How do I resolve this phone issue?

Question

I have a roommate. We each have cell phones and there's also a home phone that I alone pay for. Since my roommate has moved in, he's used my home phone for all of his calls that are NOT his personal friends, meaning he's giving my phone number to everyone. This morning some lady for something in regards to insurance premiums called for him, but he was asleep and I took the message. After I hung up, he got mad and said it was an important call and that I should have given him the phone. Now, this is MY phone, *I* pay the bill, and he's sure as hell not paying me to be his personal secretary. Does he have any right to get mad about how I answer my OWN phone and take messages or what message I leave on MY voicemail? How do I tell him if his calls are so important to use his own damn phone? It feels like he's mooching off me so as to not use up his minutes, but like I said, he's not paying the home phone bill.

He wont split the bill. I've already brought that up, because the cable, internet and phone are on one bill and he doesn't pay for any of it, I do. He's basically getting cable (it's his tv, but I pay the cable) phone, and internet (with a router) for free. I've alerady told him that I miscalculated the total expenses and I may need to raise his share by 50.00 if he wants cable/internet/phone and he told me it's not in his budget, but going out to eat every night with his little guy friends apparently is.

Answer 1

My sister-in-law lives with roommates and each takes on an expense - 1. pays for the phone, 2. pays for the internet 3. pays for the cable. If someone objects to paying these services, they are not allowed to use them at all and the other two divide it in half. If he is not willing to pay for this service, get your phone number changed and have it made unlisted, so that if he calls his cell phone, the number will not show up. Then he cannot use it to give the number out to anyone. Then have the phone moved into your room where you and only you can use it (same for the internet). As for the cable, you are using his tv. You could cancel the cable service and then the only tv he can watch (and you also) would be whatever his tv can get. You can get yourself a small tv for your room and set it up to watch movies by DVD or VCR. Eventually he may get the message that he needs to help pay for things or he needs to get them for himself. If he complains that he needs the new number, tell him to get his own. If he complains that he needs internet, also tell him to get his own. If he says that he cannot afford this (it is not in his budget) then remind him that it is not in your budget to pay for him to have it also. He needs to find it in his budget to help pay for these things or he needs to get them on his own. Good luck.

Answer 2

I would move my phone to my bedroom (which I assume is your own space and he shouldn't be going in there) If there is no line there, pay the $50 fee and have At&T install a line there, and lock your room when you are not home. If your room doesn't have a lock, buy a bolt lock and have a handyman install it for you. It's worth the expense for piece of mind and for a continued friendship with your roommate. The way things are now, your roommate, as well as his friends that are invited over, can use the phone at anytime and might even use it for 900 calls, porn, etc. and rack up the bill. You would then get pissed off, and he would probably wouldn't want to pay, then causing you two not to be friends anymore and him moving out. Move the phone to your room and get a lock!!

Answer 3

Get rid of the home phone, it's the best out. See you can simply say you didn't see the logic in having both a home and a cell phone so you got rid of the one that isn't mobile. Otherwise move the phone to your room and change the number. Truthfully though, if you willingly pay the full bill on phone/internet/cable obviously you want these extras in your home environment, whereas your roommate, who stated that he doesn't have the money for these extras, clearly doesn't care about having these things in his home environment. So if you are going to bring these extras into a shared environment expect them to be shared.

Answer 4

I had @sshole room-mates when I was young and broke.Never a pretty picture.
Tell your roomie that he needs to chip in for the phone bill.If he doesn't agree.....then call the phone company and have the current service cancelled.
Then get new service turned on with a new (and private,unpublished!) phone number,but make sure that the only phone jack in the house that can access that line is in YOUR locked and secured bedroom.If it's a cordless phone be careful! Don't leave it anywhere but your room!
It's a simple rewiring job (it's what I do for a living),but the phone technician will probably charge a hefty one-time fee to do it.
It'll be a pain in the @ss to update friends/family/work/etc. with your new phone number,but you won't have this problem anymore.
Tell your "buddy" that he's on his own for a telephone.

Answer 5

He is taking advantage of you. If you can, move the phone into your room, and keep your room locked. If you cannot do this, change the phone number and put a lock on the phone so that only you are able to use it. Unless he wants to pay for the use of the phone, it is yours and only yours. He should not be giving out that number to anyone. What else is he taking advantage of, are all of the household bills being contributed to by him? You need to put a stop to this and fast. Good luck and have a good night.

Answer 6

you've already lost a friend if this is anything like my relationships with roommates.
Bills and money and friends are not good matches.
my ex roommate did the same thing to me. and I just started being her friend again and that is over myspace and after 5 years.
My best advice for you is to A turn everyhting off, B put all in your room only and lock the door with a key C. get out of the arrangement asap.
Sorry, but if he'snot going to help you and still go out every night with his friends then you need to cut him off. Buy a small tv for your room only and don't let him plug in his tv and make sure you keep your door locked at all times.

sorry this is hapening to you i KNOW how frustrating it is cause you prob have a lease and stuff, but if i were you i'd get out of the situation cause it will only get worse!!!

Answer 7

Find a way to lock up your home phone in a drawer or something. He has no right to get mad at anything about the phone. Better still tell him not to touch you phone at all. It's off limits.

The best thing is to lose him as a roommate. He is a jerk.

Answer 8

Here are a couple of ideas.
1. change the number and make sure he doesn't get it.
2. have the phone taken out and just use your cell. If you choose this path, keep your cell where he can't pick it up or he may use yours to save his own minutes.
Wondering if you have any other issues. Maybe it's time for a new roommate.

Answer 9

Roomate sounds like a freeloader and have a thick face to insist he dont understand what u meant just to get away from his obligation. Well, waste of time to explain. Call the phone company to unplug the phone. Live without and phone for months and see what happens. If he insist on it, then tell him, well, no phone - its either u have it connected and i become the free loader now, or we just live without it. Make life hell for him in the apartment so he leaves. And before a new roomate comes in, make sure u have listed down everything he/she needs to know and pay while sharing room with you. Charge this to experience.

Answer 10

Point out to your "friend" that you are the one paying the phone bill, and you don't appreciate him giving out your telephone number for his personal business. If he would like to share the bill, you would be happy to share the telephone number. Until he puts up the money towards the phone bill, he needs to use his cell phone for her personal business. If he can't understand that or deal with it, only use your cell phone and disconnect the home phone. If there are long distance calls showing on your bill that you haven't made and he isn't willing to pay for, report him to the telephone company and the police department for theft and fraud. Stealing comes in many forms from taking extra napkins and ketchup packets at McDonalds, to unauthorized use of goods or services -- bottom-line, your "friend" is stealing.