I take a slightly different approach to the talk of boycotts. My thought has to do with amnesty for the telecoms. Do not pay your phone bill! I am fairly certain that the standard telephone/cell phone service agreement did not and does not allow the telecoms to listen into my telephone conversations and/or provide my user information to the federal government absent some lawful purpose (e.g., pursuant to a warrant!). As part of my agreement to pay AT&T for telephone service I did not agree for AT&T to unlawfully provide my information to the federal government. If the telecoms continue to insist on amensty for past actions that almost certainly were illegal, then we must punish them by withholding payments for services. To look at the telecoms efforts another way, they are paying lobbyists and law firms with our money (obtained via our monthly bill) to persuade Congress to pass a law relieving the telecoms of liability to its customers based on the telecoms unlawful conduct. Refusal by enough people to pay their telephone bills could potentially have several positive effects:

1) directly express the displeasure of the telecoms' customers with the behavior of the telecoms and their attempts to avoid liability to their customers;

2) reduce the amount of money the telecoms have available for lobbying efforts;

3) force the telecoms into financial hardship (after all, companies also have bills to pay, such as leases and loans, not to mention employee salaries); and

4) force the telecoms to pursue numerous small claims cases throughout the country to try to recover the unpaid bills. This would present another enormous outlay for the telecom companies in addition to the missing revenue they would be experiencing. I also envision arguing as an affirmative defense the telecoms unlawful accumulation and transmission of data to the federal government. This could be phrased as a breach of contract defense. A party trying to enforce a contract must show that it has complied with all material terms of the contract itself, otherwise it cannot recover.

It is time for bold action, and since enough members of Congress seem determined to provide amnesty to the telecoms, refusal to pay our bills appears to be the most direct action we can take. Whether some refer to this as "civil disobedience" or some other name, we must let the telecoms know that the economic consequences of obtaining amensty will be more severe than facing the lawsuits currently proceeding.

If yours is the only name on the Lease, let the landlord know that you are not interested in renewing for the next year, and that once the Lease is up you will be leaving. That way the landlord can start looking for a new tenant. Let him know that your friend and his girlfriend have been staying at your place, and that they have expressed an interest in having the place to themselves. Then they can apply for the apartment and submit to the credit check, etc. If they are not on the Lease, then they have no greater claim to staying in the apartment then someone else who is interested in renting it.

If your friend's name is also on the Lease, then let him know that you will be telling the Landlord that you will be leaving at the end of the current Lease term and will have the Landlord contact your friend in order to have the Lease put solely in his name (and that of the girlfriend, if that is what your friend wants).

Whatever situation you find yourself in, do not leave the apartment without making certain that your name is no longer on the Lease. Otherwise, as others have written, you would be liable for unpaid rent and other costs should your friend and his girlfriend not pay the rent.

Also, make certain that all your communications with the Landlord are in writing, and that any conversations with the Landlord are also committed to paper. Also copy your friend on any letters to the Landlord.

Finally, if the utilities are also in your name, make certain that they are turned off when you leave, or transferred into the name of your friend and/or his girlfriend.