime ago she lent a friend 30,000, the he disappeared, that was until a few days ago when he surface in the district. Lately he has been drinking and socialising with my wifes many friends, and boasting how he has now made it. In one night he paid for 10,000 of partying and drinks. The wife's friends are his friends also, and they are encouraging her to seek back the money she is owed. I have ask her to forget about this, however she is grumpy and her friends continue to text her with regards the matter. She also has a letter and knows in true it is worthless. Chinese are a law unto themselves, foreigner or their own. The best and fastest way to loose friends, is to lend them money. Good luck in your quest.
