Lease Question

[EagleFan]

Not sure how to handle this issue that just popped up today. I am not thinking straight at the moment as I am pissed beyond belief.

Got a notice on our door today from the place that we are leasing from. It's a bill for a microwave replacement for parts and labor. It says payment must be received by Monday or it will go to legal.

Background:

About six months ago the microwave which was in unit since we had it died. No power at all. No clock, nothing. Just completely shut down. They replaced it no problem.

Last month my wife was warming something up for the kids and the microwave started to smoke and smell like burnt plastic. She turned it off and we called the office. They replaced it earlier this month.

Nothing else about it until today.

Here are my issues:

A) Nothing ever discussed about this being billable and our first notice is a threat for legal action if not paid in two day.

B) They claim that we are responsible for the microwave. Said that we were using metal in it. This is complete BS as there is one thing that I never do and that is put metal in a microwave. I am fanatical about making sure that what I put in a microwave is microwave safe. I won't even put a paper plate in there if I don;t know it is not microwave safe.


What is my best course of action? Unfortunately I already exploded in the office when the office manager came out and started saying that we broke it. She needs to learn how to deal with these things a little better in that position as she only came out and threw gas on the fire. I feel bad for the first person that I was talking to as I was only complaining about the situation and wanting to find out more and expressing my distress at the situation of getting a letter on my door about payment needing to be made in two days or legal action for something that we ha no knowledge of until that time.

[EagleFan]

Still ranting....

If you see someone is upset why on earth do you storm out of your office and throw gas on the fire?

[Eaglesfan27]

Sounds like terrible people management skills. If you don't mind telling me (via PM if you prefer), where are you renting from? I ended up looking at a bunch of apartment complexes as I will be renting for a few months while I house shop and I at least want to know where to tell friends to avoid.

[sooner333]

What does the lease say about appliances and it sounds like they'll have a hard time proving you used metal.

[EagleFan]

What does the lease say about appliances and it sounds like they'll have a hard time proving you used metal.

The lease says that they are rsponsible unless it is through our fault. Right now it is he says/she says and I have toi figure out how to prove a neagative, that something didn't happen.

[EagleFan]

I am afraid that they are trying to push us out. Found out recently that we are locked into a rate that is about 250 lower a month than what a new person would be paying. There have suddenly been other things that have popped up recently, like them claiming we hadn't paid our rent when we had (had to show them the cleared check from the bank as proof and then they still tried to keep the late fees attached to the account). At that point they claim that they must have credited th wrong account and blaimed us for "not writing the account number on the check"... The cleared check had the account number written on it.

At this point I have unplugged the garage door opener as it started opening at random on us (we were watching TV and suddenly we hear the door going up; we use it for storage so we don't even have batteries in the remote so that wasn't doing it). Afraid what they are going to say we have done to make that start to happen.

[Mustang]

The lease says that they are rsponsible unless it is through our fault. Right now it is he says/she says and I have toi figure out how to prove a neagative, that something didn't happen.

What exactly did they replace in the microwave?

To me, if everything shut off and there was no power and you had a smell, sounds like a transformer was shot.

Metal causes arcing and carbon damage to the inside so if nothing like that was noted the transformer is just one of those things that goes.

[Mustang]

I am afraid that they are trying to push us out. Found out recently that we are locked into a rate that is about 250 lower a month than what a new person would be paying.

Unless you absolutely need or love the place, $250 isn't enough to keep me tied into a place. I wouldn't view it as 'they won', but rather that I just wouldn't want to have to deal with that junk. If they are starting to resort to this kind of stuff who knows what they will try to do 'legally', to your credit and to your property.

[EagleFan]

Unless you absolutely need or love the place, $250 isn't enough to keep me tied into a place. I wouldn't view it as 'they won', but rather that I just wouldn't want to have to deal with that junk. If they are starting to resort to this kind of stuff who knows what they will try to do 'legally', to your credit and to your property.

Already looking around. My kids love the place though as they have friends from school that they play with who live a couple doors down on each side.

Actually, thinking about actually buying a place. At the time that we moved in here we didn't have the luxury of a large enough down payment (actually it is a good thing we didn't buy then as that was when properties were over inflated in their price).

Maybe it's a sign that it's time to make that jump.

[RainMaker]

Let them take it legal. It would be small claims and they likely wouldn't win. Just a waste of their time and money, especially over something as cheap as a microwave.

If you do move out though, leave a top shelf dump in the toilet. That is what I did when I left a place in college that pissed me off.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Let them take it legal. It would be small claims and they likely wouldn't win. Just a waste of their time and money, especially over something as cheap as a microwave.

If you do move out though, leave a top shelf dump in the toilet. That is what I did when I left a place in college that pissed me off.

Minor league. Former SNL head writer Michael O'Donoghue set the bar much higher than a top-shelf dump. Went a couple weeks without flushing, covered the pile with lye (i think) to kill the obvious smell. Painted everything black, even the windows. Then broke off all the bulbs in the sockets.

[Swaggs]

I'd agree with letting them sue you.

I think you could mount a pretty strong defense by just saying that you rarely use the microwave and you are very careful with the containers that you use because of safety concerns with your children.

[Denial Of Freedom]

I'd agree with letting them sue you.

I think you could mount a pretty strong defense by just saying that you rarely use the microwave and you are very careful with the containers that you use because of safety concerns with your children.

Check the lease before this option though, as my GF has written in her lease that their attorneys fees, should they go to court, are paid for by her, not the apartment complex. If that is the case, could be best just to pay and leave.

[Philliesfan980]

Check the lease before this option though, as my GF has written in her lease that their attorneys fees, should they go to court, are paid for by her, not the apartment complex. If that is the case, could be best just to pay and leave.

I would think that would only be the case if the tenant lost the case. If you win the case, especially if it wasn't brought on by you, you really shouldn't have to pay for the other party's fees.

[Rizon]

Let them take you to "legal".

Once it gets to their "legal", their "legal" will slap them across the face with a "You're An Idiot For Bringing This To Us" sticker.

[albionmoonlight]

http://www.lsnjlaw.org/english/placeilive/irentmyhome/tenantsrights/index.cfm