Renting Woes, Need Experiences Take 2

oh, well considering you sent yours at least 5 days past day #45, it looks like the collection letter to you is still late.

failboat wrote: oh, well considering you sent yours at least 5 days past day #45, it looks like the collection letter to you is still late.

The collection letter doesn't satisfy the laws anyways. Must be direct from landlord and must be itemized for charges.

That said, that's also a good point that i'd be more than happy to bring in front of a judge.

You keep quoting laws, but griping about the inconvenience or fairness.

They can ALWAYS make it hard on you, and it becomes YOUR job to try to settle it in court.

They don't really care about the laws if their game plan is to squeeze until you squeal (or pay).

Go ahead. Cry about the laws. Do you really think that will stop them from threatening you, dinging your credit, or forcing you to go to court?

SVreX wrote: You keep quoting laws, but griping about the inconvenience or fairness. They can ALWAYS make it hard on you, and it becomes YOUR job to try to settle it in court. They don't really care about the laws if their game plan is to squeeze until you squeal (or pay). Go ahead. Cry about the laws. Do you really think that will stop them from threatening you, dinging your credit, or forcing you to go to court?

Errrrrrrrrrr.... what?

This place is weird. Ostensibly it's a hangout for enthusiasts with limited resources, yet in threads that touch on legal/political/ethical issues, you can always count on folks here to defend whichever side has the deeper pockets.

FWIW, I'm a landlord and as you've presented the facts, yours is clearly screwing you. A lot of them operate this way because they know people are fairly well conditioned not to fight back against threats from someone with more resources than they have. Many people who are in the right, but protective of their credit, are still unwilling to stand up for themselves and just pay to make it go away. This behavior hurts the people who are honest and conscientious the most, because the real deadbeats will just ignore the threats and never pay anyway.

So for the benefit of landlords like me who don't play these games and want to be able treat their tenants fairly, I hope you push back enough to get what you deserve here. These tactics also hurt people like me who are trying to make their money fairly and honestly via agreed upon rents, and not bullE36 M3 charges and threats. Remember they only operate this way because it works, and it only works because nobody fights back.

I didn't even mean it from that perspective, but that always seems weird to me that this board likes to take the "suck it up and pay to make it go away" route a lot.

Feels a lot like leasing a new Corolla to me.

Anyways, Yamaha also tells me that Indiana Attorney General loves going after companies like this. So, i'll shoot all the info their way, too, along with the collection agency tomorrow.

I knew this was going to court if i refused to roll over quite some time ago, and now there's a collection out there anyways, so i'm guessing my credit already got pinged. (These are where my prior "errrrrrr.... what?" comment came from)

Thanks Josh.

There will probably not be any more updates until either 1) The AG responds, if they will, or 2) Court filings.

Swank Force One wrote:

SVreX wrote: You keep quoting laws, but griping about the inconvenience or fairness. They can ALWAYS make it hard on you, and it becomes YOUR job to try to settle it in court. They don't really care about the laws if their game plan is to squeeze until you squeal (or pay). Go ahead. Cry about the laws. Do you really think that will stop them from threatening you, dinging your credit, or forcing you to go to court?

Errrrrrrrrrr.... what?

Had to read this again myself but basically they are aware of the laws, but they are happy to "break" them till you go to court to have them enforced. They are betting you won't take it that far and pay.

johndej wrote:

Swank Force One wrote:

SVreX wrote: You keep quoting laws, but griping about the inconvenience or fairness. They can ALWAYS make it hard on you, and it becomes YOUR job to try to settle it in court. They don't really care about the laws if their game plan is to squeeze until you squeal (or pay). Go ahead. Cry about the laws. Do you really think that will stop them from threatening you, dinging your credit, or forcing you to go to court?

Errrrrrrrrrr.... what?

Had to read this again myself but basically they are aware of the laws, but they are happy to "break" them till you go to court to have them enforced. They are betting you won't take it that far and pay.

Oh yeah for sure...

I just wasn't sure about the whole "crying" part and telling me what was going to happen. It already happened.

In reply to Josh:

I am not in any way defending the "deep pockets". Don't read into what I said, or look for some kind of emotional taking sides.

The fact is this landlord is an ass. What he "should" be, or what a good landlord you are, are completely irrelevant.

This landlord is an ass, and their business model is to bully people into writing them checks. They don't give a damn what the laws are, and there is NO law against being an ass.

They can bully people all they want, and "defending one's honor" or what is "right" or legal becomes the responsibility of the tenant.

Swankie said his credit rating was paramount. There is NOTHING preventing them from dinging his credit rating except the goodness of their hearts.

The only way to insure the credit rating is to pay up.

That's not defending this ass of a landlord. It's just a fact.

and it really doesn't matter what the laws are.

FWIW, I have owned rental property for 27 years, and I have NEVER withheld a single penny of deposit. I consider it wear and tear.

But if I wanted to be an ass, there is no law stopping me from being an ass, and I probably could have pressured people into giving me tens of thousands of dollars

All I am saying, Swankie, is if you'd like the law to be the standard, be prepared to fight in court.

It does no good to say, "Hey wait, that's not fair! In fact, it's not even legal, and you guys should play nice !!"

Ah ok. I got what you're throwing down now, my bad.

Yeah, i'm prepared for court, and am counting on it at this point.

Honestly, my own credit isn't great anyways. Was more worried about SWMBO's, since she was on the lease as well.

HOWEVER, her name isn't even mentioned on the collection notice, so at this point, i'm prepared to send them the "berkeley off" letter and info, then deal with that little nugget as well in court with the landlord specifically as another "look what this jerkface did, judge!" example.

I admit i laughed when i saw the collection notice for monies that can't even legally be collected. It's the first dollar amount i've seen from anything that can be traced back to the landlord in writing. It also happens to fall outside the 45 day window in itself.

Like i said, pretty cut and dry.

My best guess is that the landlord probably won't show to court. If so, maybe i'll send a collection agency after them? Could be fun.

Swank Force One wrote: Like i said, pretty cut and dry.

Court is NEVER cut and dry. There is ALWAYS the possibility you could loose, or pay more in legal fees than you earn, negating your "win".

Be prepared for the possibility...

SVreX wrote:

Swank Force One wrote: Like i said, pretty cut and dry.

Court is NEVER cut and dry. There is ALWAYS the possibility you could loose, or pay more in legal fees than you earn, negating your "win". Be prepared for the possibility...

If i win, the law clearly and specifically says that the landlord is responsible for all court fees/attorney costs.

I agree that who knows... this could all blow up in my face, but in the end, if i try, and end up being a pain in their ass, i'll consider it worth it.