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I'm not sure about interest. Not all states require the landlord pay the tenant interest on their money. Mine doesn't. But don't know about California. I don't THINK it is required, but not sure.
They met the requirement of sending the notice within 21 days. Just because you didn't agree with the refund doesn't mean they are in default on that part. So that isn't relevant.
You said you haven't heard from her since March 9th. Have you followed up? Landlords are humans, and it is very easy to lose track of some things. I'm a property manager of about 180 properties and at any given time, I have in front of me: at least 2 major repair/remodels going somewhere, at least 4 tenants in the process of moving out, at least 2 who have already moved out and are being cleaned up for the next tenant, at least 2 tenants who are substantially late on rent and at some point in the process of being served, at least 10 applications on my desk for upcoming rentals, at least 2 HOA complaints, and at least 5 calls for something broken, not to mention all the other phone calls, bills, etc that are part of an average day. At all times, every single day. So you can see it is easy for something small, like a $16 discrepancy on a refund to be forgotten, even with the best of intentions.
If you haven't followed up, send a polite email that you haven't heard back, and still think your math is correct, what is the status? If you don't hear back, send another one on Monday. If you still don't hear back, send a certified letter stating that because you have been unable to get a response, you are now disputing the entire refund and demand a response within 3 days (5? 7? Whatever your state requires, you'll need to look up the procedure). That would put you in a much better position to be heard in small claims court, which would be your next step. California is a very tenant friendly state. You might even win.
But my guess is that something else came up that was urgent, your file got set aside and then forgotten. It can happen to any of us.
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