You’re about to get a lesson in why you have to be careful about co-signing anything for anybody.

A woman named Melanie posted a video on TikTok and told viewers why she’s in hot water all because she co-signed on a lease for her brother.

Melanie said she co-signed an apartment lease for her brother that was supposed to run from October 2021 until the end of September in 2022.

She said her brother paid rent every month and, after the original agreement was up, he and his roommate were on a month-to-month agreement and they lived in the apartment until March 2023.

All seemed well…until Melanie got a letter in the mail from a lawyer in November 2024 saying that she owed $42,000 in back rent.

She told viewers, “What apartment is this? I had no idea what the heck they were talking about because I’ve never lived at that location a day in my life.”

Melanie was slapped with a lawsuit that explained her brother and his roommate didn’t give the landlords 30 days notice, so they owed another month in rent.

She was confused because the monthly rent was $2,600, and she didn’t know where the $42,000 figure came from.

She got in touch with the lawyer’s office, but they told her they didn’t have any additional information.

The apartment management company couldn’t shed any more light on the situation, and they told her to get back in touch with the lawyer again.

Melanie was told, “The only option he can give you is to do a payment arrangement for the amount owed.”

She said, “Excuse the **** out of me? A payment arrangement for $41,000 that you can’t even prove I owe?”

Melanie in turn hired her own lawyer and said, “This is an absolute scam, and honestly, I’m at the point where I’m gonna countersue them for making me go through all this mess.”

She added, “People who don’t know any better are making these payment arrangements, paying these exorbitant amounts for something they don’t really owe.”

Here’s the video.

@melii2712

You can’t make this stuff up 🙄🙄 #storytime #yougotserved #lawyersoftiktok #fyp

♬ Neo soul, R & B, chill out(986163) – dama

And this is what viewers had to say.

One TikTokker spoke up.

Another viewer chimed in.

And this person offered some advice.

What a mess!

If you liked that story, check out this video about a Dollar Store cashier who has had it with customers who argue over $4 products.