[SnarkFish57]

I have a relative who, because she and her husband traveled a lot, was subscribed to Sirius satellite radio for several years as a convenient “luxury”. I also subscribe to satellite radio, on a completely separate account. A couple of years ago, her husband was laid off and she had to cancel her subscription. While on vacation together in 2009, I offered to add her and her husband's radios to MY account and to pay for her usage until she was back on her feet and able to afford “luxuries” again. It averaged less than $30 a month and I never asked her for a dime and never sent her any of my statements showing what her part of the charges were. Every few weeks or so, she would call me and ask for my checking account number so she could deposit funds into my account. She lives in another state, but would go to a local branch of the bank I used and make the deposit in cash directly into my account. I never told her what amount to deposit. When she told me what she HAD deposited, after the fact, it was always more than necessary to cover what I was paying for her part of the subscription. I constantly told her this, but she usually said 'well, you can always use the extra money'.

A couple of months ago, she got mad at me for some truly asinine reason (that's a story in itself) and told me to “disconnect” all my connections to her (i.e. Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites we communicated through online). So I did. And because she had been so adamant about never wanting to speak to me again, I also removed her two radios from my satellite subscription before the beginning of the next billing period.

She then emails me threatening to sue me for the unused portion of the subscription she claimed she was due, in excess of 6 months, PLUS her expenses for reactivating the subscriptions in her OWN name (her grand total, according to her, is $300+). I pulled all my Sirius statements from the past 3 years, calculated what I'd paid on her behalf and subtracted all the deposits she had made during that time, and by my calculations, she had no more than 2 or 3 months remaining in what she'd paid for, even taking into consideration that she overpaid what the subscription was actually costing me. Expecting me to pay for HER activations is beyond the pale.

My question is, what kind of proof does she need to go into Small Claims court and recover ANYTHING from me, since everything she deposited was cash, and there was never any written invoices that I ever sent to HER?

[ebaines]

She should have received deposit slips when she made those cash deposits, so if she has them then she has proof. But it seems here that you aren't disputing the fact that she made those deposits, or what the amounts were. Your argument is over (a) whether the excess amount were actually gifts to you, and (b) if they weren't gifts, what the excess amount was. Depending on the Sirius plan It seems that you think the excess was around $100? My suggestion is that you wrirte her a check for that amount, make a notation on it that says "Return of excess for Sirius Subscription ," and send it to her. Include a letter with the detailed accounting as to how you arrived at that amount. If she cashes it then in effect she is accepting it as payment, and the matter is settled. She could still try to sue you, but she would have to provide evidence not only of the deposits she made but also the amounts you paid for her subscriptions in order to prove the excess amount - how would she do that?

[Dennis43]

I believe that she would have to file in your jurisdiction and since she is out of state, it probably would not be worth her time. Unlikely that she would follow through. She's probably just blowing off steam.

[SnarkFish57]

I'm planning on sending her what I've calculated she had left (around $90) but I'm not paying for her reactivations. She runs a small, home-based business and is one of those types that loves to haul people into Small Claims court to show off her amateur lawyer skills.

[ebaines]

I'm planning on sending her what I've calculated she had left (around $90) but I'm not paying for her reactivations.

Agreed. She requested that you sever all connections, and that's what you did - if you hadn't cut off the Sirus you would not have fulfilled her wishes. She made her own bed and must sleep in it.