What do I do?

[Reyball2010]

my fiancé received a letter from a collections agency about an apartment he lived in with a friend five years ago. The bill is for over 3,000$ which is outrageous considering they only lived there for maybe three months. I'm trying to get ahold of the friend that was the main lease holder because her name is not on the paper we received. I have a few questions: 1.) should her name be on this paper as well? Does that mean she threw my fiancé under the bus? 2.) what's the best way to handle this? They charged him for a light bulb in a bathroom! Is it crazy or is it just me? They also charged him 2800$ for the carpet in a two bedroom apt which I remind you-they only lived in for maybe three months. Also charged for cleaning four windows at 25$ each?? This all sounds crazy to me and I have to deal with it because my fiancé is out of town on business and cannot contact the law firm. How should I go about this? By the way, we have no paperwork and or pictures from this apartment considering the amount of time he lived there and the other person on the lease was in charge of it?

 

[Zigner]

my fiancé received a letter from a collections agency about an apartment he lived in with a friend five years ago. The bill is for over 3,000$ which is outrageous considering they only lived there for maybe three months. I'm trying to get ahold of the friend that was the main lease holder because her name is not on the paper we received. I have a few questions: 1.) should her name be on this paper as well? Does that mean she threw my fiancé under the bus? 2.) what's the best way to handle this? They charged him for a light bulb in a bathroom! Is it crazy or is it just me? They also charged him 2800$ for the carpet in a two bedroom apt which I remind you-they only lived in for maybe three months. Also charged for cleaning four windows at 25$ each?? This all sounds crazy to me and I have to deal with it because my fiancé is out of town on business and cannot contact the law firm. How should I go about this? By the way, we have no paperwork and or pictures from this apartment considering the amount of time he lived there and the other person on the lease was in charge of it?

To start with, research the term: Joint and Several Liability.

There's not too much you can do - I'd be surprised if the law firm even talks to you. When is he due back?

 

[Reyball2010]

Not for a week or two at least

 

[STEPHAN]

People can do a lot of damage in 3 month. If they for example had a dog that peed on the carpet, it can be destroyed in one day.

The question is how much documentation the LL has.

Also, it could be that the tenant moved out, but was still on the lease and other "roommates" destroyed the place.

 

[Zigner]

Not for a week or two at least

Then it may need to wait...I would suggest that you NOT contact the collector on his behalf, as it really won't make things better.

 

[LdiJ]

my fiancé received a letter from a collections agency about an apartment he lived in with a friend five years ago. The bill is for over 3,000$ which is outrageous considering they only lived there for maybe three months. I'm trying to get ahold of the friend that was the main lease holder because her name is not on the paper we received. I have a few questions: 1.) should her name be on this paper as well? Does that mean she threw my fiancé under the bus? 2.) what's the best way to handle this? They charged him for a light bulb in a bathroom! Is it crazy or is it just me? They also charged him 2800$ for the carpet in a two bedroom apt which I remind you-they only lived in for maybe three months. Also charged for cleaning four windows at 25$ each?? This all sounds crazy to me and I have to deal with it because my fiancé is out of town on business and cannot contact the law firm. How should I go about this? By the way, we have no paperwork and or pictures from this apartment considering the amount of time he lived there and the other person on the lease was in charge of it?

2800.00 for carpet in a two bedroom apartment sounds quite high. The other things sound normal. However, since they only lived there for three months its a bit unfathomable that they did enough damage in the short time to require the carpeting being replaced.

The attorney will not talk to you, so there is no point in you contacting the attorney. What does your fiancé remember about the condition of the apartment. Why did they only live there 3 months?

 

[FarmerJ]

the only thing you can do is learn if their is a judgment at the county court house of the county the rental was in ,which is public information and anyone can search on. if the landlord actually already sued and won the claim he might end up spending more than it would cost to pay it by trying to undo it. AND then his only recourse might be to pay up and sue the other person who was on the lease especially if they stayed on after he moved out. ( carpet, does he recall if it was brand new or not ? )