Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia

Re: authorized user of cell phone

It is not in your interest to tell Verizon or the bill collectors that you authorized your brother-in-law to use your phone. As you are not, prior to a lawsuit, legally obligated to give them information, you needn't do so. If your brother-in-law exceeded his authorization, that may be a defense, however weak, to your being liable on the bill. You could sue your brother-in-law in small claims court in the County Court where either of you lives. There is information about this at the courthouse and on the internet. Should you obtain a judgment you could then send copies of that judgment to the credit bureaus for reporting on your brother-in-law's credit reports.

Re: authorized user of cell phone

Your contract with Verizon almost certainly makes you responsible regardless of who's using your phone. Trying to get Verizon to look to your brother for payment is going to be a complete waste of time, and I can tell you for sure that it won't work in court.

If Verizon sues you, you can "implead" your brother, in effect telling the court, "I'm not necessarily liable for this bill, but to the extent I am liable, Brother ought to be liable to me for the amount of the payment."

There's lots of technical dodges you can use on the debt collectors under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, but again and at best, that's just going to make someone else liable for the amount you have to pay Verizon.

I'd get the money from Brother right away, and pay the bill, if I were you, and if he won't pay voluntarily, sue him in small claims court in the city or county where the phone was used or where he lives.

Do it now; Verizon is not going to go away, they don't care whether it puts you and your kids on the street, and the law is pretty much on their side.

Here's a simple principle to remember: when you make a contract with someone, you're responsible for your part of the contract. You can't shift the burden, the blame, or the responsibility, just because some third party may be responsible to you for the charges. This comes up a lot in hospital charges for which insurance ought to have paid but didn't - the insurance company is not liable to the hospital, the patient is. Your option in this kind of situation is to pay the bills and sue whoever owes you for the payments.