Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with dispute

How to handle a goober for a landlord?

mr. remy — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:49:32 -0800

I've got eleven months to go on a lease, and a whole slew of problems with a new (to me) apartment, and a cheap, possibly negligent landlord. How do I remedy them? LOTS of details inside. But if you don't want to read the whole kit-and-caboodle inside here are the Cliff notes: (a) Landlord took more than weeks to fix the unusable bathroom sink; blamed the repairman. (b) Landlord expects me to find/select/transport the washer/dryer he’s obligated by lease to provide, and was missing on our move-in, and for less than $200. (c) Landlord flat-out refused to clean disgustingly smelly carpets we encountered on moving day (d) Landlord reneged on verbal agreement to replace crappy kitchen linoleum (e) Landlord made repeated, guilt-trippy and borderline abusive calls about first month's rent, and (bonus) (f) makes (super odd) references to lesbians. [Way too many details inside; you probably don't need to bother reading unless you want specific specifics] After long and futile summer craigslisting, my girlfriend and I went to a realtor to find us an apartment [Boston area] for one year, beginning 9/1. The realtor found us a fair (not exceptional) apartment for a fair (not exceptional) price. Since it met our needs (though not, as I’ve said, exceptionally) we took it. I forked over a lot of money up front (first month, last month, month security, and half-month’s fee to realtor) totalling about 5K. Since then we’ve had a number of issues with the landlord. In order of occurance:

[The sink] The landlord was unable to do a walkthrough until September 5th, though we moved in on the 1st. On the 5th we informed him the sink was unusably plugged. Stuck full of hair. Wouldn’t drain. Landlord said he’d take care of it immediately. He blamed the issue on previous tenants; “butches, lesbians; don’t know where to wash their hair, always washing their hair in inappropriate places.” But he didn’t do anything. We still couldn’t use the sink two weeks later… at which time I called and asked the landlord what was happening. He said he’d already sent the handyman over, who’d said there wasn’t a problem. After consulting the handyman, Mr. Landlord called me back to tell me the handyman had visited unit number 3, instead of our unit, number 2. Within 24 hours the handyman came to fix the leak, so we considered this issue closed. Until…

[The washing machine/dryer] Our lease specifies we’ll be provided a washer/dryer, though if either breaks they will not be repaired. Due to some miscommunication, the machines vanished with the previous tenant (Mr. Landlord: “girls have no respect for property, got no respect at all, take anything isn’t nailed down, even took the bins in the fridge”). He did not provide replacement appliances at move-in. Girlfriend and I were understanding, and said we could even do without a dryer, as long as we got a washer soon. Mr. Landlord asked if I’d do the legwork and get a washer for him. Stupidly, I said yes. But now he’s asking me to find one for under $200, used, (including, presumably, delivery). I’m not sure I have the time/information to do this on my own. Not to mention, issue number 3…

[The bedroom carpet/THE STENCH!] The previous tenants (Mr. Landlord: “butches, lesbians, who hate men – like some of ‘em Catholic nuns I know I went to school with”) moved out on the last day of August, letting us move a little stuff in before they were totally gone. There were no in-between days for Mr. Landlord to do work on the place. It was left in decent condition, with carpets vacuumed. Not spot-clean, certainly not as clean as I’d leave the place, but adequete -- barely. However: the bedroom stank. Stank like stagnant poop residue in the corner. Or a dead animal in the wall. Or a pet’s tank overturned on the floor. Badly enough that girlfriend and I had to buy an air purifier, and have to air the room out all the time. During the walkthrough (9/5), girlfriend and I told Mr. and Mrs. Landlord that we were bothered by the stench, and wanted the carpets professionally cleaned (nothing in the apartment had been touched by landlords at all, remember). Mr. and Mrs. Landlord flatly refused, on the grounds (a) they claimed not to smell anything (b) “that is definitely the tenants’ responsibility.” Since then, we have been trying to live with the smell (which has abated a bit, but is nevertheless unpleasant...) and would probably have just rented a steam-vac, but for…

