Regarding rent, management claims i owe from 2004, they screwed up n want me to pay?

Question

I live in a section 8 apartment and they are constantly switching management companies, we just got a new manager and she was going thru my rent history and says she found a money order that threw her off with the total for June 2004! She sends me a 5-day notice and says I owe about a hundred dollars, so I said ok send me a copy of that Money order and I will pay it but dont send me a print out or anything hand written because anyone before her could have made a mistake. She said she doesnt keep copies, My question is, can she send me to court for not paying that money? If she can't show me any proof, how do I know if what she is telling me is in fact true? I never get a receipt that they even got the rent, they think the money order is proof of that, I say its is just MY PROOF THAT I PAID THE RENT! Arent they supposed to issue me a separate receipt? am I supposed to pay for that money of 2004?

Can they actually take me to court if they have no proof that I even owe this money?

Answer 1

Yes they can take you to court. You can get taken to court for anything. The question is will they win.

If you paid with a money order you should have that money order receipt. You can then contact the company who issued the money order and they can tell you (usually for a small fee) when it was cashed and what account it was deposited into.

If you don't have your money order receipt you have a problem.

It has been my experience that the one with the best documentation usually wins in court. If they have records indicating you owe the money and you don't have anything showing its payed you will probably lose.

This is why I always pay my rent with a check. My canceled check(which is on microfiche at the bank if I need a copy) serves as my receipt.

Answer 2

If she found the error in the paperwork then I'd think she could make a copy of it on a copier and send/give it to you. But get in touch with the housing authority in your area, two years is a long time between making and correcting an error in rent. She could be just trying to make a quick $100.
Always, ALWAYS get and keep your rent receipts. And now you know the reason why. If you pay by money order every month, that's one receipt since you fill out the top and the bottom one is your copy, but get one from the office, too.