timmac
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2007
- Messages
- 1,872
Opinions wanted, anyone feel free to offer thoughts. Considering suing my former landlord, after receiving nothing back from my security deposit. 29 days after moving out, they sent a letter stating the amount of my deposit (769), interest (a few dollars), and "$780 for cleaning and repairs" (no further detail on that). $6 owed, please send a check.
NH law dictates that within 30 days I must receive my deposit back and/or an itemized list of expenses that were deducted, including particular details of what was done to remedy the issues, and supporting evidence. (Paraphrased the exact wording here, but those main points are accurate) Remedy for failure to comply is twice the amount of the deposit.
Now, the way I'm looking at it, the nature of the letter I did receive, and the lack of any details, is by itself sufficient. Res ipsa loquitur. So, even _if_ we take the $780 charge at face value, I'm still owed over $700.
Of course, that the single listed deduction is a perfectly round number that just happens to cover the entire amount they would otherwise owe me is curious. Of course, were this to go to court, the voracity of any claims they may have would be called into question anyway. Anyhow, coupled with the handful of complaints I've found about this rental company (including
a case over failure to return deposit that ultimately made it to the state supreme court), and the fact that they own many many rental properties, reeks of an intentional attempt to keep the money. No doubt they are well aware of the law. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they have already determined that the number of cases where they end up paying double is small enough that it's only good business to continue this practice. It's also my understanding of NH laws that intentional and willful violations of applicable statues (which my gut suggests this is) carry a penalty of treble damages... though I don't think I'd pursue that avenue, as I know I'd have a much harder case to demonstrate.
I'm also thinking that the "you owe $6, else we'll file with the credit bureaus" part of it is mostly a scare tactic to get me to pay the nominal amount, in the hopes that it could later be used against me as an acceptance of the fees as listed. I have no plans to pay it. Again, though it's strong suspicion on my part, it would be monumentally hard for me to prove.
Anyway, I'd love to hear anyone else's thoughts. Am I reasonable to think this is worth pursuing?
UPDATE:
Through work, I have access to several nice benefits, one of which is free legal consultation (e.g. up to 30 minutes on the phone or in the office) for a variety of things. I got a referral, and spoke to someone on the phone for a few minuets today.
Basically, he confirmed my suspicion that the $6 owed is almost certainly just a scare tactic, to later use as an admission of guilt. Though he hasn't dealt with my particular rental company, the law is clear and this kind of issue is quite common. And, apparently the feeling among most people is that in NH, the law tends to be very favorably towards tenants.
So, long story short, I'm definitely filing a case. The gentleman I spoke with even told me that he'd be happy to have me visit his office to go over the details if I needed... at no charge.
NH law dictates that within 30 days I must receive my deposit back and/or an itemized list of expenses that were deducted, including particular details of what was done to remedy the issues, and supporting evidence. (Paraphrased the exact wording here, but those main points are accurate) Remedy for failure to comply is twice the amount of the deposit.
Now, the way I'm looking at it, the nature of the letter I did receive, and the lack of any details, is by itself sufficient. Res ipsa loquitur. So, even _if_ we take the $780 charge at face value, I'm still owed over $700.
Of course, that the single listed deduction is a perfectly round number that just happens to cover the entire amount they would otherwise owe me is curious. Of course, were this to go to court, the voracity of any claims they may have would be called into question anyway. Anyhow, coupled with the handful of complaints I've found about this rental company (including
a case over failure to return deposit that ultimately made it to the state supreme court), and the fact that they own many many rental properties, reeks of an intentional attempt to keep the money. No doubt they are well aware of the law. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they have already determined that the number of cases where they end up paying double is small enough that it's only good business to continue this practice. It's also my understanding of NH laws that intentional and willful violations of applicable statues (which my gut suggests this is) carry a penalty of treble damages... though I don't think I'd pursue that avenue, as I know I'd have a much harder case to demonstrate.
I'm also thinking that the "you owe $6, else we'll file with the credit bureaus" part of it is mostly a scare tactic to get me to pay the nominal amount, in the hopes that it could later be used against me as an acceptance of the fees as listed. I have no plans to pay it. Again, though it's strong suspicion on my part, it would be monumentally hard for me to prove.
Anyway, I'd love to hear anyone else's thoughts. Am I reasonable to think this is worth pursuing?
UPDATE:
Through work, I have access to several nice benefits, one of which is free legal consultation (e.g. up to 30 minutes on the phone or in the office) for a variety of things. I got a referral, and spoke to someone on the phone for a few minuets today.
Basically, he confirmed my suspicion that the $6 owed is almost certainly just a scare tactic, to later use as an admission of guilt. Though he hasn't dealt with my particular rental company, the law is clear and this kind of issue is quite common. And, apparently the feeling among most people is that in NH, the law tends to be very favorably towards tenants.
So, long story short, I'm definitely filing a case. The gentleman I spoke with even told me that he'd be happy to have me visit his office to go over the details if I needed... at no charge.