No communication from old rental agency for 2&1/2 yrs - now I have a $1400 bill in collections?

Question

2&1/2 years ago, my husband and I lived in a trailer for 6 months while our new home was being built. We did everything that you are supposed to do when moving out, but to be honest I don't remember the details since it was so long ago. We heard nothing from the rental agency so we assumed everything was fine.

Yesterday we received a bill from the rental agency for $1400 stating that it was now in collections. I have been trying to contact both the collection AND the rental agency, but no answer from either one of them (could be because of the holidays).

What I really don't understand is that my husband and I used our cells during that period instead of having a house-phone. To this day, we still have the same cell #s. We filled out a change-of-address form with the post office, but even if the agency couldn't reach us that way, they could have called and we would have taken care of whatever the problem was.

Can't I just pay what I originally owed since we weren't contacted?

This isn't for unpaid rent. We were on a 6-month lease because our new house needed 6 more months to be built. I'm not a cheat and I didn't just leave without paying. I followed prcedure to the letter (or so I thought). I have a feeling that this pretains to some sort of damage that they ((THINK)) we did, because I didn't just skip out on the rental agency.

If there was damage done, I have no problem paying for that. However, am I responsible for paying the interest that accrued over 2&1/2 years since they never once contacted us?

Answer 1

Hey there,
In most states, a landlord has a specific time period to inform you of any damages or deposit witheld (example, in Wisconsin, 21 days). I would definitely be in touch with the Landlord and ask for proof that they sent you the deposit accounting within that time period (ex. a proof of mailing or a returned envelope with the mailing date on it). It seems very strange that you never received anything and now you are in collections. I am a landlord in Wisconsin, so I mostly know about the law here, but here if we don't have that proof, the tenant can actually sue us for 3 times what the damages we claimed were, so every landlord should be really careful about following the law.
SO, in your situation, that is definitely enough that I would contact the landlord and probably a lawer. It most likely is showing up on your credit (most collections do...). I'd attempt to contact them by phone and writing asking for details of the collection amount and proof that they followed their part of the law. Unfortunately, if they did follow their part (sending you the itemization of damages on time, etc), it was your responsibility to follow through to make sure there were no problems at move out and pay any damages when you didn't receive anything.
So sorry for your situation and good luck!!

Answer 2

I'm kind of confused. You say that you shouldn't owe anything, but you are willing to pay what you originally owed. You said you can't remember the terms because it was so long ago (2 1/2 years ago...)

If you followed all the terms of the rental contract, you owe nothing. Let them take you to court. They have the burden of proof. If you honestly don't remember, you need to contact your old manager to find out the terms of this agreement.

They needed to contact you by mail, not by phone. If they sent you two letters that were refused/not forwarded, etc, then that's all they need to provide to the court. That's why many people hire collection firms, to track down the addresses of people with old debts.

Answer 3

First of all, request from them on the phone and in writing documentation what you owe and why. If they can't produce that you don't have to pay them anything.
Get all the details together and contact WWW.ClarkHoward.Com. he can tell you exactly what you need to do.

Answer 4

probably the best thing to do would be to speak with a lawyer about suing the company for putting you into collections.

if and when they call, just say that you'd love to speak with them but since you have civil litigation in the works against them you can't - but they are more than welcome to speak with your attorney.

pull your credit report - do this yesterday - see if there is any basis for this bill or if they are just getting creative.

most lawyers will speak with you for one hour for free - figure out what damage this company has done and see what the best way to procede is.

there are people out there who think that there are too many lawyers in the country - then something like this happens.