Brittany vs. Evil Ex-Roommate: The Saga

Shortly after moving to Madrid in September of 2009, I found an apartment just 5 minutes from my previous academy.  I wanted to live with a few Spaniards in order to practice Spanish more.  Being in a rush to move our of the previous place I was living, I took a room with 2 Spanish guys and a Swiss girl.  The roommates changed every few months as the Swiss girl returned home and other people moved in and out.  That is for the exception of one guy who we´ll refer to as El Diablo (aka ED). 

Well, we had our normal roommate drama within the house.  You know things like someone didn´t wash their dishes and who was the last person to buy papel higenico (toilet paper)... things like this.

I lived there until the end of June 2010 when I finally decided I wanted a change in scenery.  Plus, I went home to the US for all of July and didn´t really want to pay rent for a room I wasn´t going to be living in. 

I told my roommates at that time of my plans, including El Diablo and everything was fine.  I started packing up little things as I looked for a new apartment to move into that next August.  As May was coming to an end, I asked ED if he wanted to use my fianza (security deposit) to cover my last month of rent.  He said he´d prefer if I paid so he could collect my deposit by the end of the month.  I STUPIDLY agreed not thinking it was abnormal.

Make a loooooong story short, I never got my fianza back. He told me that another ex-roommate took it and after talking to that ex-roommate he said that indeed ED had it..... blah blah blah! So basically my money simply disappeared! To make matter worse (which I take complete blame for and still kick myself for til this day),  I never got a formal contract signed proving that I paid a deposit. I know I´m an IDIOT! So ED walked away with 400€ in his pocket.

After talking to the landlord and even a student who is a lawyer, I realized that there was nothing I could do.  Putting my tail between my legs, I moved out and went back to the US for the month trying to forget about this ordeal.  Well kind of.... for the first half of my vacation, I put comments on all the websites where ED was trying to rent my old room stating that nobody should rent from this apartment and warning people about what happened to me. 

Needless to say, I received some very disgruntled messages from El Diablo and also found out that he went to my work asking for my new address and trying to get in contact with my friends in order to find me.  Creepy Stuff!  I returned to Madrid in August to unpack into my new apartment and finish out the summer working.

Within my first week back to work, one of my administrators told me that someone was calling from the police station to get in contact with me. I asked if they left a number and but was told they didn´t.  The next day I received a call from a weird number while I was in class and afterwards listened to the voicemail.  It was from the COMISARÍA (police station) asking me to return the phone call.  Well, I was a little confused so the next day I walked sown to the station to talk with them in person and asked why they wanted to talk to me.  However, no one had heard of me or knew why I received these phone calls.  So I left convinced that it was my insane ex-roommate trying to scare me.  Well, the phone calls continued to my work so eventually I just got on the phone with my administrator next to me so I could figure out what was really going on.

Turns out it really was the COMISARÍA and I had to go down there again to talk to an officer.  They wouldn´t give me any other information over the phone but I had my suspicions that it had to do with ED; I just didn´t know why?  Few days later, I went to the station and talked to a very nice lady.  She explained that a claim had been brought against me... by guess who? EL DIABLO!  The officer must have sensed my suprise and aggravation.  He was reporting me to the cops???? He stole my money! What parallel universe was I living in?

She asked me before explaining what the charges were if ED had any reason to say I did something.  SO explained the whole fianza debacle even the part about my messages on the apartment websites.  SHe nodded and took notes, while also, keeping her patience as I was flustered and trying to get all this information out in Spanish.  After I said everything I could think of, she looked at me and asked, ¨Well, when you left the apartment, did you bring anything to your new place that wasn´t exactly yours?¨   It took me awhile to translate it and then I said in a state of shock at the accusation, ¨Wait, like did I steal anything?¨ She gave me a little smile and nodded.  Was she SERIOUS!? Oh, yes she was! ED went to the police and said that I stole a bunch of things from him including a Playstation (or Wii, don´t quite remember) and games and I never paid the last month of rent!  I mean what an A-HOLE!

Of course, I denied it.  And then got a little emotional as I realised the full extent of the situation.  She calmed me down and told me not to worry about anything... yeah, easier for her to say!

 I left after I signed the statement and right before asked the officer what would happen next.  She said she would have to call ED back in to get his full story and it probably wouldn´t go much further.  Worst case scenario, I would have to talk to a judge in the TRIBUNAL! Awesome, now I was really freaking out.  Was there a possibility I would have to pay this jerk more money? Even worse, was there a possibility that this situation could get me kicked out of the country? I had no idea´all I could do was wait for another phone call.

STAY TUNED FOR THE THRILLING CONCLUSION.....