Hello I have recently moved out of an apartment and received a letter in the mail with a bill of $1,125 for replacement of a carpet. The letter said it was pro-rated based on carpet life of 8 years, I had lived in the apartment for two. According to the letter they had to replace the living room carpet due to worn spots...It looked fine to me. A small bedroom carpet also had to be replaced this one for 2 bleach spots. I disagree with having to replace the living room carpet, and the small bedroom was bleached by me due to mold.
At one point There was a water leak coming from a neighboors apartment, which was not repaired property. I had mold in my master bedroom closet which was bleached by maintenance several times before I was able to convince them to tear up the wall and clean the mold behind the wall. That solve the mold issue on the wall, but not the carpet and they didnt seem to care about replacing it rather just clean it and hope it didnt come back. The mold also came in to my sons bedroom. I grew frustrated with this and bleached it since my son was 2 years old and I didnt want it to pose a health risk.
The letter states that I must pay the damages within 30 days or they will put me into collections resulting in a negative report to the credit agencies.
In this case do I have any recourse?Under the circumstances I do not agree with having to pay for the damages especially such a large amount of money. I am also worried about them withdrawing funds from my checking account as I was an automatic billing for my rent so they had my checking account information. If anyone has any insight it would be much appreciated!
Landlord collecting alleged debt
I'll assume the landlord has not gone to court to obtain a judgment against you. If the landlord attempts to do that then you should go to court and dispute the debt. Do not ignore mail from the court and make sure you (or an attorney) files an answer to any complaint.
For now, you need to dispute the claimed debt with the landlord. You should consider sending a letter via certified mail, return receipt requested. Under Massachusetts law, a creditor can assume a debt is valid if you do not dispute it within 30 days of being contacted regarding the debt. For more information about dealing with creditors, you should contact the Attorney General’s Office at (617) 727-8400.
As for the automatic payments, you should contact your bank and take the steps they recommend to make sure the landlord is no longer able to draw payments from your account.
carpet damages
I will answer the last part of your question first. The landlord cannot withdraw funds for payments in which you did not agree. Block this persons ability to do so; however, to make your life a little easier. Now on to the first part.
If both parties did not sign an agreement as to the condition of the apartment at the inception of the relationship, it is very difficult for the landlord to collect for damages. Damages in which a landlord CANNOT collect for include normal wear and tear. Your discription of the main carpet seems to fall under normal wear and tear so the landlord cannot collect damages. The bleached areas are different. If an agent of the landlord bleached the carpet, the landlord cannot collect. If you did the bleaching, the landlord can collect for the value of the carpet (but not for a new carpet) plus installation.
Follow Up:
I have disputed this claim first with the landlord via certified mail, they then sent the issue to a collections company. I also disputed with the collections company via certified mail within 30 days. The collection company has since sent me a few more letter claiming they have investigate and still find that I owe the bill. I have made sure to send a certified letter disputing the claim each time. Finally I sent them a letter asking for all communication to stop as I feel they were violating my rights by causing me the expense of responding to multiple letters basically saying the same thing over and over again forcing me to resond each time at my expense.(against MA collection laws) The collection company has now reported this case against my credit, do I have any option here? Is there any way to have my side of the story heard or are they simply able to claim I owe for damages case closed?