Cease and desist (and how to respond when a lawyer starts throwing out redundant statements)

This may be the best response to a legal threat that I've ever read. And I'm jealous that it never occurred to me to close my letters with "Word to yo mamma."

Score one for the good guys

The following account is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent...and for comedic purposes. As you may or may not know, we recently moved out of the apartment we called home for the last two years. The circumstances that precipitated the move involved a shockingly unreasonable rent hike and overall ridiculousness on the part of the apartment complex management. But we made the best of a less than ideal situation and we found a bigger, better place that is more suited to our current needs. More than anything, I was happy to be out of that particular complex, which we shall refer to as "The Worst Apartment Complex Ever." And how does one gain the distinction of being "The Worst Apartment Complex Ever?" By being like this and doing stuff like this:

Final account statement - Revised
Ledger Account at move-out
Portal ACH payment -- (47.00)
Balance at move-out (47.00)
* See the itemized charges for a complete listing of the work.

Deposit Activities
OSP ACH Deposit (350.00)
Total Deposits on hand (350.00)

Additional charges/credits/payments after move-out
Carpet Cleaning 65.00
Charges For Cleaning Needed 135.00
Drip Pan Replacement 16.00
Keys, (apt, mail, gym, pool) 55.00
Touch up paintq 135.00
Total additional charges / credits / payments 406.00

Final Account balance
Balance at move-out (47.00)
Total Deposits (350.00)
Refunded Amount
Total additional charges / credits / payments 406.00
Total account balance due 9.00
* See the itemized charges for a complete listing of the work.

Edited Final Account balance
Balance at move-out
Total Deposits
Original Refunded Amount
Total additional charges / credits / payments

Variance due or to be refunded
Original - balance due 9.00
Edited - balance due

FAS Prepared
Date 12/29/2011
User B., Amber


Lease information - Unit 15298C
Move-in 08/25/2009
Notice given 10/04/2011
Lease expires 11/17/2011
Move-out 11/23/2011
Move-out reason Lifestyle change for another reason
Lease information - Unit 15298C
Floor plan group
Cancel/Deny date
Lease expires 11/17/2011



Please remit payment within fifteen (15) days via worstapartmentcomplexever.com or mail to: Worst Apartment Complex Ever 15282 SW Worst Ever Blvd Beaverton, OR 97007 If the balance is not paid within 15 days your account will be sent to our collection agency, National Credit Systems, and you may contact them at 1-800-367-1050. They will proceed with collection action which may include credit bureau reporting and possible legal action. Interest will accrue on all outstanding balances at the maximum lawful rate.

Manager


To sum up so far: We paid a $350.00 security deposit when we moved in. When we moved out, our online account had $47.00 in rent that we had overpaid by mistake. According to this invoice, the management was not only keeping the rent we had overpaid, as well as our entire deposit, but they were charging us an additional 9 bucks. Now, if they had merely kept a portion of our deposit, I may not have felt the need to go on a rampage, but they didn't do that. Oh no. They kept all our deposit along with money that was not rightfully theirs, and they still wanted more. My sense of indignant outrage was rightfully kindled at this injustice. We tried a diplomatic approach at first, with Scott going in to speak with the property manager and request an explanation for the outlandish charges. When the property manager blew him off, it was time for drastic measures.

Enter: Pissed off former tenant who actually happens to know when a landlord is acting illegally.


Dear Ms. B.,

I am in receipt of the following final account statement from The Worst Apartment Complex Ever, which was sent via email to myself and my husband, SP, on December 29, 2011. The account statement detailed charges that were assessed against the security deposit we paid at the beginning of our residency in unit 15298 C at The Worst Apartment Complex Ever in August 2009. As you will note, our lease term ended on November 17, 2011, which is the date on which we vacated the unit and returned the keys to an The Worst Apartment Complex Ever agent, thus delivering the unit back to the landlord. The account statement erroneously lists our move out date as November 23, 2011. The final account statement was sent to us via email only on December 29, 2011, which is 41 calendar days from the day after we terminated our tenancy and delivered the unit to the landlord. Pursuant to Oregon law, a landlord is statutorily obligated to return a tenant’s security deposit within 31 days after the termination of the tenancy and the delivery of the rental unit to the landlord. ORS 90.300(11).

The Worst Apartment Complex Ever retained the entire balance of our $350.00 security deposit, based on the accounting statement below. Oregon law states that if a landlord retains any portion of a security deposit, he or she is required to notify the tenant in a written accounting, which must be delivered by personal delivery or first class mail to the tenant, within 31 days after the termination of the tenancy. The Worst Apartment Complex Ever was provided with our current mailing address, as indicated in the accounting statement. As noted above, the accounting statement was sent to us via email only, and was not received until 41 days after the termination of our tenancy. The Worst Apartment Complex Ever has violated the relevant statutes by failing to deliver the accounting statement within the requisite time frame and by the statutorily required manner of delivery.

In addition to its failure to comply with relevant landlord/tenant laws regarding notice and delivery of the final accounting statement, The Worst Apartment Complex Ever has unlawfully withheld a portion of our security deposit in violation of ORS 90.300 (5)(B). The statute states that a landlord can withhold a portion of the security deposit to repair damages to the premises caused by the tenant, not including ordinary wear and tear. We resided at The Worst Apartment Complex Ever for 2 years and 3 months. We had no pets in our apartment and no children. We cleaned the apartment thoroughly prior to vacating the premises. The premises was returned to the landlord in the same condition that existed at the time we took possession of the unit, with the exception of ordinary wear and tear. The Worst Apartment Complex Ever deducted $270.00 from our deposit for “touch up painting and cleaning charges.” Those charges were incurred to correct ordinary wear and tear, and were wrongfully withheld. Furthermore, Oregon law only permits costs assessed for repairs to be billed at a “reasonable hourly rate.” The accounting statement we received does not provide adequate detail as to the hourly rate assessed for the cleaning and painting performed. We do not dispute the amount that was withheld for carpet cleaning, a term noted in our original lease contract. Please provide receipts which detail the hourly rate assessed for the painting and cleaning that was performed.

In addition to the amount wrongfully withheld for repair of ordinary wear and tear, The Worst Apartment Complex Ever wrongfully withheld $55.00 from the deposit for “Keys (apartment, mail, gym, pool).” On November 17, 2011 at approximately 8:00 am, S.P. returned all of the aforementioned keys to an agent of The Worst Apartment Complex Ever. The leasing office was not open at the time he returned them, so he delivered possession of the keys to a Worst Apartment Complex Ever maintenance worker, who indicated he would deliver them to the leasing office.

The Worst Apartment Complex Ever has wrongfully withheld $325.00 from the $350.00 security deposit it received, in violation of ORS 90.300. Under the statute, the landlord has one year to settle the matter and repay the balance owed. If proper settlement is not reached, the tenant may file suit for up to twice the amount of money unlawfully retained. See Ellsworth v. Gladden, 36 Or.App.385 (1978) and ORS 90.300(15). Please remit payment immediately in the amount of $325.00 to SP and RWP. If payment is not received, we will file an action in state court to recover damages pursuant to ORS 90.300(15).

Thank you for your attention to this matter. Please contact me if you have any questions.



Whoa. To which The Worst Apartment Complex Ever responded with:

After reviewing your email, your final account statement has been revised. Your full deposit was submitted for payment to our corporate office today, the check will be cut within 2 business days.

Thank you,

Carolyn C.
Property Manager
Worst Apartment Complex Ever


And that is how the good guys win one.