Question about suing someone about a phone bill.....?

Question

Ok someone I know has a huge issue at hand. Friend A added a line & phone to her cell phone plan for Friend B since she didn't have the credit or money for the big deposit. At this point, Friend A was still living at home so Friend B was very good at paying her part of the bill in fear of facing the wrath of Friend A's mom (lol). They were also very close at the time. A few months later, Friend A gets married & moves into her own place. Since then Friend B has been screwing her over & not paying her & giving excuses all the time...her bf has also been using the phone & helped rack up large charges. This caused the service to be disconnected & the bill to raise to a very high amount that Friend A & her husband cannot afford. They no longer talk to Friend B, are refusing to pay the bill (partially cause they cannot) & wish to sue her for the money. What do they do if they do in fact sue but she doesn't pay because she has no job or barely one at all? How do they get the money from her?

Also, my sister & a former bf were on a plan together under my mom's name & he didn't do much paying either. We have print outs from the company of what was paid by who & on what line. He owes us almost $1000, is now in the military & we are told we can't sue him while he is still active. Is this true???

Please believe, we are not sue happy individuals at all. These are just situations where we got screwed over by some lazy & obviously untrustworthy people who don't know how to manage money.

Answer 1

I would avoid suing at all costs, that will only exacerbate the problem and not actually solve it and will potentially cost you more time and money than working on paying the bill.


The best thing to do is put on your friendly voice and call the cell phone carrier and describe the situation and ask for a settlement on the bill and let them know that you wish to take care of it but don't have the cash to cover the charges for the irresponsible person.

If the cell phone company won't budge then you can (and i wouldn't recommend this) let it go to collections where they will often settle the debt for "pennies on the dollar" however if you choose this route you will have a hard time getting another cell phone for the next 2-3 years. If you choose to go to collections and try and settle the debt make sure you ask for a "pay for deletion" in that you will pay the established settlement amount in return for the collection agency to remove the account from your records. This may save you in the long run but it is once again a gamble on your charm in working for such a settlement as well as the ethics and eagerness of the collection company to collect the money on the account as needed.

When you need help, the best thing you can do is ask. Ignoring the problem won't make it go away and certainly taking someone to court who was on your account won't solve it either as the judge would usually make you aware of your responsibilities and could even pass charges along to you to cover the suit if you loose and make you pay the entire balance on top of that.

Answer 2

I don't thinkt he issue is whether or not you can prove she said she would pay. The fact is you KNEW this all along, for years and did nothing about it and I think thats going to make you liable for it. Besides if you friend doesn't have the money then suing her gets you nothing but a piece of paper that says you won and further in the hole because of the expense involved in filing a suit but it doesn't get you any money. If she had done this without you knowing it then she could sign an affadavit of responsibility and they would go after her for the money but you did know and were frankly, irresponsible in letting it continue so I don't think you have a legal leg to stand on. The fact is you could have called any day, any time and terminated this phone and you didn't. Suing someone because you were a sucker is not very practical. Suck it up and be smarter in the future, I'd also be more careful about who you call your friends!

Answer 3

They can take her to small claims court and the Judge will Order her to pay back the money for the phone bill. They need to make sure they get a judgement in place with the Court for the monies owed. That way if she doesn't pay it will eventually catch up with her if she applies for a loan, etc. Her credit will be ruined until she pays the money back.

Answer 4

best thing to do is try to get on judge judy or some show like that... they pay both the defendant and the plaintif a nice chunk of change and anything the judge awards is held from the check of the other person..i.e. A sues B ... judges says B owes A 2500....A and B get 5000 for being on the show....show writes check for 7500 to A and 2500 to B

Answer 5

well, hopefully friend A got something in writing about payment from friend B. if not she could still sue and may win. but be forewarned, winning the suit, doesn't mean that friend A will ever see a dime from friend B. winning a suit is one thing, getting your money, can be the real trick.......

the bottom line is friend A, is on the hook for the bill, because the agreement is between her and the phone company....

i'm not sure about the guy in the military. i'd call the local office for the branch that he is in. they could tell you the facts............

Answer 6

Just make sure that you and your friend have proof that the bill was for someone else and if you can't afford to get a lawyer try small claims court. You will be able to get your money back and do everything by yourself in small claims court.

Answer 7

Easy win in small claims court. Take documentation including proof they made past payments. By making past payments, they have acknowledged that they are responsible for the bills and it was not a gift.

Answer 8

well, it would be a small claims issue, with filing fees and time spent collecting evidence and witnesses.

a lot of work for someone you might never collect from.

it's hard to know how to proceed w/o knowing how much $$ you're talking about. You can pay for a session with a experienced paralegal- they could tell you whether it would be worth the trouble.

Answer 9

Under $3000 - you can sue someone in small claims court... as long as you have proof it should be an easy case... And the court will garnish their wages to pay you...