Okay, so I will be the first to admit that yes, right now, Jason & I owe people money. We have full intention of paying the total amount back when we get our Federal tax return. The people we owe to are aware of it and we are in mutual agreement & harmony. Please see earlier blogs for why we haven't gotten our Federal return yet. But that's not really the point of this-it was more thrown out in a c.y.a. style, because man do I hate being called a hypocrite. Fewer things make me more mad.
Back in late August or so, Jason's & my friend Molly came to me and asked us to do her a "huge favor". Okay, we thought, we can try. She explained that hers and her husband's cell phones were the pay-as-you-go type and they were ready to get rid of them and get newer ones so they'd have decent service and capabilities. Could we add them to our cell phone plan? Jason & I thought about it and told Molly that if we did it, they'd have to make sure they could pay their bills each and every month because we did not have the financial stability to cover for them. (up to that point Molly had demonstrated a loose grasp of financial management, to say the very least) Molly assured us it would be no problem, and one night we all met at the Verizon store downtown and added them to our plan.
The first month or two, everything was flawless. Then a little before we were all due to move down to Alabama, I got a bill from Verizon and it had jumped up another $200. I was in shock and read it over & over trying to figure it out. I noticed then that somebody had added a Mi-Fi device (personal Wi-Fi) and added it to the account. I thought it had been a mistake, so I called Molly to see what she knew about it if anything. She said that yes, Fred had done that the other day to make it easier on himself to have internet capabilities when he's out in the middle of nowhere working as a landscaper. (lets ignore the fundamental problems I have with that statement for now) The bigger problem is this, of course-Fred should not have been able to add anything to the account unless he pretended to be Jason; or if he said that he was adding it to the account "owned by his friend", Verizon should have called Jason to verify this as an okay thing before going ahead and doing it. Neither happened. I informed Molly that it had made the bill jump up $200, so their monthly owed amount would be $350 for right now. She said that was fine.
Then it came to moving and they were pouring all the extra money they had into being able to move, just like we were. Well, we still had the Verizon bill to pay.
We all moved to Alabama, and Molly had a job, just like Jason. It only took me a couple weeks to be able to find a job as well, and we were communicating regularly about the owed money. I made a couple of off-color comments about it on my FaceBook which Molly took as majorly offensive and we didn't speak for a while. We smoothed things out, although they never have quite been the same. In December, Jason & I started asking her again about the money for the phone bill, because we have been, at this point, on a payment plan with Verizon to keep our phones from being shut off. Molly assures me that since her husband has been working and getting paid regularly, that they will be able to pay us, and gives me a payment date & amount. Day passes, no money. We again go through the same thing-this much money by this day. Day passes, no money. Excuses from her about not having any money to do anything, this-and-that happened.
Jason & I have tried to be sympathetic. Empathetic, even. About 2 weeks ago or so, Jason sent Molly a message effectively saying "enough is enough" and he would be giving them a couple more weeks and then sending a letter indicating his pursuance of the matter through Small Claims Court. She messaged him back saying that they didn't have anything, so it wouldn't do him any good. She did say that when she returned from her work-travel to Memphis, she would send Jason hers and Fred's phones and the Mi-Fi thingy. We heard nothing further and have received no equipment.
A few days ago Jason sent her a certified letter explaining how much she owes, the bills demonstrating what she is responsible for and saying that she has two more weeks to show progress (make a payment, make a payment arrangement) or he would indeed file in Small Claims Court as he had mentioned. The card came back in the mail yesterday showing us that they had received the letter and information.
Molly, in her infinite maturity, defriended Jason, me and MIMI from FaceBook as well as off her son's FaceBook. Apparently since we are holding them to what they said they would do, we can no longer be friends. And not only can we no longer be friends, our children can no longer be friends. Very mature. Thanks. So now I get to explain to my child why she can't be friends with Molly and/or Greg anymore, much as I hope Molly will explain it to her child. I just hope she tells the truth.
No comments:
Post a Comment