Thank you for taking the time to review my post.
My husband and I signed a 14 month lease (Oct. 2005)--in April of 2006 we broke that lease. We understood that we would not receive our deposit ($250.00) back and we would owe rent ($475.00/mo for apt and garage) until the apt was rented or the lease was up. We were never notified of anything further until recently (over a year after we moved out). My husband and I recently had out debt consolidated and a couple of weeks ago I checked my credit report. Equifax showed that I owed $4840.03 to The Companies of Clarke (our previous landlords). I had never been notified of any of this, I learned of it on my credit report. Then last week I received a letter stating they had attempted to contact us regarding these charges and we had not replied. I had never received any correspondence up until this letter. I contacted the number provided and left a voice mail stating I had never received anything from them and I was not paying until I knew that I was liable for that amount. I received a voice mail stating that a letter had been sent and since it wasn't returned, they assumed I received it and then a certified letter was sent but was returned to them--keep in mind, my number remained the same and they did have that, but I never received a phone call. The individual stated he would send the letter again along with an itemized list of the charges. A copy of the letter that was 'sent' to us dated May 31, 2006 was enclosed. This letter stated that it would be our responsiblity to continue to make rental payments until out apartment was re-rented or the lease was up. I never received this letter or any other letter so just as they 'assumed' I received the letter, I assumed the apartment had been rented out. There was another letter dated May 29, 2007. This letter stated that on December 27, 2006 they mailed the itemized list letter regular mail and certified to that apartment address. The regular mailed letter was not returned to them and the certified letter came back with a note "unclaimed". We moved out of the apartment on April 27, 2006; the letter was sent 8 months later. I am sure the landlords know, as I, myself know, that the post office will only forward mail for so many days (I am not sure if it is 30 or 60, but I do know it is not 8 months). We were not sure where we would be staying so we didn't give them a forwarding address but they did have my telephone number. The letter also stated they apartment was re-rented on December 17, 2006 (conveniently right before our lease was to expire).
Following are some of the things that were listed on the enclosed itemized list I received--I will not include things that I will not dispute which are: cleaning of carpet, cleaning (which I do not believe the charge is accurate, but I can deal with that), laundry card that wasn't returned, drip pans and rings and the security deposit (which was applied to our balance).
Painting: 173.46--I want to know what needed painted, because I do not believe it was due to us
Drywall repairs: 103.50--where? If it was due to the shower leaking, we reported that to the landlord to have fixed and never was
May 2006 garage rent: 26.67
May 2006 apt rent: 507.00
June 2006 apt rent: 507.00
July 2006 apt rent: 507.00
Aug 2006 apt rent: 507.00
Sept 2006 apt rent: 507.00
Oct 2006 apt rent: 507.00
Nov 2006 apt rent: 507.00
Dec apt rent, 16 days: 270.40
Late fees from May to Dec: 320.00
Promo Pay Back (no idea what this is): 432.00
At the end of this letter it stated we needed to pay $4840.03 by 1/6/07 or it would be reported to Equifax--when the certified letter was returned shouldn't they have called before they turned it in to Equifax as it was obvious I didn't receive the certified letter?!
So here are my issues--our rent for both the garage and the apartment was $475.00; so how do they figure we owe $26.67 for 5/06 garage rent and $507.00/mo for rent for May through Dec 2006. What is promo pay back? The drywall and paint issues? I also want to know what can be done to prove that the apartment was not rented until December 17, 2006, right before our lease was up.
I am willing to pay what I owe, but I am not going to pay more than I owe, and I also believe it was unfair to me to have this put on my credit report, with them knowing I had not received the certified letter.
If you could please give advice on my next step to take, I would greatly appreciate it. My husband and I are trying so hard to get ourselves back on our feet. We had our debt consolidated right before this charge showed up on our credit. We really cannot afford to pay for legal council, but if that is needed I am willing to do that to keep from having to pay for something I am not liable for. If we are liable for the rent from May to December then according to what our rent was ($475.00), I figure it should be around $3800.00, but I honestly do not believe the apartment stayed empty that long.
Please advise what you think our next step should be, as I would like to contact the company as soon as possible, but would like better knowing of where we stand. Thank you very very much.