[The kitchen floor] Prior to signing the lease, when still considering the apartment, I remarked to the realtor that the kitchen linoleum was in terrible shape: cracked, scratched, buckled, patched, broken, beat-up. [Pics on flickr here]. And still before signing the lease for the apartment, I asked the realtor if he'd relay to the landlords that we wanted the linoleum fixed. He picked up the phone immediately and called the Mr. and Mrs., asked if they'd be willing to make this repair. They said they hadn't seen it in a while, but that conditional upon it being in bad shape, they'd take care of it. Satisfied, the realtor hung up the phone, we signed the lease, paid the money, and we got the apartment. I did NOT get a clause about the linoleum put in the lease; the realtor said that it would diminish my chances of getting the apartment if I appeared too needy up front. During the walkthrough on 9/5, Mr. Landlord said he ‘could get around to replacing it sometime’ but not immediately, or soon, or (I’m guessing) during my tenancy because expenses were tight. Honestly, I wouldn’t have moved into the place if I’d known he’d be so disagreeable. But the straw that broke the camel’s back was…

[The rent check issue]
(i) (9/29) I got a call yesterday morning, from Mr. Landlord saying he didn’t get my half of the rent. I explained that my girlfriend would be paying all of the rent this month, because I’d paid all of the fees on the place before move-in, and cash was a bit tight. He was irritated, and said he expected rent by the 25th (as it says in the lease). I explained that my girlfriend had sent him two bank checks on the 20th, and that he should take another look around – at least one showed as ‘delivered’. This actually took three phone calls, because landlord does not have his ‘money girl’ on hand.

(ii) (9/29)Another call from landlord, yesterday afternoon, saying the checks /did/ come in the mail. Followed by a tirade about how expects it on the 25th, as outlined in the lease. I explained that it was mailed on the 21st, and that, frankly, 4 days was ample leeway for something to arrive by mail from one end of town to the other. And that next month I will send it earlier.

(iii) (9/29) Received another chiding call from landlord about an hour after (ii) concluded, telling me that I had seemed initially like a nice person and he didn’t expect this kind of thing from me. Told me I had him over a barrel, and how was he supposed to pay his bills if our bills weren’t paid on time. And how is he supposed to pay his mortgage on the place if we don’t get him our rent by the 25th (or 17th for an out-of-state check)? I tell him I don’t know… my girlfriend sent him two checks on the 20th, mailed on the 21st, etc., etc., etc….

(iv) (9/29) I ignore a call at night from the landlord. I’m sick of talking to him.

(v) (9/30) I ignore a morning call from the landlord. I’m sick of talking to him.

(vi) (9/30) I call the landlord back, feeling guilty and a little harassed. Landlord starts in on my ‘irresponsible behavior, because it turns out my GF’s checks are from an out of state bank (though they was a cashier’s check sent directly from Bank of America), and that as explained in the lease, out of state checks are due on the 17th, and that we’re ‘off to a bad start’ and that I’m causing him ‘a lot of stress and anxiety, stress and anxiety, because how am I gonna pay my stuff if you pay your rent late?” Yet again, I explained I had not sent any check, that he needed to talk to my girlfriend, but for what it was worth we’d get him everything on time next month. [[This means that if we’re going to pay with out of state checks, and need to allow him ample time to process the paperwork, and need to mail them more than 5 days in advance we will need to post the checks around the 10th of the month prior to the month for which we are paying. Am I nuts? Is this incredibly high maintenance? ]]

Metafilter, what do I DOOOOO? How do I get my issues fixed? Do I stand a chance at getting this resolved?

