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I moved out of an apartment complex on July 25, 2006. We did a walk through of the apartment and told me I did not owe anything. They noted two damages one was stains from where there roof leaked and another was a broken lock on a window. They told me I would not be charged and I signed the piece of paper.
Flash forward to June 2009, I went to apply for an apartment and was denied. They said there was a charge off placed back in 2006. I find out it was the apartment complex. The account had been placed in collections. I called the collection agency and they told me my only option was to pay it.
Of course, that was not a good enough answer so I called the apartment complex about 6 times in one day. I finally was able to get a hold of my file. The person gave me 3 documents. One was the lease; the other was the move out inspection with prices written in where the damages were; and the other was the copy of the certified letter they sent to me on August 31, 2006 saying they were going to make a claim against my security deposit for $205. I did not have a security deposit.
After contacting them numerous times, basically I got told they will see me in court since I signed the move out paper. I originally thought I could fight it under Florida Statue 83.49(3)(a). Which states, "If the landlord fails to give the required notice within the 30-day period, he or she forfeits the right to impose a claim upon the security deposit." I talked to a lawyer who didn't really give me the time of day and said I cannot use that because it was not against my security deposit.
The problem I have is I was never notified and neither was my father who cosigned on the lease. He was never contacted about the bill, and now we are both in collections and it is affecting my credit and his.
How do I fight this? The property manager said since I signed the move out inspection he will see me court. Any help would be appreciated thanks!
Oh by the way they are denying my roof ever leaked and they did repair work. Awesome.
It doesn't sound to me like you can do anything. They have proof that they attempted to contact you via the certified letter. Did you supply them with a forwarding address in writing when you moved out? Maybe it got sent back to them b/c the address was wrong, so they went straight to collections. That's customary. If you didn't have a deposit, then the attorney was correct, the 30 day statute doesn't apply. So basically, where you stand is that there are damages. You signed off on them, so you acknowledge they were there. The landlord may have not intended to charge you at the time, but maybe when they realized the extent of the charges, they changed their minds. They do have the right via your lease agreement to charge you for actual damages. The only thing that would make things any different would be if there was $0 or NO CHARGE written on the move out sheet that you signed. Then maybe you could fight it. Otherwise, the ball's in their court. I'm sorry, good luck.
Is it ok to send something straight to collections before attempting to contact a cosigner, they were never afforded to the right to make the payment, what is the purpose of the cosigner then? Just a thought. Thanks for the fast reply!
Creditors do NOT always have to send a separate notice or call you before sending a delinquent account to collections.
This includes co-signed credit contracts as well. If the primary borrower defaults, the account can be immediately sent to collections without notifying the co-signer. An exception to this would be if the disclosure statement calls for the creditor to notify the co-signer.
No problem! I'm not sure of the legalities of co-signer notification. I'd check into that if I were you. I've heard of some instances where it's not legally necessary to notify the co-signer. I'm sure that varies by jurisdiction. Was the co-signer's name listed on the certified letter they sent you? If so, then in my state anyway, that would suffice as notification. Did they maybe have one for them as well but didn't give it to you when you asked for the paperwork b/c it wasn't in your name? It's worth checking into. At least you could maybe get it off of their record if they indeed didn't follow the law.
I just looked back over it the apartment complex made the letter to me and my father. Is my dispute with the apartment complex itself the manager in the lease or with the owner? What if the owner is not around?
I just looked back over it the apartment complex made the letter to me and my father. Is my dispute with the apartment complex itself the manager in the lease or with the owner? What if the owner is not around?
It's $205!!
Pay it and move on. It will cost you a lot more than that, and a lot of time and headaches to fight it.
If you had a dispute, it would be with whoever is listed as the lessor on the lease. That's likely the owner. But it doesn't sound like there's anything to dispute. His name was on the letter, but as you pointed out above, it doesn't appear that he even needed to be notified. You also signed off on the damages, acknowledging they were there. I don't really see that going in your favor. You can always try if you want, but as the PP said, it's only $205. That really is a small amount.
If you had a dispute, it would be with whoever is listed as the lessor on the lease. That's likely the owner. But it doesn't sound like there's anything to dispute. His name was on the letter, but as you pointed out above, it doesn't appear that he even needed to be notified. You also signed off on the damages, acknowledging they were there. I don't really see that going in your favor. You can always try if you want, but as the PP said, it's only $205. That really is a small amount.
What if he never signed off on the damages, would he stand a chance to fight it? I have the same thing going on with me but is $800 instead of $250
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