Consumer Law, Warranties Owner cheated

[nagakkineni]

I have signed a lease agreement to operate a "Closed" gas station and in the agreement the owner clearly specified that they are going to make the gas station operational with in 3 months before they give it to me. They asked me to gather the quotes to fix the plumbing, pumps & tanks which I did in time. Also when I signed the lease agreement I deposited $5500 dollars as a lease deposit and activated heating, electricity & water for the gas station.
After paying the bills for 2 months for heating, water & electricity, I realized that the owners are not making any investment to make the gas station operational hence I disconnected all the utilities just to avoid the unnecessary bills.

After 3 months, I started asking the owners whether to make the gas station operational or refund my deposit along with the utility bills that I paid for 2 months (total around $6300 dollars). But the owners never responded back to me and avoiding my calls. How can I collect at least my deposit from them now? Could some one help me please.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

The first thing you need to do is send the owners a certified letter, return receipt requested, for the money back. You should state the reasons and their breach of contract in not properly maintaining the gas station and forcing you to close it almost immediately after the agreement. Unfortunately, this sounds like you may end up in small claims court. Perhaps if these people are scrupulous you'll be able to get your money back with the demand letter. Best of luck.