View Full Version : money squabbles with the family...
i pay about $40 for verizon wireless right now (400 minutes), and my brother and his wife just got a family plan because their old cells didn't work in their office buildings. they hardly use any of their minutes (700) so i asked them if i can join to their plan for $10/line. they said fine. so i go through the dance with verizon, calling them, signing some papers to transfer account to one of their names, so i can keep my number, etc. then the bombshell,
sister-in-law : so, how much are we going to charge him? $20?
brother : how about $25?
it's not that i can't afford this, but it's kind of a rotten thing to do. especially since i offered to up their minutes to 1500 for additional $30/month (incl minutes and extra line). i know i still come out ahead, but i am a little pissed that this even came up. this is a brother for whose twin kids i opened a college saving account and contributed generously to it every year (they will be 2 in a two months, so another contribution is coming).
sorry if this is boring.
http://z.about.com/d/urbanlegends/1/0/A/C/gone_fishing.jpg
Shajen
09-15-2005, 12:30 PM
It's your brother.
Tell him to stop being a douche.
Escape
09-15-2005, 12:34 PM
SIIHP?:o
[ QUOTE ]
It's your brother.
Tell him to stop being a douche.
[/ QUOTE ]
ethan
09-15-2005, 12:56 PM
If this weren't someone with whom I wanted to maintain a good relationship, I'd say something along the lines of "sure, charge me whatever you want! I'll just take it out of what I'm putting into YOUR CHILDREN'S COLLEGE FUND." It depends on how good these people are with subtlety. If they're not-so-good, which appears to the case, you may have to be less passive-aggressive.
I suggest: "What? [censored] you, nevermind you cheap motherfucker. I'll keep my own [censored] plan." This might sound exaggerated, but were I to end up in your situation with one of my friends it's pretty much verbatim what I'd say. I'd probably insult him a bunch too.
I should point out that my relationships with my friends could more than withstand such a thing, largely because they'd see my point of view here.
In your place, I'd probably say "what? oh, nevermind" when they try to charge you extra and just switch back to your original non-family plan. If these are the sort of people who'll get obnoxious over $10, I want to keep my finances as separate from them as I possibly can.
PITTM
09-15-2005, 01:16 PM
[ QUOTE ]
i pay about $40 for verizon wireless right now (400 minutes), and my brother and his wife just got a family plan because their old cells didn't work in their office buildings. they hardly use any of their minutes (700) so i asked them if i can join to their plan for $10/line. they said fine. so i go through the dance with verizon, calling them, signing some papers to transfer account to one of their names, so i can keep my number, etc. then the bombshell,
sister-in-law : so, how much are we going to charge him? $20?
brother : how about $25?
it's not that i can't afford this, but it's kind of a rotten thing to do. especially since i offered to up their minutes to 1500 for additional $30/month (incl minutes and extra line). i know i still come out ahead, but i am a little pissed that this even came up. this is a brother for whose twin kids i opened a college saving account and contributed generously to it every year (they will be 2 in a two months, so another contribution is coming).
sorry if this is boring.
[/ QUOTE ]
if your brother is trying to make a profit off you for nothing i would say stick with your plan and let him know youre not that into douchebaggery...
rj
i am sensing "douchebag" is a theme here.
MrMoo
09-15-2005, 01:42 PM
Maybe I'm misunderstanding. They hardly use any of their minutes now. You upgraded their service so that it's effectively $30 more per month. They want to charge you $25 per month. Is all that right?
Shajen
09-15-2005, 01:47 PM
No, with the family plan, you can add a phone for $10 a month.
But his brother and SIL wanted to charge him much more than the $10, like $20-$25.
Not a lot, but IMO not something you do to blood.
MrMoo
09-15-2005, 01:54 PM
Read his last paragraph. It certainly seems to me that 1500 extra minutes he purchased, along with the extra line costs an additional $30/month compared to their old plan.
Ulysses
09-15-2005, 01:57 PM
[ QUOTE ]
No, with the family plan, you can add a phone for $10 a month.
