So I had an agreement verbally to pay 700/mo in rent. I said I would contribute towards utilities which the roomate said is about 100/month...
I paid 1400 in advance, after 2 months roomate said that I owe 700/mo for utilites... I said YEAH RIGHT and moved. I've lived on my own for years & have never gone over 100/mo when renting my own apartment!
So after taking off and telling him to keep the deposit he said he is going to charge me 20$/day until I pay him his 1400! So now he decides to make up some random number to charge??? lol. I never signed a contract so... and 20$ a day LOL thats 7200/yr in "late fees"
Well he said unless i give him 1400 + 20/day he will send me to a collection agency and sue me. I never had a contract & had i known he would try n pull some crap & charge 700/mo utilities for a room, i would have never moved in... not my fault he is in default and has over 200k in autoloans he can't afford.....Does he have a leg to stand on? He doesnt have my address or SSN.
2007-12-22 09:42:44 · 21 answers · asked by BlaBla 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
Also he doesnt have any of my personal information... just my email address.. so how would he even be able to serve me!
2007-12-22 09:54:27 · update #1
No lease no worries. His word against yours. You can sue anyone you want...doesn't mean he will win.
2007-12-22 09:48:24 · answer #1 · answered by K.B. 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
First of all verbal contracts do not stand up to collection agencies, neither does an indivual. Only companies can report.
The only thing that you might face is this individual taking you to small claims court and a judge determining if this is valid. Small claims court you can only file a judgement up to 3000 dollars and with out written agreement it would be hard for him if not impossible for him to claim the late charges due to you not agreeing with them when you entered the said verbal contract.
you did however agree to pay a portion of the utilities. The individual would have to back up his claim showing proof that the utilities added up to said amount. If he cannot , the claim would be dismissed. If he can the judge would only grant up to half of them on a normal basis , as long as you behaved yourself in court.
I hope this helps, and relieves some stress. He can say he is going to charge you a million dollars but he wont have any one to back him up.
2007-12-22 10:14:44 · answer #2 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
without a contract he has no leg to stand on. He can not send you to collections, if he wanted to he would have to take you to small claims court, and he would still have to provide proof of the contract (which does not exist) or show how you managed to rack up such a large utilities bill (although it seems like he had not paid them in several months, and then tried to stick you with your 'half" The late charges are completely uncollectable under any circumstances.
2007-12-22 09:59:37 · answer #3 · answered by Piggiepants 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Did he show you an itemized bill of the utilities? If you are sharing that, then you are privy to all of that information. I'm guessing he refused to show you the bills. Also, he can't send you to a collection agency, but he can take you to small claims court and sue you there. He sounds like a dumb guy with a big mouth. I think you'll be fine.
2007-12-22 09:52:20 · answer #4 · answered by cat 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Let him try, he doesn't have a leg to stand on. I hope he does take you to court, he will be laughed out of there. Make a note of the times he contacts you though and if he does sue you, I would counter sue for harassment. Was this an apartment? Most of the time you aren't allowed to bring in someone else. Check out the laws of your state and if you do get sued, walk in there with homework in hand. But please don't lose any sleep over this.
2007-12-22 09:58:31 · answer #5 · answered by Married Lady 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
He can take you to civil court, but it sounds like he'd lose. He has the burden of proof. It would mean copies of utilities. The judge will determine if it is reasonable. You'd be better off to go to court to get this over with. He cannot turn you over to collections. He does not have a leg to stand on.
2007-12-22 09:49:47 · answer #6 · answered by tlbrown42000 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
you dont have a contract so what proof does he have that you even owe him any money? to be safe, find your copy of the check that proves you gave him the money, and if he tries to take you to court or anything like that, he wont win. because he has to show proof of the utility bills. i dont know if you lived in a house or an apartment, but i live in a 2400 sq ft, 2 story house and will gas, electricity, and water, the highest ive been is $500 with in summer. and it shouldnt even be that high for you if you're splitting it with him. dont let him bully you around.
2007-12-22 09:48:42 · answer #7 · answered by appledumpling 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No contract signed for anything? I doubt he has a leg to stand on. Ask him to put his request in writing and send it by registered mail and produce a contract or shut up. Good luck!! He sounds like a creep.
2007-12-22 09:48:02 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
He is smoking crack. He has no case. In fact, he has violated the verbal agreement by trying to jack you for the fake utility bill. You should sue HIM. (But you would lose too... neither of you has any evidence.)
2007-12-22 09:49:36 · answer #9 · answered by Texas Tunesmith 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No leg to stand on. He's bluffing. Sounds like he's desperate and trying to milk you since you have a since of responsibility that he doesn't have. Tell him to go jump in a lake.
2007-12-22 09:52:46 · answer #10 · answered by Neandrathal 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no leg to stand on! even if he took you to court, there is no written contract! He's talking and acting out his a@@. So don't worry, tell him to take you to court if he wants, he will end up paying court costs too! you maybe even could counter him for emotional distress/harassment. ANYWAY HE GOES, HE'S A LOSER! AND A HUGE JOKE=D
2007-12-22 09:51:04 · answer #11 · answered by buzymomuv3boyz 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