Where to start - Towne Properties "debt"

[ImaBird]

In August 2005, I emailed my then landlord/property manager a notice that I was moving in 30 days at the end of my lease.

She wrote me back and said that's fine, but I stilled owed rent for July.

I wrote back and told her that I don't owe it, and I have the money order reciept to prove it.

She sent me her "ledger" that showed that I didn't pay.

I told her that I don't care what her ledger says, and that I could just as easily make up a ledger that shows that she owes me a million dollars. I then asked her why she didn't bother to tell me I was late until over a month later.

I never got a response.

So I requested a copy of the money order from Wester Union, which was purchased on July 1, 2005, and had been signed and cashed by Towne Properties. I then had my attorney send it to her. Still no response.

She finally sent an email stating that they were keeping the deposit for the rent (which, I know now, is illegal in Ohio), and that they would let us know if we owed for damages.

Let me tell you, we left that apartment spotless. When I moved, I didn't hear anything from them. Ever.

Then one day, I received a letter from a CA stating that I owed $1,800! The rent was only $895!

Needless to say, it's on my CR.

WHERE DO I START?!

[txlimo]

I would start in the usual place, dispute it with the CRA's and then DV the CA. See what they come up with.

[momof5]

Also, there are usually a government agency that handles this kind of issue, contact them with the proof you have.

This is another lesson.... NEVER leave a rental without a walkthrough where the landlord delineates the alleged defects right then and there. When you leave them to their own devices, they WILL jack up the charges just to get money! This is happening everywhere. I had a co-worker charged for extermination yet in FL that is, by law, the landlord's responsibility.

Report them to the BBB and sometimes you can get your local media "help me Mr. So-n-so" type reporter....they expose the complex which hurts business. With "unresolved" complaints on the BBB, you can affect their business as well. I had one ex-landlord call back the alleged debt from the CA and gave me a zero balance just to get my complaint in a "resolved satisfactorily" status with the BBB!!!!

[Fizzle1979]

Just for future reference, you should always expect to hear from your rental company after you move. If you don't hear from them, I'd call them up and ask some questions about deposits, etc. I believe in most states they are required to give you an list of items and services they charged you for. If you put a $200 deposit down for the rental, don't expect that to cover all your damages...with that said.

I can't remember which Mod on here it is, but one is a landlord and he said that the rental company must provide receipts showing expenses if they are going to bill you for them and they are not allowed to mark them up. For instance if they are billing you $200 for carpet cleaning, they must provide a bill for carpet cleaning in the amount of $200.

Do some searching on here and I'm sure you will find your answers. However, I would also do as TxLimo suggested and dispute with the CRA and go from there.

[ImaBird]

Thanks for all the advice!

It is illegal for a landlord in Ohio to keep your deposit unless they give you an itemized list of damages within 30 days. That didn't happen. In fact, they kept the deposit in place of rent, which is also illegal in Ohio...

...thanks again!

[wahoo238]

Try this Good info here.

http://www.rentlaw.com/

[ImaBird]

Thanks! That's a great link!