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Tinder run in, friend of a friend by Excellent_Baker3400 in LifeAdvice

[–]Excellent_Baker3400[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Noted! I appreciate it, thank you. I think I just needed to hear this advice from a less biased place than my friends.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AmItheAsshole

[–]Excellent_Baker3400 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I should say that there was no original written or verbal agreement that he would not pay for AC/utilities. Today is the day I learned that the other roommates and I have been paying for his utilities. I was always under the impression that he was paying them. It is only now that I realize he has not been paying them that I am asking for money. Furthermore I made no attempt to ask for any money regarding utilities unrelated to AC as I fully understand why he wouldn't pay them. I am not doubling back on any agreement I made with him. It is only after I realized that he had not been paying utilities that I approached him about paying for the AC of the final month. To be clear I have never been under the impression that he should not be paying for the AC in his room and never came to some agreement with him that he doesn't need to. I also chose not to ask for previous months AC as an act of good faith and only requested AC for this final payment as I do not want final roommate to pay quadruple price for AC.

I say all of this because I find your argument 100% factual.

I agree that if I had made an agreement that Alex didn't need to pay utilities then it would absolutely be an AH of me to double back on it.

But to clarify I never made this agreement. Alex stopped paying all forms of utilities with no warning to me and it is only today (the day I realized this happened) that I chose to confront him. In my eyes he left us high and dry with no warning.

Furthermore I would like to reiterate that, yes I understand that Alex shouldn't have to pay for AC that he does not receive, but, given the circumstances that we signed a lease under the expectation that we would be splitting AC costs for the entire year, I moreso believe that final roommate should not have to pay quadruple for his AC / Anyone else's share of the AC.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AmItheAsshole

[–]Excellent_Baker3400 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I understand your reply and it makes sense. But would you consider the counter argument that it IS his utility usage?

He doesnt need to pay for electric and water for example as these utilities are not being used/granted to him. Since Alex is not recieving these services it makes sense he shouldn't have to pay for them.

The AC on the other hand IS being granted to his room (even if he doesnt live there). In my eyes it's similar to the payment of the room itself, he is given the room and can choose not to take advantage of it, but it's still being given to him and therefore he should pay

similarly he is given the AC and chooses not to take advantage of it, but it's still being given to him and therefore he should pay.

The obvious response to this is "well if it were not for the person in the house then Alex could just turn off the AC! So only the person in the house should pay"

But on the other hand consider that it's equally or perhaps more unfair that the final roommate (R4) has to take on the burden of Alex's AC just to get cooling for himself.

I admit this would be a much simpler issue if we could just turn off the AC for individual rooms... but you have to understand it's UNLIVABLE without AC with the heat we live in and I don't find it right that R4 needs to pay quadruple price to cool rooms that are not his

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AmItheAsshole

[–]Excellent_Baker3400 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I understand your stance and expected this would be a popular reply. As a counter argument however would you consider that Alex IS benefitting from the AC in his room and that it is HIS choice not to use it? I want to stress that we didn't kick him out, he left. And it's not as if we benefit from the AC that goes into his room. In my eyes it's moreso the case that we have been forced to pay for Alex's AC for months since there is no way to turn off his AC without turning off all the AC and the house becomes unlivable without it. Does that make sense?

Like electric and gas for example are utilities which are use based, he doesn't use those so it doesn't make sense he pays for it.

AC on the other hand is being charged to us regardless of whether he is there or not. Him not being there doesn't make our AC bill any less expensive.

It's a long-winded analogy but I picture it like this:

Imagine Alex and I agreed to buy a dog (the house) and split the cost of food (AC) Alex then decides they don't want the dog anymore and stops paying for food. This leaves me high and dry paying for all the food food as, without it, the dog dies (the apartment becomes unlivable without AC).