confused25 Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 Not sure if this is the proper forum for this . . . but I just need some opinions on the situation with my roommates. I just had a screaming match with one of my roomates over the utility bills. Just to give a little bit of background on this, I live with 2 other roomates in a two bedroom apt. They are strangers I found over the internet. When I first moved in, we've established that all the bills will be split three-way every month. Since their names were on the bills, they usually just leave me a note each month saying how much I owe for the month. And I never checked the billing statements. The amount has been pretty consistent for a while but for the past couple of months I noticed that it has increased. Didn't really think too much of it until I got the amount for this month and it was unbelievably high. So I asked one of them to show me the billing statements. A quick calculation showed that she has been splitting the bill two-ways instead of three. So I asked her why she did that and she gave me a nasty reply "well your bf is always here, so you'll need to pay for that, nothing in this world is for free you know!" I was like, um, ok. My boyfriend is here maybe like 2 weekends out of the whole month, I usually visit him the other weekends. And so they are gonna tell me that just because he's here two weekends out of the month, that I would have to pay for his portion of the utilities? Does it seem a bit reasonable to you guys? Anyways, I got pissed off and we started screaming back and forth until the other roommate calmed us down. Am I being unreasonable?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annie24 Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 I think you need to sit down and talk to them. the original plan was 3 ways, so it should stay that way. If they get into nit-picky things about your boyfriend being there, then how about stuff like, well, I went away that weekend, so I shouldn't have to pay, and I wasn't at home last week, thereforeeee, I'm not paying. I think you guys need to work up some kind of compromise. do they have boyfriends too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarnelianButterfly Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 Nope, but you should get the agreement to split bills a set amount in writing. Get all the bills, so that everyone sees what is on the bills and then do the math together. Do you're roomies not have friends over? If they do it should even out. Don't let them take advantage of you. I had a crappy roomie that skipped out on bills a lot and was a slob, you have to take care of yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
confused25 Posted July 29, 2006 Author Share Posted July 29, 2006 Hi Annie, Thanks for the quick response. I actually live with a couple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annie24 Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 good point CB. they have friends over too sometimes, right? I definitely also agree with sitting down at the table and paying the bills together at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annie24 Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 their argument doesn't make sense. The electricity would have been on, the refrigerator would have been running, etc, regardless of whether or not your boyfriend was there. Or anyone at all! I know before I moved into my condo, there were a few weeks were it sat empty, I had a $30 electric bill! The fridge, oven, all those appliances use small quantities of energy. I think their argument is bunk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renaissancewoman101 Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 Stuff like this is why I like to live alone. I would rather live alone in a small studio than have to deal with stuff like that. For one thing, I have a problem speaking up and tend not to complain until it builds up inside me, then I blow up about it. I agree with the others, you should sit down with your roommates and get it in writing about what your portion of the utilities will be. Also, they should not be raising a stink about you having your bf over as a guest two weekends out of the months. They have guests over too, I would presume and if you arent making trouble or causing trouble with your bf, then they have nothing to complain about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
confused25 Posted July 29, 2006 Author Share Posted July 29, 2006 At this rate, I dun think she's gonna be willing to back down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annie24 Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 she has no legal standing. she can take you to small claims court, but she won't win. the original agreement was "split it 3 ways" and having your bf over 6 days a month isn't going to make much of a difference. it's not like he was there the entire time! she can't just re-negotiate the terms of the agreement. by the way, what did you guys say about visitors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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