But his brother and SIL wanted to charge him much more than the $10, like $20-$25.
Not a lot, but IMO not something you do to blood.
[/ QUOTE ]
I don't think it's that unreasonable at all for him to pay 1/3 of the total price here. If everyone has to pay $10 per phone and the core service is $30/month, then paying $10 ($30/3) + $10 = $20 seems reasonable and fair. Maybe I'm missing something.
Shajen
09-15-2005, 02:14 PM
Because they aren't actually out anything by him paying the $10 on their plan?
The only thing that's questionable is if he actually offered to up their minutes by $30 a month but still expects to only pay $10.
As I said, this is (in my opinion) doing him a favor and what I expect family to do.
[ QUOTE ]
Because they aren't actually out anything by him paying the $10 on their plan?
The only thing that's questionable is if he actually offered to up their minutes by $30 a month but still expects to only pay $10.
As I said, this is (in my opinion) doing him a favor and what I expect family to do.
[/ QUOTE ]
the family plan is $70 for 2 lines, which they already have. more minutes for 3 lines would be $100 total.
i offered to pay that difference between the two plans ($30). they didn't decline, but it would be pointless because they only call each other, and don't need the extra minutes. i agreed.
instead, they want me to pay $25. i never thought they would try to extract money from me this way. hence, i am angry.
PocketJokers72
09-15-2005, 05:40 PM
[ QUOTE ]
i never thought they would try to extract money from me this way. hence, i am angry.
[/ QUOTE ]
ok...say for instance, they are going to spend a week at a cabin and invite you to go with. The cabin costs $98per week for 2 people, and $1 per day for each additional person. How much do you expect to pay? $1 per day for 7 days ($7) or $105/3=$35?
Sephus
09-15-2005, 06:09 PM
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
i never thought they would try to extract money from me this way. hence, i am angry.
[/ QUOTE ]
ok...say for instance, they are going to spend a week at a cabin and invite you to go with. The cabin costs $98per week for 2 people, and $1 per day for each additional person. How much do you expect to pay? $1 per day for 7 days ($7) or $105/3=$35?
[/ QUOTE ]
i understand what youre getting at and agree that he should pay a little more than the $10 he's actually costing them, but a person takes up space in a cabin whereas if they are wasting the minutes anyway there won't be any change for them, so it's not a great analogy.
RunDownHouse
09-15-2005, 06:29 PM
[ QUOTE ]
i offered to pay that difference between the two plans ($30)....
instead, they want me to pay $25.... hence, i am angry.
[/ QUOTE ]
I'm very confused.
Lazymeatball
09-15-2005, 06:52 PM
How would you feel if you had the option to add two lines onto your $40 plan for $10/line and they only gave you $20 total for it.
The idea here is that you are all joining one plan in order to save money for everyone, not just you.
The reason additional lines are at a discount is because the inital lines are sold at a premium.
[ QUOTE ]
How would you feel if you had the option to add two lines onto your $40 plan for $10/line and they only gave you $20 total for it.
[/ QUOTE ]
just fine. i am serious. however, that's only because they are family. if it was just a friend, i'd feel different.
Ulysses
09-15-2005, 10:57 PM
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Because they aren't actually out anything by him paying the $10 on their plan?
The only thing that's questionable is if he actually offered to up their minutes by $30 a month but still expects to only pay $10.
As I said, this is (in my opinion) doing him a favor and what I expect family to do.
[/ QUOTE ]
the family plan is $70 for 2 lines, which they already have. more minutes for 3 lines would be $100 total.
i offered to pay that difference between the two plans ($30). they didn't decline, but it would be pointless because they only call each other, and don't need the extra minutes. i agreed.
instead, they want me to pay $25. i never thought they would try to extract money from me this way. hence, i am angry.
[/ QUOTE ]
So, they are now going to pay $80 for 3 people, and want you to pay $25, less than 1/3 of the cost and also less than the $40 you were paying. I think you should be happy, not angry. They do you a favor by letting you get on their plan and save money, and you are angry at them? WTF?
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