Collection for Past due on apartment

[urfb201]

Here is a quick run down of what is going on. A year ago I lived in an apartment and one night the toilet broke and flooded the apartment. We called the apartment and they had us wait two days before anyone could come over to fix the toilet or replace the carpet. We had to live in it tracking the water all over the place because there was nothing we could afford to do. Two days later they fixed the toilet and dried out the carpet and that was it. They didn't clean it or replace it. We moved out and they sent a bill of $1300 for the carpet and I asked family members and friends and they all said that they had no right to do it so I ignored the letters. Now they sent it to an atourney to collect the money. The attourney sent me a summons to court. Now I called the attourney and they said to just pay them to save time. I thought I should go to court because I don't have the money to pay them this much and it was never my fault to bein with. Anyway just want some thoughts like should I go to court? What approach should I take in court because I'm against a collection agency and not the apartment I don't know if my story will matter at this time. Thanks a lot.

 

[presutin]

We moved out and they sent a bill of $1300 for the carpet and I asked family members and friends and they all said that they had no right to do it so I ignored the letters

You can try to see if you can win in small claims court but here is a sample of what is coming your way - Did you do a move out inspection? Did you note the bathroom incident on the form? Did you take pictures? and finally, why ignore the letter with the bill? So, if you go to court, those are some of the questions the magistrate will be asking you and I hope you have a very good answer to convince him/her that you tried to tell management that you were not responsible for the damage on the carpet (which doesn't seem to be the case per your posting since you said you just walked away).

Good luck to you!

 

[urfb201]

thanks for the input. I understand your response that I didn't handle it the best at the time but at the time I was under the impression that because of the damage the carpet was all going to be replaced so I didn't take pictures or do the walk through. I had another question to follow up. Someone here at work said that by the method I received the summons was a little sketchy. It was just in an envelope with a few pages that look typed out but nothing that looks real official. Mailed to me. Is there a way I can check on this to determine its validity?

 

[presutin]

Yes - contact the clerk of the court and request a copy and contact the lawyer so s/he can send you a new copy. Best of luck to you!

 

[urfb201]

The more i look at this the more weary I'm getting. You were saying to contact the lawyer, I did that and he said if I sign this then they'll set up a court date but he just wants me to pay it first. Second back to the form, it really doesn't have much information about a court where I can call a clerk besides the name of the county I live in. Would that be who I call the judicial system for the county I live in?

 

[presutin]

Do not sign anything if you cannot understand what you are reading!!!! I don't know what your document says and if it is not legible, then you should request a clear copy.
A summons is the document that officially starts a lawsuit. It must be in a form prescribed by the law governing procedure in the court involved, and it must be properly served on, or delivered to, the defendant. If the prescribed formalities are not observed, the court lacks authority to hear the dispute. Call the clerk of the small claims court at your jurisdiction to find out the details and obtain a legible copy.

 

[urfb201]

Once again thanks for all the advice. I called the courthouse and this I a summons to complaint or something similar to that. They said that a debt collector is trying to collect a debt and they send these out to notify I didn't pay so that they can file a complaint to the county I live in. It looks as though I will sign this and dispute the complaint because in my mind I have to pay if i don't sign it and if i dispute the complaint I believe the worst that will come of it is me having to pay. So I can't lose and I will at least be able to state my case.