No proof of letter sent, return of deposit?

[owlyoudoing]

What is the name of your state? Colorado

I've been put in collection by my previous landlord because they say I never paid off the amount I owe them after moving out. I moved out earlier this year about 8 months ago and never received anything from them, not a letter or a phone call or anything, saying I owed them any money. I never received my deposit back either but I never really even thought about that (been dealing with a lot of stupid family and health stuff and the deposit was the last thing on my mind). Now the collection agency is saying I owe about $1600. I asked for verification and they sent a copy of the letter the landlords say they sent me but no certified mail number or anything that proves they sent it. I never received it.

What do I do now? I just got off the phone with the debt collector and she said the landlords didn't have to sent the letter certified and the copy of the letter is all they need and it's a valid debt. Is that true? I thought the landlords would have had to send it certified to have proof they tried to collect from me. Heck I could print off a letter saying anything I wanted and claim I sent it to them but without proof it would be my word against theirs, know what I mean? So how do I go from here? I don't want to just pay this off because I don't feel I owe it. The apartment was spic and span when I left. In better condition than when I moved in actually, though I know that doesn't mean anything. And I know the landlords have my current address since that's where the collections agency sent their letter.

I'm just confused and a bit lost right now. So TLDR: Do landlords have to have proof they sent the itemized letter or can they just say they did and that's enough?

 

[GideonEffect]

The landlord or the collection company will eventually take you to court. Avoid that. Write a letter to the landlord demanding that they send you the deposit and they have 7 days to comply or provide an exact accounting of how your deposit was used in making repairs caused during your tenancy there. If they do not send you back the accounting and or the full deposit, then you can take them to court and you could be awarded as much as three times the amount of the deposit and providing the lease has provisions in its contents you could also get your attorney/court costs awarded as well. Good luck.

C.R.S. 13-21-103 (1)(a) In all civil actions in which damages are assessed by a jury for a wrong done to the person or to personal or real property, and the injury complained of is attended by circumstances of fraud, malice, or willful and wanton conduct, the jury, in addition to the actual damages sustained by such party, may award him reasonable exemplary damages. The amount of such reasonable exemplary damages shall not exceed an amount which is equal to the amount of the actual damages awarded to the injured party. . . (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the court may increase any award of exemplary damages, to a sum not to exceed three times the amount of actual damages, if it is shown that: . . .(b) The defendant has acted in a willful and wanton manner during the pendency of the action in a manner which has further aggravated the damages of the plaintiff when the defendant knew or should have known such action would produce aggravation.

 

[HRZ]

Agree with above....revisit the security deposit return law and zero in on triple damage issues IF LL bungled the return of security .

 

[FarmerJ]

Check with the county that rental is in to learn if the LL them self has filed a civil suit against you and won. The clerk of the court should be able to tell you how to look up your own name to see if you had been sued , AS far as the bill collector goes Demand they give you a copy of the court ordered judgment they should already have. Until then do not admit to owing anything , the bill collector is only trying to collect what the LL claims you owe and with out a judgment that says you owe it then the LLs claim is unproven ( unless you really did damage it or leave owning other money )

 

[owlyoudoing]

Sorry if I don't understand but I need to give the landlord another chance to give me an itemized list of how the deposit was used? That's what Joe Crandall's comment read like to me. I could be misunderstanding. I read that in Colorado the time limit to return the deposit is 30 days but in my lease it said they have 60 days to return the deposit (or send a bill) and it's been way beyond that. Why do I need to give them another week?

FarmerJ, so the collections agency can't collect unless there is already a judgement against me? And no, I didn't damage the property or owe any other money. I was an ideal tenant (even the landlord said so to me on more than one occassion).

I know longer live near the county where I had been renting so it would be almost impossible for me to sue them for triple the deposit since I can't get back there easily. I have a medical condition and can not drive long distances so I have to rely on rides. It's such a mess.

Thanks for all the answers. I'm sorry if I'm confused and not really getting what's being said.

