Landlord has lost my rent checks twice in a row and now wants me to pay the late fees

[frenchtoast]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Connecticut

My landlord has lost my rent checks twice in a row for May and June and wants me to pay the late fees. He admitted in an email that he lost the May rent check and now he is accusing my of not sending it again. He wants me to send him a copy of the canceled check from my bank that he will reimburse me for. What if he never cashed them though?

(My roommate and I have always submitted our rent checks in the same envelope to the drop off box. She has literally seen my checks as we seal them in there together. They are getting hers but not mine somehow.)

I am willing to rewrite the checks but I am not willing to pay the expensive late fees.

How do I resolve this with him?

If I have to get tough on this what rights do I have concerning this issue and how do I protect myself?

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Check your online statement to see if the check has been cashed and if so, send your landlord a copy of this.

If you paid on time initially (and this was RECEIVED on time as your lease states) I'd refuse to pay any late fees as this sounds like landlord error.

Gail

 

[HRZ]

laymans view ..if LL has provided a drop box and or instructed you to use same ...your duty end at timely delivery aa per LLs / lease rules .....as a practical matter you might find some other way to make reliable delivery on time.

As a (retired ) LL but not in CT it's my view that LL eats problems on his side of fence ..in this case the drop box

YOur problem is to prove timely drop of good check IF it goes further

BTW what does lease or LLs " ruLes" say about how to pay?

PErsonally I'd tender LL a replacement check for the correct old rent less any of my costs for a stop payment order on prior check ....but also look up CT stance on " satisfaction and accord " ...I don't know .

 

[Zigner]

Put your checks in separate envelopes.

 

[HRZ]

IN a way if two checks are in same envelop and one of them gets cashed that is pretty practical confirmation of envelop got delivered?

SOmething is sloppy on LLs side of equation? ( absent NSF or other OP problems )

 

[not2cleverRed]

IN a way if two checks are in same envelop and one of them gets cashed that is pretty practical confirmation of envelop got delivered?

SOmething is sloppy on LLs side of equation? ( absent NSF or other OP problems )

Well, yes, that is what OP is alleging - that the landlord is sloppy.

OP seems unclear on whether either of the checks were cashed by the landlord.

If the LL has deposited them in the bank, that's easy - get a copy of the statement with the photocopy of the check on it.

If the LL has not deposited a check, write a new one, put a stop on the old one, and and send the check(s) by certified mail with a letter detailing the date the previously written checks were dropped off, their #s, and that a stop has been put on those checks due to the landlord's failure to deposit them.

Find a better way of confirming the check has been received and properly accounted for. Do NOT deduct the cost of stopping a check from the rent check. That's pretty much guaranteed to p*** o** the LL who apparently already is inclined to think of you as a deadbeat - the late fees would be waived if he thought it was really his error. Stopping a check is not proof that you wrote a check.

I can understand why you and your roommate are putting the check in the same envelope.

I have had the bad experience of paying my rent on time, the office depositing the checks, and failing to credit me for the deposits, and still trying to claim I must be mistaken when I brought the proof from the bank. ("Are you sure that's for May? Maybe it's really for April." "No, April was paid for with check number xxx." "Well, maybe that was for March." "No, it was not. Look at the memo line. I paid for March with check number yyyy.") It has been my experience that an office that messes up like that once will continue to mess up, and that proving that their bookkeeping is faulty does not generate any benefit of the doubt in your favor when they continue to mess up this way.

From a practical standpoint, I would say that henceforth you confirm with the LL every time you pay. While a text message/email/phone call won't hold up in court, if you confirm that he found the check, he is less likely to charge you a late fee.

Of course, if your LL is just a POS a**hat, then you should look up FarmerJ's advice in other posts on the subject. I hate the idea of having to pay for certified mail just to deliver your rent check, but it might have to come to that. Once is a mistake, but 2 months in a row and it's starting to look like a pattern.

 

[HRZ]

Well I agree deducting check stopping fees will add fuel to an unfortunate fire,..

But I'd not pay late fees if you are quite quite confident you paid it orignally promptly ...there is a risk LL could,stack ongoing late fees..but so far I don't see LL asholding the high road..especially in your fact pattern ...your call.

WHatever you do as to future rents...make sure delivery is acknowledged or proven ....go to,one check?

For all we know some underpaid clerk is annoyed at having to process two checks for one account

( I gave my tenants the benefit of doubt in writing that checks postmarked by due date would be treated as timely ...... I did not want dropbox issues but I understand how they can be of mutual benefit )