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I have another thread here about "creepy ex landlord." (Wisconsin). I am still not clear about whether a demand letter for my deposit is required/recommended. It has been 31 days since the end of my tenancy and the landlord did not contact me about my deposit at all. Yesterday I emailed him and he said he is refusing to "address the deposit" until I let him know what I am going to do about his allegation that I hit his car. That is the only communication I have had about the deposit with him. (I know, I know, his allegations have nothing to do with my security deposit--plus, I didnt hit his car).
Votes please: should I still do a demand letter giving him 5 days to return my deposit and send to him by certified mail, or should I just go and file the claim with small claims court? At this point, I dont want to mess up but I would rather not wait another week to get this going if I dont need to. I have read so much conflicting information about whether the demand letter is required--signed, "confused"
A judge will appreciate when the plaintiff will at least try to contact the defendant if that is how it ends up to be and it shows proof in court that you have tried.
Therefore I would recommend to send a certified letter and if the owner is not accepting the letter than make sure you get the letter back through USPS. Usually they will have 3 attempts and if not able to deliver they will return the letter to sender and in that case DON'T OPEN the letter but save it for court.
A judge will slam that letter in the face (not literally..lol) and you will have laughing moment , but keep your face straight in court when that happens.
It usually is the moment the defendant is claiming not having heard from you and than there is your proof and the whipped cream on your case!
The due dates already have passed and check if your State has double or triple security deposit claims or not....Florida hasn't but one of my previous tenants counter suit me for triple the security deposit which was also a funny moment, especially when I won the case.
Keep in mind on tv the judge will rule right away...in reality in most small claims court cases you will learn the out come days later by mail to avoid heated situations in the parking lot.
There was no need to create a second thread...you got all the advice you needed in the other thread.
Why haven't you sent this man a certified letter demanding you deposit back? You're wasting time here....write the letter, send the letter, keep the unopened letter, file your claim in court. Easy peasy.....now, get on it.
As far as whether one is "required"....you would need to check with the small claims court (where you plan to file) to find out if they require a Demand Letter before filing suit. Many of them have the rules on their web site.
A judge will appreciate when the plaintiff will at least try to contact the defendant if that is how it ends up to be and it shows proof in court that you have tried.
Therefore I would recommend to send a certified letter and if the owner is not accepting the letter than make sure you get the letter back through USPS. Usually they will have 3 attempts and if not able to deliver they will return the letter to sender and in that case DON'T OPEN the letter but save it for court.
A judge will slam that letter in the face (not literally..lol) and you will have laughing moment , but keep your face straight in court when that happens.
It usually is the moment the defendant is claiming not having heard from you and than there is your proof and the whipped cream on your case!
The due dates already have passed and check if your State has double or triple security deposit claims or not....Florida hasn't but one of my previous tenants counter suit me for triple the security deposit which was also a funny moment, especially when I won the case.
Keep in mind on tv the judge will rule right away...in reality in most small claims court cases you will learn the out come days later by mail to avoid heated situations in the parking lot.
Good advice this time.
There are many things that judges dislike, and people who force litigation without making a reasonable attempt at out of court settlement are definitely towards the top of that list. Conversely, people who ignore reasonable attempts to settle, tend to get worse treatment.
the reason I didnt send one before was because I was out of ink and had to wait until my ss check came before I could buy it. then I couldnt resist, i emailed him on the 30th day to see where my deposit was, thinking i could avoid even sending the certified letter if he had already mailed it. but of course, the creep didnt. he instead says he isnt going to send my deposit but thinks he can coerce me to pay for his car repair!! i am going to file on Monday. It has been 34 days.
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