NSW General enquiry- blackmail and harrassment

[Mami]

Hi there - long story short !!

If someone ( you were in a relationship) gives you access to their money willingly (knowing you can not repay it )
I did not ask for the money -I didn’t explain multiple times that I am in no financial state to give the money !!

He/she constantly insisted that it was ok

Then months later after telling them you don’t want to be with them can they demand the money back - do I legally have to pay it back in a lump sum if I agree to repay it ?

Is it classed as blackmail if the ex demanding the money states in the message of demand that they are only wanting the money due to me not doing as she/he wishes and the fact that I refuse to be in a relationship with him/her

 

[sammy01]

Legally - Nope, you don't have to re-pay it....
Morally - Well - Sure you didn't ask for the money. But you didn't have to take it either...
Nope - not blackmail - not even close.

You've ended the relationship - OK. So no need for you to have any contact / communication with this person. If they wish to chase you for the $$ they can do it through legal channels. But I doubt they'll get very far.
My advice - ignore this person. Keep ignoring them. If in a month or two they're still harassing you, get back to us. At that point a chat with your friendly local police officer might be warranted...

 

[Mami]

Legally - Nope, you don't have to re-pay it....
Morally - Well - Sure you didn't ask for the money. But you didn't have to take it either...
Nope - not blackmail - not even close.

You've ended the relationship - OK. So no need for you to have any contact / communication with this person. If they wish to chase you for the $$ they can do it through legal channels. But I doubt they'll get very far.
My advice - ignore this person. Keep ignoring them. If in a month or two they're still harassing you, get back to us. At that point a chat with your friendly local police officer might be warranted...

Thank you - they still wish to proceed with the demand of money but they are telling not to contact a solicitor a

 

[Mami]

I’ll continue to Ignore -I did offer to pay it back but not the hole amount at once which they declined

 

[Scruff]

This is just to add to what Sammy has said and explain what blackmail actually is...

Blackmail is to make an "unwarranted demand with menaces". Therefore if there is no threat of any kind, it is not blackmail. The real problem though, is the way the NSW Crimes Act defines "unwarranted":

"a demand with menaces is unwarranted unless the person believes that he or she has reasonable grounds for making the demand and reasonably believes that the use of the menaces is a proper means of reinforcing the demand."

The obvious problem is that whether or not an offence is committed, is actually determined by what the accused person believes, which in reality, is next to impossible to disprove in a court.

Then you also have this included in the definition for "menaces":

"A threat against an individual does not constitute a menace unless the threat would cause an individual of normal stability and courage to act unwillingly in response to the threat."

This basically means that the threat needs to be so serious in nature, that it would cause a normal person to act unwillingly in response and succumb to the demand. This is why blackmail is usually associated with serious threats such as physical harm to an individual or their family.

So to sum it all up, if someone believes that they have grounds to make the demand, blackmail can be very difficult to prove even if threats are made.

Blackmail is covered by Part 4B of the NSW Crimes Act (the actual offence is Section 249K): https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/~/view/act/1900/40/whole#/part4b

 

[Mami]

Thank you