One fifth of Brits have fallen out with scrounging family and friends who have failed to pay back debts

One fifth of Brits have fallen out with scrounging family and friends who have failed to pay back debts, a survey has revealed.

Nearly half of people will happily lend family and friends up to £500, according to a survey of 2,000 people.

However relations quickly turn sour when one in five realise their goodwill will never be repaid.

The data, commissioned by 360vouchercodes.co.uk, also revealed huge regional differences between how much and to who people were willing to lend money.

Scots were the nicest to their friends with 20 per cent agreeing to lend them a whooping £500.

While East Midlanders topped the most tight-fisted list after almost 16 per cent said they wouldn’t lend even their family a penny.

Unsurprisingly the survey of 2,000 people revealed that Brits are happier to lend cash to a relative or loved-one rather than to friends.

Mike Meade, CEO from 360vouchercodes.co.uk, said: “It’s not shocking that we’re more prepared to loan money to our own family rather than our friends, but what is interesting is the amount of time we give people to pay us back.

“According to the National Debt Clock, the UK national debt has already passed the one trillion pound mark, and continues to grow at a rate of £5,170 per second.

“When looking at these figures, it’s easy to see why some of us are wary of lending our money, while others automatically expect not to receive repayment.”

The survey found that 17 per cent of people were prepared to lend up to £500 to a friend, with the average person is only prepared to hand over £165.

When it comes to borrowing money people said they were comfortable borrowing around half of what they would consider lending.

This means on average people said they’d be okay with borrowing £65.48 from friends and £162.40 from family.

Surprisingly, 51 per cent of people surveyed said they have never borrowed money from either friends or family.

The survey shows that while 32.5 per cent of Brits would give their family members over 13 weeks to return the loan, 32.3 per cent would give their pals just a month to repay whatever they owe.

Yet while keeping our friends on a tight rein with repayments, 32 per cent of those surveyed admit they’ve paid someone back later than agreed.

The average time that people expect money back from their friends is six weeks, compared to almost nine weeks for family – with one third saying they would be willing to wait more than three months.

The research also analysed why people need to borrow money, with over a fifth of Brits citing bills as their main reason, followed by borrowing to help with large payments such as a car or a mortgage.

One in eight people surveyed even admitted to pawning an item to avoid having to borrow from someone.