Am I responsible for this bill??

[stryder]

What is the name of your state? Washington

My boyfreind took a cell phone from an aquaintance, who ordered it, but didn't want it. We asked her to transfer the phone to his name, because the phone company would not even talk to me about the bill. They said she had to do it. She didn't.
She did't deliver all the bills to me in time, an dht phone company refused to talk to us about it. We got behind on the payments. The bill went to collections, and almost tripled in size!
She has repeatedly asked for the $, and we have never told her we would not pay it. We only asked for her to make arragements with the collection agency for a payment plan (which she said she did) and to give us the adress to send payments to. (This girl is a drug addict, and we don't want to hand her any money.)
She has refused to give us an adress for months, and now she's taking us to small claims court.
The bill is in her name, and it was NOT our fault that it went to collections, as she refused to deal with it.

 

[JETX]

Thank you for sharing that story with us.
Are we to assume that there was a legal question in there somewhere??

 

[stryder]

Am I responsible for this bill?

Why yes.
As a matter of fact, there is. I thought that it was right at the top where it says "Am I responsible for this bill?"

I was just concerned about this matter, and was wondering how much of this bill I am responsible for, since I was not at fault for it going to colletions, and inflating so much. What do you suppose a judge would say, and what shoul I say in my defense in court? I really have never dealt with this sort of thing before, and have no experience with the legal system, and don't know what to expect.
Thanks for your concern, and I'm glad you were entertained by my story.

 

[HomeGuru]

Yes, you are responsible for the bill and any related collection costs.

 

[JETX]

Agreed.

 

[stryder]

thank you for the responses......

i don't have any problem with paying the origional bill, as we said we would. i just don't feel i should have to pay all the added on expenses, because she never once brought the bill to me on time, and she's the one who allowed it to go to collections.
also, will we be required to give her the money, or can we insist that she give us the adress to send the payments to? if i give her $ and she doesn't pay the bill withit, am i still liable to pay the phone company? what will this do to her credit? mine?
thanks for your time. i appreciate it!

 

[JETX]

"i just don't feel i should have to pay all the added on expenses, because she never once brought the bill to me on time, and she's the one who allowed it to go to collections."
*** And as soon as you realized that there were issues on the billing, you should have stopped using the phone and sent her a WRITTEN demand for a bill and stated that you would NOT be using the phone in the future and would not be liable for any additional charges after that date.

"also, will we be required to give her the money, or can we insist that she give us the adress to send the payments to?"
*** If she gets a judgment against you, you will have to pay her. Some states do provide for payment directly to the court, but then the court would only pay her. What she does with the money is up to her.

"if i give her $ and she doesn't pay the bill withit, am i still liable to pay the phone company?"
*** No. The phone is in her name. When you pay, just make sure that you get a signed receipt and a release from any further claims.

"what will this do to her credit? mine?"
*** If the phone bill is ENTIRELY in her name, without his name showing anywhere, then it will only affect HER credit and not his.

"thanks for your time. i appreciate it!"
*** You're Welcome.