emsr2d2

I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this already, but I told a friend I would try.

My previous flatmate (who is now my friend!) used to share this flat with another girl. The Telefonica phone/internet account was in my friend's name. Each month, the bill would come in and they would split the line rental and internet costs and work out their respective call costs.

All great. Except then the other girl decided to move out and go back to live in Ireland. A week after she left, the most recent phone bill came in. Clearly for the whole of the last month, she had spent the entire time on the landline, calling Ireland and mobile numbers. Her share of the bill came to €183. Of course, my friend had to pay the entire bill or risk being cut off.

Months of trying to track the girl down in Ireland came to nothing. All of the contact numbers had been disconnected etc and no-one seemed to know where she had gone.

However, my friend has now also moved back to Ireland and has found out where the other girl is. She is refusing to give my friend a penny for the bill, saying she doesn't have a job and should be let off.

The small claims court in Ireland doesn't deal with anything involving debts, and probably not something that happened in a foreign country.

Does anyone know if there is anything that my friend can do, either in Ireland or even back in Spain, to try to force the money out of the other girl? Needless to say, there was never a written arrangement about who paid what, just a "gentleman's" agreement!

Thanks.

SueG

I think you have probably answered yourself in your first line!!!!

steviedeluxe

What Sue said. Put it down to experience. Of course she can publicise/shame the other party if she wants to in that town where she lives, but that may just build up further problems ahead. Just try and avoid this situation (via deposit etc) in the future "Fool me once - shame on you. Fool me twice - shame on me!!"

sensationalfrog

next time get skype