Around 2 years ago, when I turned 18, my mother begged me to put my name on her section 8 lease. Being naive I agreed after she explained that meant I could stay with her when I needed to without running into any problems. A few months later, she called me in distress about how she couldn't turn her utilities on and how awful it would be for my many younger siblings (knowing they are a soft spot of mine) and begged me to put the gas on in my name. She promised to pay any fees, and had me go down to get a paper notarized agreeing she was responsible for any of the bills. The past few years up until now she has refused to give me any of the account information and after contacting national grid, I've learned that I owe over 4,000 on my account. I do not have a very good relationship with my mother, and she has a history of doing these kinds of things with other people and family members. Should I make a fraud claim, or would I even be able to since I technically gave her permission? Or is my notarized statement valid and if so, how would I go about getting rid of this debt? It is affected me greatly as I now have bad credit and am in debt. I'm trying to move forward but this has made it very difficult.
Ex: a woman may need a two bedroom apt because she has a child. When that child leaves for good, she has to make HUD aware of the change because she is now only allowed a 1 bedroom apt.
I am not sure what you are asking but sometimes we all give benefit to the doubt when we shouldn't.
You might consider an hour of time with a lawyer you see if there is any other recourse, but when we sign our names to things it is usually well and certainly DONE, and the results can be dire indeed. The thing that concerns me is what Stacey says below. She is pretty smart on these things, and if there was some nonsense being done re section 8 you could be in legal trouble. I will revise my "you might consider a lawyer" to "see one now".
I sure wish you the best and I sure am sorry for what has happened to you.
Please consult an attorney!
The debt would be an easy fix, your problem is the Section 8 voucher and possible cover up of income. You need to speak with a lawyer on this one.
I am assuming here that you are still living home? If so, with this 4k debt to the utility company, you may not be able to get the utilities set up elsewhere under ur name until that debt is paid. I was on a committee at Church that dealt with helping residents in the community with utility bills and rent. We came across this problem. They couldn't move elsewhere until that debt was paid. I am really surprised your Moms service was not cut off during the warmer months. They can't shut utilities off in the winter especially if there are children. The bill has probably gotten this high because Mom put down the kids and she was section 8. We had a man move from out of town that owed $1800 in electric. He allowed our chairman to call the electric company to confirm what was owed (we paid directly to the utility/landlord money was owed to). She found out his debt was from another town he had lived in. She asked how was he able to get electric hookup if he owed. She was told because of his circumstances. He was elderly, on SS and on HUD.
Practically speaking, there just aren't that many ways of getting rid of debt.
Pay it off.
Settle. I don't know if it works with utilities, but some debts are sold to debt collectors for pennies on the dollar. They, in turn may settle for lower amounts, especially if paid in full. If pursuing this strategy, you'd make save up something like half of the money owed, offer it to the collection agency, and make sure you get a paid in full confirmation before sending them a cashier's check.
Prove fraud. Criminal conviction is great proof, but it doesn't sound like a crime was committed here and most people wouldn't want to risk putting their mother in jail.
Wait out the statute of limitations. If you don't pay anything on a debt for an extended period (varies by state but probably somewhere between 4 and 7 years) after it become delinquent, the creditor can no longer pursue their claim. This may be complicated if you mother occasionally paid to keep utilities connected and restarted the clock, but if you disconnect, she it sounds like she is unlikely to pay.
Bankruptcy. This is a pricey way to restructure debt and keep assets securing some of the debt (car, house, business property, etc.) and seems unlikely to be useful for you.
Consult appropriate legal advice to make sure you are doing it right. You can start with resources at your local library.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that she's also on disability and collecting for your younger siblings off of it. This would be why they haven't shut off the electricity. The good news for her is that they won't shut the power off if she makes a token payment of some kind. The bad news for you is that if you move out and want to get electricity hooked up in your name somewhere else, you won't be able to until the full balance is paid off. Also, she isn't doing her JOB that the government pays her to do which is take care of her kids. Her kids are the reason why she gets Section 8 and everything else attached to it. So her kids are actually her employers. They are the reason she has a home to live in, food to eat, and cash in her pocket. Her job performance is pretty poor, so she needs to get fired.
Take your documents and file a court claim. You won't get a cent from your mother, but you can force her to grow up and take some responsibility for herself and her kids. She's an adult. People like this know all the loopholes and how to work the system and skate through life because someone else always takes responsibility for them.
Get that bill and any other OUT OF YOUR NAME NOW!
Then let them shut the electricity off. You will likely be held responsible for the balance, but they may let you make payments. Take your mother to court though. Force her to grow up.
Call the utility company to get a feeling for their willingness to be flexible in this situation. Then call an attorney to see if they'd give you a free consult or represent you pro bono (for free) as a hardship case. Even though you were of legal age, you were also naive about a lot of things, like most 18-year olds. You *may* be able to work this angle. I wish you the best possible outcome, and peace in your heart as you persevere to set things right.
