S
SignorFrancesco
Guest
What is the name of your state? California
I am posting this for a friend of mine who is afraid to come forward.
My friend moved into an apartment and needed phone service. My friend was recently divorced, had 50% custody of his children, and had severe money problems. My friend could not get phone service in his name, because of the size of deposit needed at that time.
The phone service in the apartment was still on from the last tenant. My friend received a deliquent payment notice for the phone service for the last tenant, along with several others for various accounts.
Because my friend needed phone service, due to the divorce agreement, he decided to just pay the last tenant's phone bill until my friend could get service in his own name, and until the service was finally shut off by the other guy. He figured that the last tenant would shut off service and get new service somewhere else. The last tenant never shut the service off, for about two years this went on until my friend got his own money problems solved, and so my friend just kept paying under his own name.
My friend finally got service turned on in his own name. When he called the phone company to cut off the other service, explaining that the last tenant had just moved out without shutting off service, the phone company contacted the last tenant's parents and confirmed that he'd moved.
Several months later my friend moved from the apartment and paid his final bill. He'd mistakenly paid the money to the last tenant's account, and had to get the error corrected. Somehow a balance was left on the last tenant's account, and my friend decided he'd pay that as well, just because he felt it was the right thing to do.
In the move, my friend forgot about this situation, and several months later remembered. My friend contacted the phone company and explained the mix up. The phone company gave my friend the collection agency's number where the last tenant's account had gone to. My friend contacted the agency and paid the balance.
My friend is afraid that the last tenant will eventually try to get service again, call the phone company, and they will require him to pay a deposit from the balance he owed way after moving out from that apartment. The last tenant could then possibly find out that my friend used the phone service that was left on, and that the account had gone to a collection agency. The last tenant was sent many collection agency notices during the two plus years my friend lived at the apartment, so the last tenant was apparently not very concerned about such things.
My friend wants to know if he can be arrested, sued or jailed for having taken part in any of this. Is this fraud? Was it illegal? What should he do from here to make sure this isn't a problem in the future?
I am posting this for a friend of mine who is afraid to come forward.
My friend moved into an apartment and needed phone service. My friend was recently divorced, had 50% custody of his children, and had severe money problems. My friend could not get phone service in his name, because of the size of deposit needed at that time.
The phone service in the apartment was still on from the last tenant. My friend received a deliquent payment notice for the phone service for the last tenant, along with several others for various accounts.
Because my friend needed phone service, due to the divorce agreement, he decided to just pay the last tenant's phone bill until my friend could get service in his own name, and until the service was finally shut off by the other guy. He figured that the last tenant would shut off service and get new service somewhere else. The last tenant never shut the service off, for about two years this went on until my friend got his own money problems solved, and so my friend just kept paying under his own name.
My friend finally got service turned on in his own name. When he called the phone company to cut off the other service, explaining that the last tenant had just moved out without shutting off service, the phone company contacted the last tenant's parents and confirmed that he'd moved.
Several months later my friend moved from the apartment and paid his final bill. He'd mistakenly paid the money to the last tenant's account, and had to get the error corrected. Somehow a balance was left on the last tenant's account, and my friend decided he'd pay that as well, just because he felt it was the right thing to do.
In the move, my friend forgot about this situation, and several months later remembered. My friend contacted the phone company and explained the mix up. The phone company gave my friend the collection agency's number where the last tenant's account had gone to. My friend contacted the agency and paid the balance.
My friend is afraid that the last tenant will eventually try to get service again, call the phone company, and they will require him to pay a deposit from the balance he owed way after moving out from that apartment. The last tenant could then possibly find out that my friend used the phone service that was left on, and that the account had gone to a collection agency. The last tenant was sent many collection agency notices during the two plus years my friend lived at the apartment, so the last tenant was apparently not very concerned about such things.
My friend wants to know if he can be arrested, sued or jailed for having taken part in any of this. Is this fraud? Was it illegal? What should he do from here to make sure this isn't a problem in the future?