Employer stopped paying me...

[dmq383]

I live in Massachusetts. My employer (previous employer now) decided to stop paying me. It got to the point where he ended up owing me about $3700... Nows the tricky part.. Two months previous, I moved into a house that he had recently purchased and was renting-to-buy.

The agreement was that I would pay him $650 a month to live here. I paid him 2 months rent by check, and the months after that were deducted from the money he began to owe me. So we had been trading off rent for money he owed to me. Last week I recieved a call from the actual home owner and he told me that I need to move out as soon as possible. So I went through the paperwork I had and came up with a final dollar amount that he owed to me. He has been telling people that I actually owe him money now for whatever reason, even though thats in no way accurate. So my question is, what should my next step be after I move out?

I know that once I move, I will probably never speak to him again, but am worried that I would never see the money he owes me. Is it worth it to go to small claims court? Or should I just forget about it? To add fuel to the fire, he has paid me some cash, but only about $750 of the total $3700...

This guy has really become a scum bag and I know that I should just say forget about it, but at the same time I think he deserves to be punished for what he did so that he wont do it to anyone else... Im just so confused and am looking to be pointed in the right direction.

[Mileaway]

I live in Massachusetts. My employer (previous employer now) decided to stop paying me. It got to the point where he ended up owing me about $3700... Nows the tricky part.. Two months previous, I moved into a house that he had recently purchased and was renting-to-buy.

The agreement was that I would pay him $650 a month to live here. I paid him 2 months rent by check, and the months after that were deducted from the money he began to owe me. So we had been trading off rent for money he owed to me. Last week I recieved a call from the actual home owner and he told me that I need to move out as soon as possible. So I went through the paperwork I had and came up with a final dollar amount that he owed to me. He has been telling people that I actually owe him money now for whatever reason, even though thats in no way accurate. So my question is, what should my next step be after I move out?

I know that once I move, I will probably never speak to him again, but am worried that I would never see the money he owes me. Is it worth it to go to small claims court? Or should I just forget about it? To add fuel to the fire, he has paid me some cash, but only about $750 of the total $3700...

This guy has really become a scum bag and I know that I should just say forget about it, but at the same time I think he deserves to be punished for what he did so that he wont do it to anyone else... Im just so confused and am looking to be pointed in the right direction.


You can take him to small claims but is it worth it? That's your choice. If I had everything in writing I would. If I didn't, I'd move on.

Good Luck in your new job and home!

[mischastar]

Yes you would need documentation to back up your claims as otherwise you don't really have any evidence. When it becomes someones word against anothers, it will be very difficult to prove what actually happened.

This is especially true if you have received cash, as there is no evidence to say that he hasn't paid the full amount to you.

You need to weigh up the costs of doing this and possibly speak to a lawyer to find out if it is worth the money.