‘You can bill her for it’: Woman cancels $400 phone plan under roommate's name after roommate refuses to pay half of $1700 in apartment repairs

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
Jan 1, 2024 1:00 PM EST

You really roll the dice when you move in with someone… Whether that's a spouse, a friend, or a complete stranger, like a roommate.

One woman moved in with her best friend, and we all know that can either go amazingly, or it can go as south as south can go… Guess which way this situation went? So, after a while of living together, OP's roommate began doing some questionable things, which at first, did not affect OP in the slightest. That is, until one day, this roommate had to bail out the person she was dating and was unable to pay rent. That is when OP began getting frustrated because rent ain't cheap! In fact, OP paid $1,000 extra.

Things went downhill from there, and after mutually deciding that it wasn't working anymore, they both moved out of the apartment. But then, OP was slapped with a $1,700 bill for apartment repairs. See, this roommate had really done a number on the apartment… But of course, she refused to take any responsibility for it. So, OP had to get creative.

Then, check out this manager who cut a couple of hours off one of their employee's shifts because it wasn't up to their standard.

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  • 01
    "You can send her the bill..."
    via Canva
  • 02
    TL/DR: Ex roommate tore up apartment and states she's not responsible for any of the fees so I canceled my phone plan under her name that has a balance of $400
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 03
    I (F24) lived with my ex roommate (F24) for 3 years and it was great the first couple of years but this past year has been a nightmare. Im gonna try to break it down as simple as possible. In 2020, when she was moving in, she talked me out of putting her on
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 04
    the lease and honestly I should've said no to her moving in just for that but at the time we were best friends and I thought I could trust her. At the beginning of 2023, she went to some classes and met a guy there. They had a thing together but there was a rule set in place stating you couldn't date within the class.
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 05
    They decided to date anyways on the down low and then they got scared they were going to get caught so they ended things a couple months into it. Fast-forward to the time they both are graduating this class, the guy has a new gf that attends. My ex roommate is infuriated by this and kept saying he
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 06
    was doing it to get at her. When really, he just got a new gf and she couldn't cope with that. Fast-forward a little bit more and my ex roommate and this guy continued to hang out behind his gf's back to the point where they were drinking together one night at a bar and on the way home, he got
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 07
    pulled over and got a D. This is where it starts affecting me because she owed me rent right around the time this was going down. And instead of giving me rent, she spent $1000 bailing him out so his gf wouldn't find out. When I confronted her about not paying rent, she said I was just "throwing
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 08
    her mistakes back in her face" and she never ended up paying me back for rent. Then she got in a wreck at some point and still owed quite a bit on her totaled car. She had GAP insurance but it was taking awhile to go through. Instead of waiting, she
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 09
    decided to get into another car payment before the insurance company paid off her other car so she was paying on both cars and still struggling to pay me rent. I said something about that and she complained about how she needs a car and I suggested asking her dad to use his since her dad works from home and uses her mom's car most
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 10
    of the time anyways. She got really mad over this and flipped out about how I think she's privileged or whatever. At some point while we were arguing, she suggested moving out and I told her "ok. The lease is up in a few months. We can revisit this
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 11
    then and see if anything has changed." She liked that so we stayed until the end of the lease and then we both decided this wasn't working and to go separate ways. She told me she found an apartment in the same complex.
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 12
    She also kept asking to get a dog this past year and I kept saying no because I didn't think she could afford it and I wasn't going to pay for her to get a dog to tear the place up more. A couple days before her move out date, she posted on her Snapchat story that she got a dog
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 13
    and didn't even tell me that she had this giant pitbull in the middle of our tiny apartment when I went to move some more of my stuff out. That infuriated me because she really couldn't wait two more days or warn me about the dog??
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 14
    I told her what all we needed to replace to get my deposit back to which she replied over and over again: "that's what the security deposit is for". Since she moved in, she ruined all of the blinds somehow, broke my bedroom window breaking in a couple of
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 15
    times when she locked herself out, tore up the kitchen floor and entry floor moving the dryer in, tore up the wash room door because "it was in the way", poked several holes in the walls hanging things, and so much more.
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 16
    When she finally moved out, I went to clean the place up a bit and spent 4 hours alone cleaning trash out of her room and cleaning out the fridge that she left packed full of gross food. I also spent a whole day scrubbing the tub which she left full of gunk, and scrubbing all of the other surfaces. (I say she alone
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 17
    because it was getting so hard to live with her that I basically stayed with my bf most of this past year) So I was going to put all of this behind me and move on, but I got a bill in the mail from our old apartment for $1776.08 and my security deposit covered $820 so I texted her yesterday and said "they
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 18
    sent me a bill for $956.08. Are you able to send half?" To which she responded with a bunch of questions asking everything they charged us for and I answered and sent pictures of the documents with receipts for everything. I knew in my gut she wasn't gonna pay anything but she straight up said: "Okay so
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 19
    looking at what all the deposit covered looks like damages and cleaning expenses other than the vinyl repair which was $520.86. I don't feel like I am responsible for the utility fee or the carpet cleaning because that was on the lease as your responsibilities. You also told me you were going to get the
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 20
    carpets cleaned. So I'm will send half of the $520.86 for the vinyl replacement. I don't feel like I am responsible beyond that." Basically saying sc. w you to me because her name wasn't on the lease. I also never told her I would get the carpets cleaned because I asked her to and she said "that's
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 21
    what the security deposits for." She sent me $260 and that's it for all of this. She moved in after I was already living there so that security deposit was mine alone and it's very frustrating that she just straight up didn't care to ruin this whole friendship over this.
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 22
    So after she sent that, I felt defeated thinking I can't do anything about it until I remembered we have a phone plan together. So I looked up how much I owed on my phone ($400) and in the policy it says if you cancel, you're still responsible for any fees on the phone. So I called them and canceled it and made sure
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 23
    to already remove my card info and my autopay and told them to bill my ex roommate for it. Since it was under her name and she doesn't care, why should I? And that ensures that she cant contact me anymore either.
    via u/Dry_Reception_622
  • 24
    alk_adio_ost 14 hr. ago Your petty revenge is awesome! This is an incredible story. Please, please, please take her to small claims court. Just because "your name" is on a lease doesn't mean she isn't responsible for
    via u/alk_adio_ost
  • 25
    these expenses. She lived there. Filing is very easy and she will have the opportunity to settle before you go to court. First, you write a letter -- you "wish to resolve this amicably" with an itemized list of what she owes you. Send certified Mail.
    via u/alk_adio_ost
  • 26
    Keep a copy. That will show the judge you tried to collect outside of court. Second, when you file, be sure to include any expenses related to cleaning up after her, the back rent, the texts, the deposit intel, the actual bill...all receipts. Print
    via u/alk_adio_ost
  • 27
    them out. Put them in order of events and make it super easy for her, her parents, and the judge to come to the conclusion she owes you money. Third, don't be scared. This is a legal process and financial issue. This makes it transactional, not personal. Keep reminding yourself
    via u/alk_adio_ost
  • 28
    she owes you money and that's all it is. While being petty in the moment is fun, it's important you stick up for yourself. She has taken advantage of you, bullied you, and ab ed you. You deserve an apology, but financial restitution will get you justice!
    via u/alk_adio_ost
  • 29
    Dry_Reception_622 OP 14 hr. ago I've always thought you couldn't take someone to small claims court for something like this if their name isn't on the lease. This is very helpful, thank you! 734 Reply Share
    via u/Dry_Reception_622

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phone plan reddit roommate stories lease apartment repairs flatmate apartment damages petty rent housemate bills roommates money security deposit apartment moving out
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