Preposterous Allegations!!

[MariReel]

My jurisdiction is: West Virginia

Myself and my roommate moved into "TR" apartments and never raised a fuss, never paid rent late. We had a fine arangement with the apartments, my only concern being that in the year we lived there, there were 3 changes of management.
A month before our lease ran out, i submitted a letter letting them know that we would not be renewing our lease. Wethor it's relevant or not, at this time there was also a lot of apartments being remodeled and management was going under another change.
To my never ceasing regret, we did not insist on a walk through before we left, and around TWO YEARS after we had moved out we received a bill from the apartments for $1,899 worth of repairs.
The apartment was left as it was found, aside from normal wear and tear, and there is no way that almost 2 grand worth of damage was left.
My problem, aside from a scathing credit report, is that i don't know how to combat these charges! I didn't do a move-out walk through, the management that was in control when i lived there has long since come and gone, and i'm afraid my only recourse is to pay up! Ahhhhh!
Please help!

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Generally the first step is that the former tenants write a letter (sent certified mail so you have documentation you've done that) requesting receipts to justify the cost of these repairs.

What did the information from management tell you would happen if you did not pay these fees? Will this be turned over to a collection agency or are they considering taking legal action against you?

Did you take any pictures of the rental at move in and move out?

Gail

 

[MariReel]

Generally the first step is that the former tenants write a letter (sent certified mail so you have documentation you've done that) requesting receipts to justify the cost of these repairs.

What did the information from management tell you would happen if you did not pay these fees? Will this be turned over to a collection agency or are they considering taking legal action against you?

Did you take any pictures of the rental at move in and move out?

Gail

THANK YOU so much for replying!
It has already been turned over to a collection agency, but that is all, (all as in no court date or law suit). As for pictures, i've got nothing.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

In most states, a landlord has a certain amount of time to send information regarding security deposits/damages to former tenants. Failing to follow these guidelines will often negate landlords from filing for any damages. Unfortunately, West Virginia is one of the few states that does not have a statutory deadline for such.

Many landlord management companies will simply send these bills to collections as a first step. They can then avoid having to pay filing fees for a lawsuit and, by doing so, they do not need to legally prove that these bills are legitimate.

You can often negotiate with the collection agency to reduce this amount; many of these companies work on a contingency basis (i.e., they keep half of what they can collect). If they collect nothing, they make nothing. Thus, they are often willing to work with folks to reduce these amounts.

If you believe you don't owe anything and you're concerned about the impact of such on your future credit rating, you can demand proof from management on the legitimacy of these repairs, pay the amount stating you're doing so under duress and then turn around and file a lawsuit against the management.

It is VERY likely that management would have a very difficult time proving that you owe for damages on a unit you vacated two years ago.

Gail

 

[MariReel]

This actually took place in S.C. I sent off certified letters to both the collection company and the apartment management yesterday, so we'll see where we go from here. Thanks again Gail!