Trista Hysell
My husband and I signed a 14 month lease (Oct. 2005)--in April of 2006 we broke that lease. We understood that we would not receive our deposit ($250.00) back and we would owe rent ($475.00/mo for apt and garage) until the apt was rented or the lease was up. We were never notified of anything further until recently (over a year after we moved out). My husband and I recently had out debt consolidated and a couple of weeks ago I checked my credit report. Equifax showed that I owed $4840.03 to The Companies of Clarke (our previous landlords). I had never been notified of any of this, I learned of it on my credit report. Then last week I received a letter stating they had attempted to contact us regarding these charges and we had not replied. I had never received any correspondence up until this letter. I contacted the number provided and left a voice mail stating I had never received anything from them and I was not paying until I knew that I was liable for that amount. I received a voice mail stating that a letter had been sent and since it wasn't returned, they assumed I received it and then a certified letter was sent but was returned to them--keep in mind, my number remained the same and they did have that, but I never received a phone call. The individual stated he would send the letter again along with an itemized list of the charges. A copy of the letter that was 'sent' to us dated May 31, 2006 was enclosed. This letter stated that it would be our responsiblity to continue to make rental payments until out apartment was re-rented or the lease was up. I never received this letter or any other letter so just as they 'assumed' I received the letter, I assumed the apartment had been rented out. There was another letter dated May 29, 2007. This letter stated that on December 27, 2006 they mailed the itemized list letter regular mail and certified to that apartment address. The regular mailed letter was not returned to them and the certified letter came back with a note "unclaimed". We moved out of the apartment on April 27, 2006; the letter was sent 8 months later. I am sure the landlords know, as I, myself know, that the post office will only forward mail for so many days (I am not sure if it is 30 or 60, but I do know it is not 8 months). We were not sure where we would be staying so we didn't give them a forwarding address but they did have my telephone number. The letter also stated they apartment was re-rented on December 17, 2006 (conveniently right before our lease was to expire).
Following are some of the things that were listed on the enclosed itemized list I received--I will not include things that I will not dispute which are: cleaning of carpet, cleaning (which I do not believe the charge is accurate, but I can deal with that), laundry card that wasn't returned, drip pans and rings and the security deposit (which was applied to our balance).
Painting: 173.46--I want to know what needed painted, because I do not believe it was due to us
Drywall repairs: 103.50--where? If it was due to the shower leaking, we reported that to the landlord to have fixed and never was
May 2006 garage rent: 26.67
May 2006 apt rent: 507.00
June 2006 apt rent: 507.00
July 2006 apt rent: 507.00
Aug 2006 apt rent: 507.00
Sept 2006 apt rent: 507.00
Oct 2006 apt rent: 507.00
Nov 2006 apt rent: 507.00
Dec apt rent, 16 days: 270.40
Late fees from May to Dec: 320.00
Promo Pay Back (no idea what this is): 432.00
At the end of this letter it stated we needed to pay $4840.03 by 1/6/07 or it would be reported to Equifax--when the certified letter was returned shouldn't they have called before they turned it in to Equifax as it was obvious I didn't receive the certified letter?!
So here are my issues--our rent for both the garage and the apartment was $475.00; so how do they figure we owe $26.67 for 5/06 garage rent and $507.00/mo for rent for May through Dec 2006. What is promo pay back? The drywall and paint issues? I also want to know what can be done to prove that the apartment was not rented until December 17, 2006, right before our lease was up.
I am willing to pay what I owe, but I am not going to pay more than I owe, and I also believe it was unfair to me to have this put on my credit report, with them knowing I had not received the certified letter.
If you could please give advice on my next step to take, I would greatly appreciate it. My husband and I are trying so hard to get ourselves back on our feet. We had our debt consolidated right before this charge showed up on our credit. We really cannot afford to pay for legal council, but if that is needed I am willing to do that to keep from having to pay for something I am not liable for. If we are liable for the rent from May to December then according to what our rent was ($475.00), I figure it should be around $3800.00, but I honestly do not believe the apartment stayed empty that long.
Please advise what you think our next step should be, as I would like to contact the company as soon as possible, but would like better knowing of where we stand. Thank you very very much.
Trista Hysell
