A few years back, Weggieboy received a call at home from Work Friend. Friend needed a co-signer on a telephone contract, and would Weggieboy sign for Friend?
Weggieboy’d never co-signed for anyone before, but had worked with Friend for decades at the hose factory. Though Weggieboy knew Friend had some money crises from time to time, Weggieboy also knew Friend worked these out. Though Weggieboy wasn’t really thrilled to co-sign for Friend, Weggieboy also felt Weggieboy could if Friend understood Weggieboy was doing it with the condition that Friend keep up with the bills. Weggieboy’s credit rating was at stake!
Things went well from August until April. Weggieboy got a letter from Viaero noting the telephone bill was two months in arrears, and Weggieboy needed to pay up to the tune of $267 (Weggieboy thinks it was) by a certain date, or the bill would be turned over to a collection agency. Friend’s bill..!
Weggieboy stormed down to Viaero to deal with the bill, to pay it before hell struck Weggieboy’s credit rating. Weggieboy’d deal with Friend at work! By coincidence, when Weggieboy was getting ready to write a check for Friend’s delinquent bill, Friend walked in, ready to pay the bill. Friend and Weggieboy discussed the letter. Weggieboy reminded Friend of the condition Weggieboy’d made to co-sign for Friend. Friend was apologetic. Friend’s Adult Child (whom Weggieboy didn’t know at first was going to be on the contract, too, and whom Weggieboy likes but knows Child isn’t always responsible in money matters) had a Buddy who owed Child money, but left town before paying it to Child. Child, then, was unable to pay that part of the bill that was Child’s responsibility: Friend was stuck with the bill, couldn’t pay right away, and it rolled over into a threatening collection letter to Weggieboy.
Child, once again, had put Friend in a bind. Some Adult Children are like that. But (it seemed) this time Child got a taste of Child’s own medicine, was the victim of a deadbeat not paying money owed Child. Irony. Weggieboy loves it, but this time was blinded by it, too. Weggieboy forgave Friend, felt sorry for Friend because it wasn’t Friend’s fault Child’s Buddy stiffed Child.
Time passed. A second time Friend asked Weggieboy to come down to Viaero to co-sign a contract. Weggieboy reminded Friend of the incident above, pointed out Weggieboy probably wouldn’t have signed in the first place had Weggieboy known Adult Child was also on Friend’s contract.
“Oh, it won’t happen again!”
Until November 22 of this year.
Viaero once again contacted Weggieboy, by telephone, but this time Friend’s arrears bill was $449.39, an amount equal to what Weggieboy pays for telephone service for NINE MONTHS! Weggieboy can’t relate. Weggieboy can’t ignore Friend’s bill either, because Weggieboy’s credit rating typically is in the low 800s. No wonder Viaero liked Weggieboy’s signature on two separate contracts! The poor service representative was very tolerant while Weggieboy ranted about Friend’s perfidy, Adult Child’s irresponsibility, and the fact the there was another name on the bill, Absolute Stranger Of Whom Weggieboy’d Never Heard, and that was particularly galling! The first two have spotty records, but the latter could be God only knows what.
Weggieboy notified Friend, who in the recent past (Weggieboy guesses) moved out of state, that Viaero told Weggieboy Weggieboy owed $449.39, and that Friend’s name, Adult Child’s name, and Absolute Stranger Of Whom Weggieboy’d Never Heard’s name, too were on the back of the bill, that it was not Weggieboy’s account number, but Friend’s: The bill would be paid, Weggieboy told the customer service representative, but Weggieboy had some questions.
Question 1: Was the contract the second one or a third one Weggieboy was unaware of. It seemed to Weggieboy enough time had passed that Friend surely was on a third contract. Weggieboy wasn’t on the contract (Weggieboy thinks the customer service representative thought Weggieboy meant was Weggieboy listed on the contract, not had Weggieboy signed it, but that’s another day’s issue.) “No, I don’t see Weggieboy on it,” said the customer service representative.
Question 2: Since Weggieboy seemed to have liability as a co-signer for Friend, did that give Weggieboy authority to cancel the contract, too? Weggieboy repeated Weggieboy would pay the bill and any fees to cancel the contract, if the latter was possible. “Yes, that can be done,” said the customer service representative. “And Weggieboy guarantees Weggieboy will NEVER co-sign for Friend or anyone else again, ever, no matter how much boo-hoo is tossed in Weggieboy’s face!”
Today, Weggieboy went down to the Viaero office in freezing cold (1 degree F or -17.2 degrees C) to get clarification. Weggieboy explained Weggieboy’s concerns to the customer service representative. She looked up Friend’s account: cancelled! Weggieboy asked about early cancellation fees since Weggieboy wanted to clear all matters today, put the Viaero part of this nightmare to rest so Weggieboy could work on the next part: Collecting $449.39 from Friend, who noted there’d been financial stress in Friend’s life lately, but Friend’s good intention is to repay Weggieboy “by Christmas”.
Weggieboy has all the documents Weggieboy needs to file a small claims court case against Friend if the money doesn’t arrive in time for Christmas. “What a shitty thing to do to someone at Christmas,” Weggieboy thought. “On the other hand, it was a pretty shitty thing to ruin someone’s Thanksgiving AND Christmas with a phone call telling Weggieboy Weggieboy had to cough up $449.39 at this time of year, the time car insurance and assorted other expenses hit!!!”
