John has known Anne for many years and they were friends who knew each other through work. John at age 45 is a successful businessman who owns a construction company while Anne, age 35 works as a sales executive for a company supplying materials to John’s company. One day Anne borrowed $6000 from John to cover some emergency needs. She promised to pay him back after 6 months but one year had passed and she still couldn’t repay it. John was getting impatient and kept pestering her to pay back. Anne was getting desperate. Her expected commissions and bonuses did not come through due to a slowdown in the economy and she was continually short of money although she would like to settle her debt.
After a long and acrimonious lecture from John which left her in tears, she promised to pay $1000 in a month’s time. When the time came she could only spare $300 which she scrapped up mainly by saving on food. They met at a coffee bar in a shopping complex. When she told John the amount, he was sneering and disdainful.
“Only $300? So how many years are you going to take to pay me back? I should charge you interest!”