It's just possible that the piece of paper she gave you to have notarized has some kind of legal weight, but seriously - what are the chances? Even if it does establish that your mother is responsible for payments the payments have not been made and this is your account for which you are liable; besides I doubt if the contract with the utility company allows for any such guarantor's arrangement. You need to get that account closed down.
Have a look online and see if there are any debt counselling charities in your area. They can be very helpful, but be VERY selective - do not get conned by bottom-feeder low-life scum debt consolidators preying on desperate and vulnerable people. You want advice, not loans or paid services.
Did you get a copy of the notarized statement that you signed? You signing that she is responsible is worthless, so I suspect that it really gave your authority to open the accounts. If she signed saying that she was responsible, that would be a paper that you'd really want to have.
The companies won't just take you off of the accounts, but they should let you disconnect service.
The fact that the bill is $4,000 and they haven't shut the power off yet is because there's a handicapped person on disability in the residence. That's the only reason why the lights are still on. I'd be willing to bet she worked this scam somewhere else and ran the utility bills up through the roof from lack of payment, then moved to different housing. This is why she has to put the light bill in her kid's name. That's absolutely disgusting and I'm not ashamed to say so. Ruining your kid's credit for years to come before they've even started out in life because you're a reckless freeloader who screws off on their responsibilities is shameful.
I don't know if this is still a practice. And I don't believe it would be retroactive though.
This is really a delicate, but unfortunate situation. Your mother possibly committed fraud when she convinced you to sign a Section 8 lease, making false representations. But the issue might be in proving that she specifically intended to defraud you (see below).
Do some reading here, and acquaint yourself with the legal standards for fraud accusations and prosecutions:
What is Fraud? - FindLaw
https://www.findlaw.com/criminal/criminal-charges/fraud.html
Fraud vs. Lying: the difference
https://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2013/01/fraud-vs-lying-whats-the-legal-difference.html
The second article, by a well known online legal source, addresses the difference in "intent" when fraud is charged.
This is a list of Consumer Protection attorneys in Rhode Island. You might want to start reviewing their websites to decide on one (or more) to interview.
https://lawyers.findlaw.com/lawyer/practicestate/consumer-protection/rhode-island
Consumer Protection is the practice area in which to locate fraud attorneys.
"She promised to pay any fees, and had me go down to get a paper notarized agreeing she was responsible for any of the bills."
This intrigues me; more information is needed. Where did you "go down to", what "paper" was notarized? Did your mother sign it? If not, she committed to nothing, as you can't commit to her obligations. This "paper" even might not be valid.
I feel so badly for you, to be treated in such a despicable manner by a parent. I haven't addressed your last questions b/c answers to some raised in this post would affect your chances for recovery.
How much a court will order her to reimburse you depends a lot on what that notarized "paper" says. Is it a promissory note? Is there a set amount she agrees to repay, or is it vague and somewhat open ended? Do you have any other documentation, such as e-mails or text messages, showing she agreed to pay for this? If so, make sure you save anything in which she acknowledges she is responsible to pay you back.
I think there are a few things you need to do kinda right away:
1) Get your name off that account ASAP. This should be your first call.
2) Talk to the utility company and explain the situation. I don't imagine they will out and out forgive the loan, but you might be able to work out a doable payment plan with them.
3) Tell them you want copies of all of the bills, so if you decide to pursue your mom in court, you have documentation that these bills are for your mom's home, not yours. If your name is on the account, there is no reason they should have to refuse to give them to you. You don't have to depend on your mom to get them. I would also check those bills very carefully, and make sure that the only thing on them is the cost of the gas to only the 1 apartment.
Have you co-signed anything else with mom? If so, I would check on those accounts as well; if you have, and she is current on those accounts, get your name off of those as well!
I understand that you were doing this for the good of your younger siblings, and I think it is awful that you are being put into this position by your mom. I hope you can come to some sort of favorable resolution to this!
A high school friend's dad did the same thing to him when he was underage. It destroyed his credit before he even had credit. Fortunately, his girlfriend's dad was an attorney and took care of everything for him. Perhaps you'll find someone who can help you, too.
Those exist for a reason: so people can't wiggle our of debts and show responsibility for their choices. Also to prove you are who you are, but that's a whole other thing.
HOW IN THE WORLD did the gas bill get to $4k in 2 years? I'm not judging you, I'm just very curious. I haven't spent $4k on gas services in almost 10 years.
You DO need a lawyer to get you on the right track. I do not know if this can be fixed quickly or if you are going to be on the hook for a while.
Is mom's name also on the bill? If so, that will help. If it's just you, then just you are responsible.
This will probably have to be dealt with in a court setting, or perhaps just in front of a judge, IDK. I wish you luck--that's a big ol' debt for a young person.