money squabbles with the family...

[cdxx]

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.

[Shajen]

It's your brother.

Tell him to stop being a douche.

[Escape]

SIIHP?

[Yeti]

[ QUOTE ]
It's your brother.

Tell him to stop being a douche.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ethan]

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]

[ 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

[cdxx]

i am sensing "douchebag" is a theme here.

[MrMoo]

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]

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.