Cell Phone and Exboyfriend

[MaryKB]

Hello and good morning to you all,
I recently was in a relationship with a man who took complete advantage of me. He didn't have a cell phone so I agreed to get a cell phone with him on my plan when I reupped my services as long as he payed a portion of the bill. He was fine with that, and even took his step father with us to go looking for a phone. He did well at first, I still hadn't gotten the money for the phone but he gave me 50 bucks for the September bill in October. But I ended up paying for the phone which he said he would pay back with the rebate and the difference. Which he did neither. To make a long story short I asked him for money for the phone in the beginning of December. I asked for 125 he offered 55 I said fine whatever. He never gave it to me. I then proceeded to break up with him and kick him out of my house(he was living there and never even offered money for rent even though we sat down many times and did a "budget plan" for the family). When we were going our seperate ways he dropped the phone in my car and walked off. I was confused and hurt so I just drove off. I'm now going through my bills with the phone and he owes me a bit! Can I still sue him for the bill even though he gave the phone back?
He owes me for:
October Bill
November Bill
change of number
the cell phone itself...its working but not for long..by his admittance he dropped it in the toilet
He did some type of text gaming thing on the phone that charged 9.99 and then subsequently for any times he played. I beleive he played twice?
4 get it now downloads
4 411 calls

He even used the most minutes out of 2100 shared minutes between three phones (1035) luckily I don't call people alot neither does my mother

to end, is there anything that I can do with this guy and getting my money back since he gave me the phone back? I sent him messages but he just deleted his profile and said that it was my phone...hence my problem? What should I do?
Thanks in advance

 

[jacksgal]

Anyone can sue anyone for almost anything. The question is can you win and is it worth it? If you have any written agreements or proof that this was not a gift that will help. A record of payments made already etc. Now I realize your out some cash but again is it worth it? Is this about the money or your hurt? Sometimes we learn painful lessons. Yes you can sue him and it will take some time to see a court date. Even if awarded a judgment he cannot be "forced" to pay without another trip to court to seek a lien or garnishment. Again very time consuming. Example OJ Simpson was ordered to pay Goldman's and Brown's over 34 million dollars. He has not paid any or very small amount of that almost ten years after ruling. So can you sue? Yes you can. Is it worth the time to do so?

 

[MaryKB]

I know that it is mostly hurt and irritation but I kind of want to teach him a lesson too. He always wants a handout and this handout stops here. I have a text where he agreed to pay me the 55 but thats about it. The only reason I hesitate to use that in court is because I dont want to be awarded only the 55 since I was agreed to that.

 

[jacksgal]

Ok not trying to be rude. When did it become your place to teach him a lesson?:angel Life itself will do that.:yes:

 

[dee_dub]

Suing to "teach someone a lesson" is always a bad idea. Judges will usually recognize your motive and be less sympathetic to you.

That said, suing in small claims court isn't a bad idea here. Claim everything you're entitled to, bring your receipts, bring a written record of any conversations or agreements you had.

The $125/$55 for the phone is problematic. You're only entitled to what he owes you, and it sounds like you may have agreed to accept $55. On the other hand, maybe you only said "whatever" because you were pressured, or you thought the alternative was getting nothing.