my friend had her lease go up last October. Her original lease has an automatic renew clause that says that it will renew for a year under the same terms... yet she received a letter last September advising her if she did not respond she would be put on an automatic month to month. As far as she can remember, there was no indication of the new amount needed with a month to month lease.
Fast forward to this August... she gave them 30 days notice as required with month to month. The rep at the rental office was confused she was on month to month but never charged the additional rent for being month to month. At that point, the rep said it was their fault and my friend owed nothing...
My friend then gets a call a month later from a collection agency advising she owes for premature termination of her lease.
So she calls the rep back and the rep tells her that since she never paid the extra for month to month, they reverted her lease to a one year which means she needed to give them 60 days notice and are now trying to collect. Basically giving her the ultimatum "you can pay $1000 to pay back the month to month or you can pay back $800 for early termination.
I called them and asked if they had any documentation my friend was made aware of the rent increase or an letters advising she wasn't sending enough... they say they are "sure they have that".. but refuse to produce them. They sent this thing right to collections without giving her a chance to even know they changed the lease or anything..
She is backed in a corner as there seems to be bait and switch of some sort going on here or something illegal.. but the attorney general says even if she has them investigate, the company doesn't have to answer... she doesn't have money for a lawyer..
Anyone with sound knowledge of this subject.. PLEASE HELP! She's a single mother.. and a very good person.. Consumers need to be protected and I know there is something wrong here.. but I feel companies like this do this all the time believing most people don't have the resources to fight it...|||If your friend has a letter from the complex that the lease converted to month to month, she should be ok, but a lawyer is always advised to review the documentation but
If she has a letter stating she went month to month, and the complex never increased the rent with a month to month, then after the fact they can not try a rent increase, did the agency at any time during the month to month refuse rent payment? Send a notice of payment was short? Of course not, because they made a mistake and now are trying to make amends
It would be their legal burden in court to show why if the rent increased after month to month, one they sent proper notice, also why did they accept the partial rent after proper notice? Maybe laches, but it seems they are trying to by pass the legal system and try collections
Send a certified letter to the collection denying the claim, requesting all documentation to the issue, and place them on notice you are denying the claim, and the matter maybe subject to civil suit to resolve,|||They can not "revert the lease to one year". Unless your friend signed something, which she didn't. You friend will win if she goes to Small Claims COurt. The collection is not legal..|||Sorry to hear about that. The answer is no, they cannot do that, it is against the law. Sadly however, it will be a bit of a pain in the butt for your friend.
Here is the action I would take:
Step 1: call the collections agency and tell them you deny the debt and you are currently gathering the necessary legal proof. Tell them not to contact you while you gather this info.
Step 2: find all the relevant paperwork and read it over very carefully. I very much hope your friend has a copy of the letter about converting to month to month.
Step 3. Send a letter to both the apartment complex and the collections agency that says she denies the claim, explains that she was on month-to-month per the notice she was given. Tell the apartment complex to check their records. Warn that if either party (the apartment or the collections agency) makes any further attempt to collect this debt, you will file a lawsuit. Include a copy of the month-to-month notice but obviously keep the original. Inform them that they are to remove the debt from your credit report. Make sure you send these letters via certified mail with a return reciept, and keep the reciept and a copy of the letter for court.
Step 4: File a lawsuit in small claims court. Sue to have the debt canceled and for enough money to cover all the legal costs and enough to cover your time. Just make sure your lawsuit doesn't exceed the maximum amount for small claims court.
Step 5: in court explain the situation to the judge. Give the judge copies of all the paperwork. Point out to the judge that the complex never notified her that her rent was insufficient and therefore there was no communication that there was an extra fee for being month to month.
Step 6: Monitor your credit report closely. If the collection shows up, send a letter via certified mail to the credit agnecy telling them the debt was discharged in court. Include a copy of the court order and ask them to remove the debt from your credit report.
I also suggest that your friend seek legal advice. I know she can't afford a lawyer, but there are consumer advocate groups out there that will help. There are also many lawyers who would give a free consultation and/or work on contingency.|||I am sorry she didn't keep the letter saying that she was put on month to month. I bet the terms of the original lease apply. No one can you or her legal advice without being there in person and seeing all the documents (and of course being a lawyer) None of which I am.
I have 30 years real estate experience.
In our legal justice system we have the courts to protect us. If your friend does not want to go to court then she will have to fight it out the best she can. The JP court is inexpensive and not as complicated and normally rules in cases like this.
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