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is small claims court right for me?

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Saucon21

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

I just gave my Girlfriend 30 days notice to leave and take her stuff, I feel I am owed $570 for racing tixs she agreed she would pay me back for over Christmas for her father for a gift with her tax refund, well that come and went and did not get repaid. She has refuses to pay 50% of the electric bill, Cable and Internet bill which will total about $110 for this month bills(her share, total is over $200), in the near future I will get billed for water/sewer bill and trash bill and depending on the month I feel she is to pay 50% of it depending what months are billed. She was paying the electric, cable and internet in full up until 3 months ago when she refused to pay all of it and just started to pay 50% of it and as the home owner I had to pay the rest as i did not want it to go against me, so she has a history of paying it in full for several months time span. We were paying a patio set, chest freezer and a coffee table we are roughly 50% invested as it stands, but the layaway contact is under my name and I will end up making the final payment of $121 on or before 9/29, not sure what to do about that, I am planning on returning the freezer which is about $180, in total it is near $800 or $900 for all three items.

Do I even take it another step forward and try to get her for damages to my walls and breaking items( glass bowls, a George foreman grills and such), I have photos of that and other stuff and harm she has done to her stuff since she has been with me. i am not sure what to do I am in a pickle, I need the money to make sure i can live as I just got laid of from my job, the money would more or less go to the debit I got into with her and the items I am still trying to pay off I gave her that and heating oil for the winter

Thank You for any advice
 


OHRoadwarrior

Senior Member
Cancel the layaway, take the money to pay your bills and let it all go. You appear to have little to no proof of anything to present to the judge.
 

Proserpina

Senior Member
Even worse, OP cannot have the ex's wages garnished.

Not in the great state of Pennsylvania!

OP, you have photos. They prove nothing about who was actually responsible for any damage. I honestly don't think you have a case here, at all. Even if you did, and got a judgment against her, how would you collect?
 

Saucon21

Junior Member
What should of proof would I need, that was be helpful to know. Would a payment history with my local energy company showing the bill paid though two different account and payment be proof enough? and the other bills as well?

Or for the racing though, have my credit card number on, I have the email it was sent out with and have a text message today asking her to pay it and she agreed she owed me that?

And I have to complete the contact or lose my share and to be honest I want the patio set and Coffee table

Not sure how collecting even work, am I to guess she would not have to pay anything even if I won against her over something, That is confusing

Ok so what do I do about a necklace she broke and just got repaired( I had a plan on it so it cost nothing to fix) I got the call today to pick it up, can I just keep it for myself then
 
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Proserpina

Senior Member
What should of proof would I need, that was be helpful to know. Would a payment history with my local energy company showing the bill paid though two different account and payment be proof enough? and the other bills as well?

Or for the racing though, have my credit card number on, I have the email it was sent out with and have a text message today asking her to pay it and she agreed she owed me that?

And I have to complete the contact or lose my share and to be honest I want the patio set and Coffee table

Not sure how collecting even work, am I to guess she would not have to pay anything even if I won against her over something, That is confusing

Ok so what do I do about a necklace she broke and just got repaired( I had a plan on it so it cost nothing to fix) I got the call today to pick it up, can I just keep it for myself then

Provide a contract or lease where she agrees to pay X, Y or Z.

Is the necklace yours? If so, yes - you can keep it.

If it's hers, you better make sure you return it to her.
 

Saucon21

Junior Member
Thank you for the advice, all of it is very interesting. Yes I bought the necklace for her( got it two months ago and still paying on it) and took it to Littman Jewelers to get the chain fixed, and now it is waiting to get picked up, which I believe only I can do that. Do I just leave it there?

So in essence she can go around punching holes in my walls, cutting my walls with a knife, and breaking my stuff and I can;t do nothing about it.

So the cellphone bill is in her name and I was paying half of that can I now stop paying it? I did not sign anything as it is under her name
 
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Proserpina

Senior Member
Thank you for the advice, all of it is very interesting. Yes I bought the necklace for her( got it two months ago and still paying on it) and took it to Littman Jewelers to get the chain fixed, and now it is waiting to get picked up, which I believe only I can do that. Do I just leave it there?

That's up to you.


So in essence she can go around punching holes in my walls, cutting my walls with a knife, and breaking my stuff and I can;t do nothing about it.
If you made police reports etc., you might have recourse.

So the cellphone bill is in her name and I was paying half of that can I now stop paying it? I did not sign anything as it is under her name

Yeap, you're under no obligation to pay her cellphone bill.
 

Saucon21

Junior Member
Am I to guess if I do get the necklace from Littman Jewelers I have to return it to her? Am I to assume whatever is a gift I get to keep and so would be for her? this gets sort of confusing thank for the help again

if we disagree who owns an item whatever it may be what happens to the items, as it is under my roof does it have to stay there until deiced by a third party if it would come to that? Do I take photos of everything of mine in case something disappears if I am not home and she shows up and something is missing that is mine when I come home? I put my valuable in my safe and removed her's out of it, other stuff I have put in my garage only I have the key to it.

I do have to give her 30 days correct to get all her stuff out of my house? if so then I can not change my lock until then?
 
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Proserpina

Senior Member
Am I to guess if I do get the necklace from Littman Jewelers I have to return it to her? Am I to assume whatever is a gift I get to keep and so would be for her? this gets sort of confusing thank for the help again

When you give somebody a gift, it is generally considered permanent. There are one or two exceptions to this (engagement rings come to mind). So yes - if she gifted you a new TV, you get to keep the TV. You bought her a necklace, she gets the necklace.

if we disagree who owns an item whatever it may be what happens to the items, as it is under my roof does it have to stay there until deiced by a third party if it would come to that? Do I take photos of everything of mine in case something disappears if I am not home and she shows up and something is missing that is mine when I come home?
If you have proof of ownership, let her prove to the court that the item actually belongs to her.

Of course you could also sit down as adults and figure out amicably what you're going to do. :)
 

Saucon21

Junior Member
I am pretty sure she will not be amicably, I asked her to come over and have a sit down so we can figure out bills, her cat, and a few others things and all I got was I have plans( which seemed to be drinking and eating with friends instead of settling it) . She is the type of person who likes going "I bought you those shoes i want them back"or the ugly curtains and such so amicably not so much from her stand point. I would prefer not to come home and not have any pants, underwear, jeans or shorts LOL. That and defuse the situation before anything happens
 
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