Roomate Refuses to Pay Share of Utility Bills
My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Oregon
I have been renting a house for 5 months with 4 other roommates and all utilities bills have been paid on time until this last month. The 5 of us all had a VERBAL agreement to split the utility bills 5 ways. Example of a bill would be: $100 for water bill we'd divide it by 5 and each pay $20.
This last month one of our roommates is refusing to pay her share of the bills costing ME the money. When deciding who would have the bills in their name we all verbally AGREED I'd have the bills in my name and they would all pay me back accordingly when the bills came in. I have texted this roommate several times about her needing to pay the bills and so have our other roommates. I have even confronted her in person and she's still refusing. She has now said she will report for harassment if we text her again.
What are my best options in getting her to pay me back? Would small claims court be where I handle this? If my other 3 roommates know she has agreed upon paying the bills this way can they help testify in court?
Re: Roomate Refuses to Pay Share of Utility Bills
Small claims is worth a shot if your witnesses/room-mates will testify. Unless you are texting/emailing/calling incessantly, trying to collect a debt is not usually considered to be harassment. What kind of agreement do you have in writing?