My old roommate wants to sue me

[legalhelpplss]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I recently moved and I used to live rent free with my boyfriend's dad since my mom kicked me out. I lived in one of his houses that got foreclosed on before I moved to another one of his houses where it was me, my bf, my bf's dad and my bf's cousin. At the house that was foreclosed on, a electric bill of over 1k was acquired (don't ask me how cause I don't know), and around July of this year it was transferred over to the second house. My bf's cousin put the bill into their name so the balance would begin at 0 again, but come the next bill they had transferred some of the money over and the second bill they transferred the rest causing the bill to be over 1k again.

My bf's cousin paid off the entire bill and asked me for 'my share' which was around 300+. I had no intention of giving them money because I was low on money in the first place and they have screwed me over for money before. Plus, I was really close to moving out so I kept telling them I had no money, I hadn't gotten paid yet, so they would get off my case. They know very dangerous people, and one day I came home to them screaming and telling me they were going to 'torch me' because I hadn't given them money yet so I figured it was better to appease them than to straight up tell them I wasn't giving them any money.

I moved out, the beginning of October and a week or so ago they told me to pay up or they were taking me to court. I don't really think that they have a case against me considering I didn't even have a lease for the place I lived at, nor did I ever agree to give them any money. I never even asked them to pay me money for the cable bill that was in my name, so I didn't think we were even splitting bills. It seems like a jerk-move to let someone pay 1k on an electricity bill and not put in money for it considering I used electricity too, but our bad blood goes a lot deeper than that and I don't want to give them any of my money.

They texted me last night saying that they needed my address to serve me and my boyfriend and I refused and told them I didn't owe them any money and they don't even have any evidence against me. They sent me a clearly doctored photo of me agreeing to give them money, and said that they already talked to a judge and that I've been served. I haven't received any paper work and I've looked all over the CA court websites to see if there is even a public record of the case--there isn't. They told me that I deserve it and it's going to mess up my credit really bad and they told me that I have until Monday to give them money or they would file for a hearing and that they've already won based on my texts and my refusal to give her my address.

What I want to know is-- is this legitimate? Can they take me to court without me even receiving papers for it? Is this extortion? I'm really worried and I don't even have a lot of money to begin with because I pay rent and bills and I can barely make a living as it is. They also said that they've already won their case and the court is going to take money out of my paycheck to pay the money I owe them (they're asking for like 2k now). Can they do that without my address? How will they know it's even me? I'm just very confused about this whole process and would appreciate some help. Thanks in advance

 

[Proserpina]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I recently moved and I used to live rent free with my boyfriend's dad since my mom kicked me out. I lived in one of his houses that got foreclosed on before I moved to another one of his houses where it was me, my bf, my bf's dad and my bf's cousin. At the house that was foreclosed on, a electric bill of over 1k was acquired (don't ask me how cause I don't know), and around July of this year it was transferred over to the second house. My bf's cousin put the bill into their name so the balance would begin at 0 again, but come the next bill they had transferred some of the money over and the second bill they transferred the rest causing the bill to be over 1k again.

My bf's cousin paid off the entire bill and asked me for 'my share' which was around 300+. I had no intention of giving them money because I was low on money in the first place and they have screwed me over for money before. Plus, I was really close to moving out so I kept telling them I had no money, I hadn't gotten paid yet, so they would get off my case. They know very dangerous people, and one day I came home to them screaming and telling me they were going to 'torch me' because I hadn't given them money yet so I figured it was better to appease them than to straight up tell them I wasn't giving them any money.

I moved out, the beginning of October and a week or so ago they told me to pay up or they were taking me to court. I don't really think that they have a case against me considering I didn't even have a lease for the place I lived at, nor did I ever agree to give them any money. I never even asked them to pay me money for the cable bill that was in my name, so I didn't think we were even splitting bills. It seems like a jerk-move to let someone pay 1k on an electricity bill and not put in money for it considering I used electricity too, but our bad blood goes a lot deeper than that and I don't want to give them any of my money.

They texted me last night saying that they needed my address to serve me and my boyfriend and I refused and told them I didn't owe them any money and they don't even have any evidence against me. They sent me a clearly doctored photo of me agreeing to give them money, and said that they already talked to a judge and that I've been served. I haven't received any paper work and I've looked all over the CA court websites to see if there is even a public record of the case--there isn't. They told me that I deserve it and it's going to mess up my credit really bad and they told me that I have until Monday to give them money or they would file for a hearing and that they've already won based on my texts and my refusal to give her my address.

What I want to know is-- is this legitimate? Can they take me to court without me even receiving papers for it? Is this extortion? I'm really worried and I don't even have a lot of money to begin with because I pay rent and bills and I can barely make a living as it is. They also said that they've already won their case and the court is going to take money out of my paycheck to pay the money I owe them (they're asking for like 2k now). Can they do that without my address? How will they know it's even me? I'm just very confused about this whole process and would appreciate some help. Thanks in advance

This absolutely sounds like you're being scammed.

With that said, if they served you by alternate means because you refused to give your address or they can't find you, it's possible that they could have sued you.

But it honestly doesn't sound legit. I think they're full of manure. For one thing, the court isn't going to chase you for the money; what happens is that the creditor goes to court and asks for a writ of garnishment. Then your employer receives an order to deduct the amount.

What's the timeline? When did they first start threatening you and when did they say they've already won the case?

 

[legalhelpplss]

They said that they were going to take me to court probably around monday or tuesday of last week--then yesterday they said that today was the last day they had to serve me and that I've been served and they've already won and if I don't give them money by this monday, they're going to file for a hearing this coming monday.

 

[Proserpina]

They said that they were going to take me to court probably around monday or tuesday of last week--then yesterday they said that today was the last day they had to serve me and that I've been served and they've already won and if I don't give them money by this monday, they're going to file for a hearing this coming monday.

Hon, they are absolutely full of manure.

That's just not how it happens.

Relax - enjoy your weekend and if anything does happen next week, come back and we'll see what options you have.

Seriously - think about blocking the numbers, too.

 

[Eekamouse]

Actually, I think you SHOULD pay some of the electric bill since you were there, using the electricity and why should you get that for free?

 

[Proserpina]

Actually, I think you SHOULD pay some of the electric bill since you were there, using the electricity and why should you get that for free?

Because there was no promise to pay and no contract either.

 

[legalhelpplss]

It's really complicated. There's a lot of reasons, I used to help pay it before it was in her name like 4-500 bills were what we had. The dude who owned the house didnt care if it got paid even though he lived there. She stole money from us and threatened to kille amd i just don't think that's the way you go about things. If anything, the dude who owns the house should have to pay because it was his bill that got added on that she wants me to pay for... When i wasnt the one who racked up that 1k charge.

 

[Proserpina]

It's really complicated. There's a lot of reasons, I used to help pay it before it was in her name like 4-500 bills were what we had. The dude who owned the house didnt care if it got paid even though he lived there. She stole money from us and threatened to kille amd i just don't think that's the way you go about things. If anything, the dude who owns the house should have to pay because it was his bill that got added on that she wants me to pay for... When i wasnt the one who racked up that 1k charge.

While I'm not disagreeing with Eeky on the moral stance, legally the story is different - the bill was not in your name, nor is there a valid contract where you promised to pay.

You have no legal obligation to pay.

 

[legalhelpplss]

I should also mentiom that the dude who racked up the 1k charged promised to pay the bill cause of high usage but obviously never did.