Late Fee Question

[Cubana19]

I only found out a couple of months ago that my prior landlord was reporting that I was late with my rent once. I immediately contacted them and they sent me a ledger that showed that I was late in one month. I asked them if they could send me some kind of proof showing that I paid the late charge (as they claimed I did) or at least proof of the date I paid my rent late. The employees there told me that they would have to look for that info in their storage offices. After waiting several months for them to get back to me I finally insisted on speaking to the manager. She informed me that they don't keep that info and that the "burden of proof" is on me to prove I wasn't late. Unfortunately I did not keep any receipts of the money orders I used to pay rent. Do I have any recourse? Is the manager right? I thought leasing companies kept these kinds of things on file or in archives.
Thanks (I'm in FL)

 

[LL]

No, they don't generally keep those things on file, and they are generally not required to. You didn't say how long ago this was.

I'm not sure why you are so concerned. If it is a question of your credit report, then one month late payment is not going to make much difference in someone granting or not granting credit to you. How late are they reporting that it was? Did they have to take any action of record against you?

They are entitled to report their experiences with you as a customer based on their word. For credit reports, there are some requirements for confirming their experience upon your filing some papers, but they can re-confirm the report based on their experiences. You might look at your rent check for that month, and note what date it was cahsed.

If this is really a matter of one late payment, and by a few days, then I wouldn't worry about it.

P.S.
So you paid by money orders and didn't keep receipts. So why are you complaining about the leasing company and their records?


[Edited by LL on 03-13-2001 at 05:17 PM]