How do I fix my friends kitchen stove issue?

abdulf — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 22:31:45 -0800

Kitchen appliances: What remedies do you have when an appliance purchase and installation goes wrong? I'm asking this for a friend. He bought a gas Electrolux cooktop stove from a local dealer 2 or 3 weeks ago (this is the model http://www.electroluxappliances.com/node30.aspx?categoryid=1184)

He has 2 problems with the appliance:
1. The knobs look like they are metal, but they're actually plastic, and have melted. They're still usable, but not as aesthetically pleasing. I'm assuming the reason you pay extra for a stove like this is for design and appearance.
2. Half of the burners- whatever - won't light automatically. Seems like a lighter problem. He has to use matches.

Here's what he's tried

1. Working with the dealer/installer (http://www.choiceappliances.net/)

Dealer won't refund or exchange. It's a small business, so no corporate person to write to. Sent a person to his home on a service call. Service repair person concluded nothing is wrong with the stove and suggests contacting the manufacturer

2. Manufacturer (Electrolux)
Says to deal with the dealer since the issue appears to be related to installation. Also, warranty does not cover knobs because it is not a defect - the knobs were designed to be plastic.

3. Credit card company (Chase)
Cannot dispute because it was a face-to-face transaction and buyer had an opportunity to inspect the merchandise.

So how do I help my friend without sinking a great deal of my own time into this?

I think the right customer service person at the manufacturer or credit card company might do it. If not, what legal cause of action exists for a consumer in his position (in Texas)? (I guess something could be done in small claims court, I'm just not sure under what basis)

Disputing a locksmith's exorbitant charges?

fogster — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:21:50 -0800

Disputing a locksmith's exorbitant fees? I'm asking for a coworker, because I've been overhearing this saga for two weeks and vowed to get involved.

A coworker had her front door lock jam the other day. She had to climb in through a window, and discovered that the lock was jammed on the inside, too. She researched local locksmiths and went with a firm that says on their site that they'll match any competitor's offer. She called for a quote and was told that the locksmith would give a quote before beginning work.

Lo and behold, the locksmith just began work and told her not to worry about the estimate. He unscrewed part of the doorknob and used a hammer to unstick it, and then removed the defective doorknob and lock. He asked if she wanted him to put a new one on; she asked about price and was told that new doorknob was $300. Shocked at the price, she declined, and the guy billed her $200 (plus a reasonable service fee for coming out), effectively for banging her doorknob off with a hammer.

She paid, but was surprised at the cost, so she called competitors. Every competitor said they'd have done the whole job—including installing a new doorknob, and including the parts costs of that—for under $200. So she contacted the company, and has spent the past two weeks getting the runaround.

Part of the tricky part is that the services were rendered, and she did pay it, so trying to get the credit card company to reverse the charges seems unethical.

What other options are there? We can be vengeful and raise a big stink on online review sites and with various other groups like the Better Business Bureau, but she wants to get this resolved, not to try to harm them. Any ideas, hivemind?

Disputing credit report in Canada

Anonymous — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:40:38 -0800

Please help me *effectively* dispute several items on my credit report (in Canada) Short explanation - checked my credit report, and there are a number of items that are incorrect, accounts that have been 90 days past due for years that were closed 3-4 years ago, accounts that were closed as uncollectable, an account that refers to a bankruptcy that I never had - but they are all real accounts that I actually had, no fraud or identity theft involved. It seems like my creditors just got lazy and somehow never registered closed and paid accounts, or ticked the wrong boxes or something. I never knew because I never use credit or apply for it. I've had one account open for years that I use and it's fine and current. Just to be clear, I have never declared bankrupcty, and I have no accounts that are open for collection or were closed as uncollectable. Basically I have several items that are incorrectly derogatory for various reasons. Also, I'm not desperate for credit for any reason, there's no imminent mortgage or anything like that. I just noticed it and want it cleared up. I have credit cards and all the credit products I need.

There are plenty of sites dedicated to disputing credit report items in the states, but not a good one that I've found for Canadians. I know I have to formally dispute each item, know to send an letter registered mail, and wait for 30 (60?) days. I've seen lists that tell you to go in order for each item, listing excuses (not mine, wrong account number, wrong this or that) trying to wear down (I guess?) the investigative abilities of the credit agency/creditor, does this make any sense? I can't believe it does in the computer age.

