Need some advice.

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My younger brother is on our cell plan with my wife and I. His ex girlfriend had her phone stolen so we felt bad for her and got her an spankin' new iPhone 7 on our plan. She had been paying us $50 a month for almost a year. They broke up and I asked for the phone back. She kept it and put it on Straight Talk. It still shows up as a line on our account. Short of finding her and taking it can I report the phone lost/stolen to Verizon and have it black listed? Or am I going to eat the rest of the $300 left on the device payments? I know, I shouldn't have, lesson learned.
 
I wouldn't take it. I'd rather have the police take it, and for $300 I'm not sure it's worth the effort.

I'd be tempted to tell Verizon it was stolen, but only if I was ok with pressing charges withe police. If I just wanted the matter to go away I'd eat the $300 as a lesson learned.

Sorry.

Oh: is brother going to stay on the plan with you? If it was me, and this might reflect poorly on me, I'd give serious thought about kicking him off.
 
This one is EASY. Your little brother is responsible for getting the phone back or the $300 payment. Its his girlfriend, its his responsibility. Tell him he owes you $300 immediately. If he any sense of pride and dignity, he will realize this is his problem, and not your problem, and make you whole. If he doesn't, I would cut him off your cell phone plan and threaten to never talk to him again. A pretty hefty price to pay over $300. Man up and handle YOUR responsibilities.

Originally Posted By: supton
I wouldn't take it. I'd rather have the police take it, and for $300 I'm not sure it's worth the effort. I'd be tempted to tell Verizon it was stolen, but only if I was ok with pressing charges withe police.


This is not a police matter. Nothing was stolen. Nothing should be reported stolen. It was always her phone, that belonged to her. The payment plan negotiated with the OP is a civil matter, and is absolutely, positively not a police matter. Don't even think about calling them, and wasting their time, as they will tell you the same thing.
 
Originally Posted By: bubbatime
This one is EASY. Your little brother is responsible for getting the phone back or the $300 payment. Its his girlfriend, its his responsibility. Tell him he owes you $300 immediately. If he any sense of pride and dignity, he will realize this is his problem, and not your problem, and make you whole. If he doesn't, I would cut him off your cell phone plan and threaten to never talk to him again. A pretty hefty price to pay over $300.


Ooh, I didn't think about that. I could be behind that.

edit:

Quote:
This is not a police matter. Nothing was stolen. Nothing should be reported stolen. It was always her phone, that belonged to her. The payment plan negotiated with the OP is a civil matter, and is absolutely, positively not a police matter. Don't even think about calling them, and wasting their time, as they will tell you the same thing.


Fair enough. Was thinking along the lines of it being taken, thus it was stolen.
 
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If it's on your account, it can be remotely wiped by the Find my iPhone app-guessing it's not on your iTunes? Might ask Verizon, I'm sure this has come up before.
 
I agree with Bubba. But if it were me I would just forget the whole matter.
But neither would I have bought an iphone 7. So you created this monster. Should have gotten her a 5i
 
Once the girlfriend took possession of the phone, it was her phone. Her property, that belonged to her. If she had bought the phone on a credit card, she would be in debt to the credit card company for the cost of the phone, but the phone would still be hers. The credit card company could not report it stolen if she stopped paying on her credit card bill. The same applies to the op. He was the "credit card" or "lender" in this case. She promised to pay the phone back, but didn't.

Hopefully this is a lesson to all about dealing with "family" and money. It can get ugly.

If you have an older, cheaper phone that the girlfriend can activate, MAYBE she would be willing to trade the expensive phone for the cheaper phone. Give her a sob story about your credit is going to be affected and you cant afford the phone payments and you are trying to find a "reasonable" conclusion. Distance yourself from the brother and tell her that she can be mad at him all she wants, but she shouldn't penalize you and your generosity.

If you are close with her parents perhaps you can send a word to them and ask for their help? Use REASONABLE and courteous communication, or they will shut you down. "We've always liked Nancy Sue and were heart broken to hear she broke up with Tommy. Followed by the relevant facts."
 
And unless you have some sort of insurance plan with the carrier or a third party (or you somehow turn it in on your homeowner's) then you're still on the hook for both the phone and the plan. FWIW AppleCare+ does not cover theft.
 
You bought a cell phone for your brothers Girl Friend? What on earth were you thinking?
grin.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Blkstanger
You bought a cell phone for your brothers Girl Friend? What on earth were you thinking?
grin.gif



Yea, especially of there was no quid pro quo involved! Just kidding...

You're screwed. The phone is gone. If you do most people a favor like this, they will screw you over, run you over then back up, and won't think twice about it. Which is why if you do someone a favor, you should never expect ANYTHING in return or any compensation.
 
Consider yourself lucky that she paid $600. Don’t let this drive a wedge between you and your brother. Move on, lesson learned.
 
Not wanting to be too callous but , ultimately you approved of all this and assumed the risk. Just eat the $300 and chalk it up a a expensive lesson learned
 
In cases such as this or if someone was reimbursed $2.00 for a $2.08 item they were asked to buy, a friend would always say, "Mark Twain said you never know someone until the time comes to split an inheritance."
Consider this a dress rehearsal.

Try the communications route. Getting the money from your brother is completely fair because you know they'll be sleeping together again anyway.

You're the good guy (sap?). They are the low lives.

We lock into our own little grooves and forget just how scummy and wretched people can be. Forgive my mocking tone.
 
Right, it's a civil matter. Either get the money from the brother or sue her in small claims court. Send her a demand letter and tell her she could be reported to the credit bureaus if it goes to court and she doesn't pay up.
 
Let me get this straight.....$50/mo for nearly a year...$450? $500?

And there's still $300 left to pay off??

WTH? Just how much do those things cost??
 
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