My cousin stole my phone??

Question

My 11-year-old cousin stole my phone and used it, and recently returned it to my purse thinking I would not notice. She ran up over a 300 dollar phone bill talking to her "boyfriend". She cried and complained saying that her mother never wanted to by her a phone and that she didn't know it would cost so much money.

I got the bill and found dozens of calls to a number I didn't remember. I called it and a 11-year-old boy answered saying, "Hey baby." I talked to his parents and found out the two had been going out and she had no idea that the girl was using a stolen phone.

My aunt wants her to work off the payments through babysitting and odd jobs but I told her I WANT THE MONEY NOW. Should I take her to court?

Answer 1

i think  taking her to court might solve the problem! and i would think it's very rude for her to take your phone!

Answer 2

You could file a police report, but that can cause a rift in the family.  But, you may need it to challenge the charges that your cousin made.  Taking her to court could also cause a rift in the family.  Who do you plan to take to court?  Your cousin or aunt.  Your cousin is a minor, so you may want to check and see if she even can be sued.  

Sit and talk with your aunt about your phone bill and her daughter's contribution to it.  Explain that with the economy the way it is, you are watching every penny and cannot justify swallowing an extra whatever it was over your normal bill.  

If you can swallow it for now (meaning you aren't deciding between the phone bill and say, groceries or rent or the light bill), pay it, and then set up a repayment plan for your cousin to pay you back plus interest.

Then set up a password lock on your phone so no one but you and whoever you give the password to can use it.  Change the password if you had to give it to someone.

Answer 3

WOW!! An 11 year old sending pics like that. not surprising tho in a world like this!! ok, I would talk to the mother privately, and tell her that you want the money now, or I am gonna have to take you to court!!! Be firm, but dont raise your voice!! Tell her that $300 dollars is alot, and that you need it to pay the bill!!

Answer 4

I don't blame you one bit for being angry. Try asking your aunt for the money up front. If you take your aunt to claims court, you risk being 'outcast' from the rest of your familly, but do what you have to do..this is c**p! It will take her forever to pay you, if she ever does, and I don't think she has any intention of giving you a dime of her 'babysitting' money..it will be spent by the time she gets paid. I wonder if she has done this to anyone else?..It's worth finding out, and it would help you with being outcast from your familly if you do go to claims court.

Answer 5

The mother should pay and get daughter to pay HER back. That would be the proper thing to do.

Answer 6

She needs to pay it, it's her child that did this. I would keep telling her. It may be awkward if you have to take her to court but yes you could do that, small claims. She needs to be responsible for her child's actions. If my child did that I would know that I needed to find a way to pay it and I would ground my child for a very long time and make them do chores to pay Me back.

Answer 7

Your aunt needs to know that you mean business and that you need your money now and that her daughter can work it off in the meantime and re pay her. At 11 years old she is old enough to know that she was wrong and that everything costs money. She is too young to have a boyfriend and thats another issue your aunt needs to deal with. I see alot of court cases about cell phones so if you feel that it has come to that hey I would take her and her daughter to court. Good Luck

Answer 8

The mom should pay n make her daughter pay her back. The mom should b responsible 4her daughter if her daughter is going 2act like such a child.                                                      Can u please answer my question                                      http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...

Answer 9

tell your parents, and make her mom pay!

that stinkx tho, sorryy

Answer 10

The mother is legally responsible for all bills that her child incurs because of the child's age.  The mother can be taken to small claims court and made to pay this bill, especially since no one denies that her daughter did it.

What she does to her daughter to have her daughter pay her back is between the two of them.