 

[Zigner]

Colorado's law only says that a written notice must be mailed. Their testimony that this was handled in the normal course of there business should be enough to show that it was mailed. Joe Crandall's suggestion that you obtain a copy of the statement is valid, but you can ignore his advice that you can claim treble damages in this case. The LL has already told you that the statement was mailed and that you still owe money, and they will testify to that in court.

Did you provide the landlord your forwarding address when you moved? If not, then the LL could have met the legal requirements by simply sending it to your last known address (the unit you were renting.)

See https://tinyurl.com/yc5aq46s for Colorado's security deposit law.

 

[owlyoudoing]

Yes, I gave them my new address and the collections agency is sending their mail here so I know they have it.

So they can lie and say they sent something and the courts will just take their word for it? Wow. Colorado sucks. Anyone can print something out and CLAIM they sent it.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Zigner is correct. Very, very few of my tenants provide me with a forwarding address when they leave. I simply mail the statement to the last known address (the rental property) within the required time period for my state and collect the envelope and keep it in my files unopened as evidence that I provided the information as required.

There is nothing that says a landlord must provide a vacated tenant with a phone call regarding this matter. It typically is up to the tenant to provide the landlord with their new address. Since you did if you end up in court this is what you tell the court. There could be other reasons why you did not receive this information.

Gail

 

[Zigner]

Yes, I gave them my new address and the collections agency is sending their mail here so I know they have it.

So they can lie and say they sent something and the courts will just take their word for it? Wow. Colorado sucks. Anyone can print something out and CLAIM they sent it.

Actually, it's like that in many states. I haven't researched every single state, but I'd hazard a guess that it's like that in most states. Testimony is a form of evidence. Yes, it's a problem that people can lie.

 

[owlyoudoing]

So I'm going to be held liable for damages that didn't exist? All because this landlord is a liar? I'm getting a little angry right now. How can that be fair? (Yes I know, fair and legal aren't the same thing, so how can this be legal?) If they sent something and it was returned to them as undeliverable then fine, that would be proof they sent it. I'd accept that (though i'd still fight that I owed any damages). But if they have no proof at all that they sent it other than their word. What am I supposed to do to fight this? How can I prove they didn't do something?

 

[Zigner]

So I'm going to be held liable for damages that didn't exist? All because this landlord is a liar? I'm getting a little angry right now. How can that be fair? (Yes I know, fair and legal aren't the same thing, so how can this be legal?) If they sent something and it was returned to them as undeliverable then fine, that would be proof they sent it. I'd accept that (though i'd still fight that I owed any damages). But if they have no proof at all that they sent it other than their word. What am I supposed to do to fight this? How can I prove they didn't do something?

What you've got to accept is that the statement is going to be a non-issue. You have to accept that you need to fight this matter on its merits and not hang your hat on the hope that he can't prove he mailed the notice. Get a copy of the statement and take it from there.

 

[owlyoudoing]

I'm not quite sure what the merits are. It sounds like it basically comes down to a he said / she said. They claim I owe damages, I claim I don't. Why does it even say you can sue for triple the deposit if they don't return it if all they have to do is pretend they sent something claiming you don't get it back?

Sorry sorry. I'm just really pissed right now. This whole thing is screwed up.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

If this goes to court they will be required to present some evidence that supports what they are billing you for. You will have the opportunity to show that their evidence is false or doesn't support the billing.

 

[Shadowbunny]

Did you have a forwarding address on file with the Post Office? If not, then it's quite feasible that the LL has the "return to sender" stamped on the letter they tried to send you.

Hopefully you took pictures (even better, video) of the rental before you turned the keys over. Because that will be your proof that you didn't cause damages. If you didn't take pictures, then you may have just learned a very expensive lesson. WHENEVER you rent, take pictures of the condition when you moved in, and pictures after you cleaned up to move out.

 

[Zigner]

The OP claims to have given his new address, but no mention is made if it was done in writing. Collection agencies have ways of tracking down people, so the fact that they were able to track down his new address doesn't mean much...