kostadamosta
Junior Member
What is the name of your state?TN
I began renting an apartment in a duplex in November 2004. My neighbors were, J and A. Before J and A got married, J had a female roommate. When the two girls were living together, J's dad renovated their apartment. Included in the renovation was an installation of a gas line from under the house to the screened-in patio (we have separate patios), so that they could run a gas-heated clothes dryer. In April 2005, J and A decided to move out of their apartment, and I decided to move in. Since there is only a gas connection in the new apartment, J and A and I made an arrangement in which I received the dryer in place of money that they owed to me. When I tried to run the dryer (after having the gas turned back on), it wouldn't work. Figuring they would know some tricks or something, I called them for advice, and to see if I needed to light a separate pilot or something. J called me back, and informed me of the following: when her dad did the renovation of the apartment, he had run a separate gas line under the duplex to power the gas dryer. But somehow, the lines got switched, so the dryer gas line was running off of the gas source in the other apartment. They said they noticed this because when the tenants who lived in the apartment before me moved out, the dryer stopped working. When I moved in, it started working again.
So, basically, I've been paying for their gas dryer since november, and the previous tenants paid for it for who knows how long. The landlord theorizes that the reason they wanted their friend to move in there so badly was so that the charade could be kept up.
So, here's the question: what in the world should I do?!?! The landlord says it's a criminal matter: stealing (for the gas) and fraud (for selling me a faulty dryer). I called legal aid in Nashville, and was advised to file a police report. I did so, and was told that this is a civil matter. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY ADVICE?
I began renting an apartment in a duplex in November 2004. My neighbors were, J and A. Before J and A got married, J had a female roommate. When the two girls were living together, J's dad renovated their apartment. Included in the renovation was an installation of a gas line from under the house to the screened-in patio (we have separate patios), so that they could run a gas-heated clothes dryer. In April 2005, J and A decided to move out of their apartment, and I decided to move in. Since there is only a gas connection in the new apartment, J and A and I made an arrangement in which I received the dryer in place of money that they owed to me. When I tried to run the dryer (after having the gas turned back on), it wouldn't work. Figuring they would know some tricks or something, I called them for advice, and to see if I needed to light a separate pilot or something. J called me back, and informed me of the following: when her dad did the renovation of the apartment, he had run a separate gas line under the duplex to power the gas dryer. But somehow, the lines got switched, so the dryer gas line was running off of the gas source in the other apartment. They said they noticed this because when the tenants who lived in the apartment before me moved out, the dryer stopped working. When I moved in, it started working again.
So, basically, I've been paying for their gas dryer since november, and the previous tenants paid for it for who knows how long. The landlord theorizes that the reason they wanted their friend to move in there so badly was so that the charade could be kept up.
So, here's the question: what in the world should I do?!?! The landlord says it's a criminal matter: stealing (for the gas) and fraud (for selling me a faulty dryer). I called legal aid in Nashville, and was advised to file a police report. I did so, and was told that this is a civil matter. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY ADVICE?