cheap roommate

i shared a house with two other roommates. i paid the deposit and first months rent for all three of us. i got stuck with most of the bills in my name as well. when i moved out one roommate owed me about 450 dollars and the other one had paid me back. the bills were changed out of my name and i left with the agreement that the last of the bills would be taken care of by my roommate that owes me money. the other roommate gave her part of the bill money to the one who said she would take care of them and she told me she had. i recently recieved notices from bill collectors saying the bills had not been payed. the roommate responsible still owes me the money and has been writing bad checks for her present bills. is there anything i can do to get her to pay me back my 450 dollars, or at least pay the bills? i am currently looking for employment in the town i moved to and expecting a baby and i don't have the money to pay them and forget about what she owes me.

I am a law school graduate. What I offer is mere information, not to be construed as forming an attorney client relationship.


Go to State Law Center, then Small Claims, then your state.

Contact a Small Claims court in the county where the apartment was located. Ask them to send you a 'complaint package'. It will include a complaint form, prices and instructions on how to take action against your debtor.

Also, if you haven't already, you need to contact ALL the utilities and creditors involved and have them remove your name from any and all billing. While talking with them, ask them to send you a copy of all outstanding bills with your name on them (I suggest using a 'neutral' address, like a relative rather than your current one).