Skirting the Issue
My roommate had poor circulation, was scarily skinny, loved to wear skirts and, therefore, was cold even on warm days. Since we lived in Illinois in a house built during the 1930s, it was very drafty even in warmer weather, and downright freezing once October hit. By November, my roommate was constantly complaining that she was freezing and would walk around in a skirt and a thin top, complaining how cold she was.
Throughout winter she kept the thermostat at about 80 so the gas bills, which were in her name, ended up being enormous — sometimes more than $300 for a single month! I helped her pay the bill a couple times, but by February, I’d had enough. I told her that either she turned down the thermostat or she paid the bill on her own. Given that she neither turned it down nor asked me for money, I figured she’d decided that her comfort was worth $300 of her hard-earned cash.
In May, when we were cleaning up to move out of the apartment, I reminded her that she owed me $13 for a CD I’d picked up for her. She agreed, went into her room, and came back about 10 minutes later with a piece of paper.
I asked her what it was, and she replied, “What you owe me.”
“Owe you?” I asked.
On the piece of paper was an itemized bill for my half of the gas bill from February through May. She’d done all the math, subtracting the bills I paid (electric and cable), taking into account the nights I’d bought her dinner or picked things up at Target for her and came out to over $250.
I stared at her, trying to acertain if she was serious, but she didn’t even crack a smile. I told her I’d have to pay her once I started my summer internship. All summer, she e-mailed me once a week, reminding me how much I owed her, her address and that she’d prefer a check to cash. I decided after the third e-mail that I wasn’t going to pay her and set her up as a spammer on my account. I thought that was the last of her.
Over a year later, we ended up in the same wedding party. Near the end of the reception, she came up to me, handed me a piece of paper with her address and the amount on it, and reminded me that I still owed her the money. I told her that I’d get a check in the mail to her and she walked away. Of course I never sent her anything, but I have a letter prepared should she contact me again.
Wow – if I were her I would have sued you. Are you saying you never benefited from gas being pumped into the house during those months? Just because the bill was high due to her behavior doesn’t relieve you of your duty to pay your share. And her being anal by itemizing everything you actually did pay for did you a favor; she very well could have just handed you a bill for your half of the gas. Glad that you just decide to ignore your debts instead of negotiating or paying them. I bet that has served you well in life.
I agree. Author is a cheap asshole. And quite a coward since she(?) lies continuously – instead of at least being honest about her cheapness.
Pfff…. And since she payed nothing for gas – Does that mean that she thinks that if the thermostat was set on 68 instead of 80, the gas would be free?
And then ask for $13 bucks – for a f-ng CD?
I say …assho…
You had us until you said you lied to your former roommate. Several times. Are you a coward or just unable to handle confrontation? You did good in informing her that the bill was on her hands if she didn’t want the thermostat set to a more reasonable place for the both of you, but you didn’t follow through when she handed you the bill? Seems to me you didn’t tell her anything from the get go and continued your childish way of handling confrontation.
Since you VERBALLY agreed to paying the bill, obviously several times, here’s to hoping your former roommate reads this and gets to k now her legal rights with that $250. Maybe you will learn that with roommates, communication and following through with what you say is far more beneficial.
Also, I am that cold, skinny roommate that doesn’t wear parkas inside.
you would think that with the money she saved on food and clothes she could have paid the gas bill.
Yeah, you just come across as cheap and as a very, bad room mate. I bet your room mate will post her side of the story any day now!
Call me crazy, but I think I’m with the author on this one. It shouldn’t be teh authors problem if her hot blooded room-mate wants to waltz around in the Winter half naked. I mean, fuck, I wouldn’t pay either. Especially after the author already talked ot her about it asking her to knock it off and she never asked the author for a cent after that. So how is the author cheap?
SpankySeptember: If you and your friend buys 10 apples everyday and you only eat 3 of them.
Would you say its your right to eat those three apples every single fucking day, promising to pay later, time after time, and then hide like a coward during the rest of your fucking life?
You must be a democrat.
@ Spanky – Did the roommate have the thermostat under lock and key? Likely not. So, why didn’t the OP do HER part and turn down the thermostat when she could. That’s a constant battle in almost ANY roommate relationship. And just because she suddenly declared “I don’t wanna pay that bill no more” doesn’t relieve the OP of actually paying the bill. Furthermore, the author obviously didn’t suddenly stop taking advantage of the gas being pumped into their house. And she quiet obviously DID ask for a “cent after that” since she handed her a bill. So many people get in trouble because they don’t pay a bill and then they wait thinking “they’ve just forgiven the debt, yay me!” and then they act surprised when the money they’ve owed all along is demanded.
I agree that the roommate wasted energy by turning up the temp, but that doesn’t excuse the writer from paying her half of the bill. The writer is lucky that the ex-roomie hasn’t taken her to small claims court!
wow, OP sounds like an asshole, and cheap. I hope the ex-roommate takes the OP to court, and gets the money she’s owed! The situation could have been handled by OP in a much more mature and helpful manner, too bad she decided on the coward’s way.
My first year out of college, I had the same thing happen. My roomie stayed home all day, had all the appliances going, AC blasting, and energy consuming. The only difference is, we agreed that I would not have to pay half of the ridiculous bills that came in. Every month I’d send her a check for a portion of the rent, and she was free to consume as much energy as she wanted.