My husband and I moved out of our apartment last year. We did break the lease so there are some charges we are responsible for, but I think we are being ripped off? (we owe about $2200 of the $4,558 they are trying to collect)
If we received a statement from the aprtment complex right after moving that we disputed charges (like carpet cleaning, etc) and requested itemized statements and receipts for those charges, how long do they have to get back to us? We made the request Dec 06 when we got the first statement from the apartment complex and just now are getting a letter from a collection agency that we owe and they are going to report us to the credit bureaus? Don't they have to attempt to collection the debt first before reporting to the bureaus? This is the only other contact other than the first statement we got that we requested receipts and had disputed. Is there some kind of statue of limitations or laws allowing x amount of much time to collect before reporting?
2007-07-04 05:43:18 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
They are trying to collect and it should be reported to the credit bureaus as being late, you can protest that you are in dispute but you still didn't pay what they said you owe. You will have to prove your case if they have to take you to court to get a judgement. Take carpet cleaning how do you prove what condition the carpet was in when you moved in and when you moved out, do you have a condition report from the walk through before and after your tenancy? Do you have photos? How do you think they will prove the cost of carpet cleaning since they probably own a machine and stockpile the cleaning products and use their people to do the work. If you can show the price range for cleaning and spot removal is never more than they charged you may get it reduced.
Did you pay the 2,200 that isn't in dispute?
They shouldn't report until you are 30 days late.
2007-07-04 05:55:14 · answer #1 · answered by shipwreck 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can call Experian, Equifax, (I forget the 3rd), and tell them you are being threatened by this collection agency. They can put a "block" on any submission the collector would report. However, you have to prove your case to them. Also, if you believe you owed the money, then talk to the collector and negotiate a payment plan, and try to negotiate their fees down first, get it in writing, and tell them you won't pay unless they do not report you to the credit agencies. Unfortunately, you will waste your time trying to pull a legal arguement over the apartment complex. It is too late. I'm sorry.
2007-07-04 12:55:05 · answer #2 · answered by KingOFpain 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lots of states have a legal aid office for renters. If not get in touch with the Attorney Generals office for advice. You also need to fire off a letter to the collection agency stating what you have done and what you are going to do.
2007-07-04 12:55:44 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