Those who know Weggieboy best know Weggieboy has no sense of humor about money matters. Weggieboy manages Weggieboy’s limited funds, and doesn’t understand others who don’t or can’t manage theirs.
Weggieboy doesn’t hate Friend, but Weggieboy thinks Friend, who lopped off the “X” on Xmas*, now wears a Scarlet “X” in front of “Friend”: X-Friend. It is a hard lesson indeed for all concerned.
X+X+X+X+X+X+X+X+X+X+X+X+X+X+X+X+X+X+X+X+X+X+X+X+X+
* Before anyone gets huffy with me about “Xmas”, note that the usage is old.
I learned a long time ago never to co-sign for anything for anybody. Most of the people I have known who have done such things have ended up paying the bills they cosigned for off and I have seen many friendships ruined by both co-signing and by making loans to friends. Your story is heart warming because it shows you have a kind, caring, generous and considerate nature.
Just as you say, John: she’s no longer a friend (though she still owes me the money she supposedly was paying back by last Christmas), and I’ve learned the lesson of never co-signing. She can go to hell, frankly. I doubt I’ll ever see the money, but if I do, it won’t repair the friendship. she lied to me, she screwed me out of a substantial sum of money, she is irresponsible, she used my good nature to hurt me. Not qualities one wants in a friend, eh!? Anyway, I don’t hate her, I just don’t like her any more, and hope she pays for this in many ways other than just losing a good friend who came through for her when she needed someone to help her get a phone.
Thanks for sharing with me. God bless you for your kind and generous heart. I hope you do not get hurt by those you trust anymore. Once is enough.
I will help[ people in future, but never by co-signing and only if I give something of value as a gift, with no expectation of a return to me. (I drive veterans from time to time to VA appointments and other places. I don’t accept money from them for doing this, but I do tell them they should pay it forward to someone else who needs help if they can.)
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Nothing like a good rant to make you feel better. A rant and getting rid of the problem. Hard lesson, now well learned. And no, I don’t need money and won’t ask for any. 🙂
You got that right, leggypeggy! I tend to stew about things like this, so writing it out serves that purpose PLUS helps document the chain of events should I have to go the small claims route for failure to pay me back by Christmas. I personally think I’m going to get either stiffed outright or hear a terrible tale of woe about why Friend can’t pay me back until…who knows when? That’s why I collected all the paperwork possible related to this situation. If I do get paid, I will give Friend a receipt for the amount paid.
Ugh, what a nightmare! I hope it resolves itself instead of dragging out during Holiday Season! Hugs!
Thanks! If it doesn’t resolve itself, I have no one but myself to blame for falling a second time to a plea to co-sign when put on the spot. I couldn’t come up with a compelling reason not to since the first incident got covered by Friend the same day I went down to take care of it. That was the wrong conclusion to draw, however, as this account shows. A hard lesson indeed.
I know what you mean, but you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself. It’s an admirable quality, trust. I’m just sad your ex-friend broke something so precious.
Friend definitely loses here. I extended trust one time too many, though history tells me I probably extended it twice too often. It was a useful lesson for me, but I doubt Friend will grow any from the experience.
That’s a big ouchie! I am so thankful that I use prepaid services. I can’t believe that he added all of those people after promising not to. Crazy.
Friend is a nice person, but sometimes seems incapable of thinking things through. If Friend’s Adult Child typically drops the ball when money’s involved, Friend shouldn’t put Adult Child on the contract, is my thought. Friend has pretty much mothered Adult Child all his life, and the end result is “Mom will take care of it if I screw up.” That’s what I see, at least, as do others.
p.s. If Friend can’t give Adult Child tough love, perhaps it is my place to give Friend tough love. The world doesn’t hand things to me on a platter, and Friend isn’t obligated to treat Adult Child that way when Friend has serious financial needs of Friend’s own. Adult Child is 43 going on 10 in matters of finances. Too bad, too, because, as I noted above, I actually like Adult Child. (And Friend, for that matter. Just not this irresponsibility that impacts me financially…which, I guarantee, pretty much assures a change in our friendship, perhaps an end.)
It seems like that happens a lot. Parents have trouble allowing their children (even if they are adults) to fail. In the end, everyone ends up in a pickle.
Ouch! And double ouch! Hoping this turns out OK in the end, and that you don’t have to go the court route! Woof!
Me, too, but, regardless of how this turns out, it is a hard lesson for all concerned. Money does that. As I noted in the post, I have no sense of humor when money is involved.
I always use xmas-x on chritmas-xmas.
I cosigned once for a friend to buy a car for $4000 and two days off of the lot the car blew up and she left it along side the road and called and told them to come and get it.
She refused to pay and they offered to garenshee my wages and I ended up paying for the damn thing.
Car set in my car for two years and i sold it to the junk yard when it was paid for.
After car was paid for friend called again and said because he name had been on the contract along with mine she has good credit now because the car had been paid for and wanted to know if I would once again cosign for a new car she was buying.
I went to the car dealership and told them if my name appeared on anything she bought I would sue them.
She never got her car and I never heard from her again even though I tried to find her.
Hard lesson learned.