Is there anything I'm missing? Should I speak to the creditors first to get them to change the items or go right to the credit agency? Are there different rules in Canada? Are equifax and transunion up here total separate from their US friends (experian is apparently no longer operating in Canada)? Anyone have a good checklist of things to do to most effectively challenge erroneous items? I have a feeling this is going to be somewhat of a fruitless and painful exercise in being on hold on the phone for a long time. Any help appreciated, bonus marks if you know of a reputable law firm, or paralegal or bankruptcy trustee (in Toronto) who offers a service to deal with all of this if I hand over the information.

Dispute a video takedown notice?

infinitefloatingbrains — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:27:45 -0800

A home video of mine was taken down from Google Video by Warner Music because of the soundtrack. Should I dispute? The copyrighted song was someone else's content; however, it was used in a noncommercial nature, i.e. a video of my 6-month old daughter.

Only a part of the song was used, and the video itself was unlisted and therefore unavailable to anyone save friends and family receiving a direct link via a personal email.

I'm a little afraid because by disputing the video I'm legally exposed to this: "If, on review, the alleged copyright holder believes that your video infringes on its rights, expect that they will file a notification of alleged infringement under Section 512(c)(3) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act."

So, dispute or no?

How to punish a bad ebayer?

cincinnatus c — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:34:37 -0800

As a seller on ebay, do you have any ability to warn others off unreliable (but not criminal) buyers without incurring damaging feedback yourself? Or can a buyer casually mess up your auction and get away with it? I tried searching for previous ebay questions, and they were mostly about more serious scams, and the help sections on ebay itself were vague about certain matters.

Because I'm about to move house, I've been clearing out a few unwanted things on ebay. I haven't been so active before and my feedback level is quite low (11 positives so far). Because of this, I realise that I might get slightly reduced offers, but I'm not too bothered about this - I'm looking to get rid of things to people who want them rather than making a big profit.

One of my items was an old laptop, with a battery problem. I think I signalled the problem clearly enough in the listing (which is here).

It went for £39 last night, to a buyer with similarly low feedback (14). When I contacted him today about payment he replied with the following: "after reading it properly ive decided i dont want a laptop with faults now sorry ive brought 1 new from three im sure u will sell it as a second chance sorry".

OK, so specific questions that I can't get clear answers for from ebay's help:

1. Can you decipher what he even means by "ive brought 1 new from three"? It sounds to me like he's bid to win three auctions, then decided which one he wants.

2. I know you have to wait 7 days to file a non-paying dispute, but what happens when the buyer says on day one, "Hey, I'm not paying"?

3. If I were to do the non-paying thing, can he really leave me negative feedback which at this stage would mess up my selling?

4. If I cancel his bid, do I need him to also get round to agreeing to the cancellation so I don't pay ebay final valuation fees for it?

5. If I offer it as a second-chance option to other bidders, will I be giving up the option to put a strike against him?

6. And if I do that without going through the non-paying dispute, will ebay assume I'm selling two of these, and so take final valuation fees twice?

7. And are the people who I offer a second chance likely to be suspicious - given that it's a laptop and with this guy's low feedback (and mine) - that I've been doing some shill bidding?

It is not such a big deal and there's not much money involved, compared to other people who get scammed. But what should I do with this guy? It's really annoying!

scrabble rule help!!

slograffiti — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:32:13 -0800

scrabble fight! ok, so we are having a dilemma. can you form the same word two times in one turn in the game of scrabble? more inside!! we know that you cannot form the same word twice in TWO turns (i.e. person one makes the word "in" and then person two makes the word "in")...Scrabble rules on box and online say "NEW WORDS must be formed in each consecutive turn..." but can one player make the same word twice in ONE turn? (i.e. "in" across and then "in" down again?)

I not only need an opinion, but also a LINK to where I can verify the rule online. My gut is saying you cannot make the same word twice, regardless of how you do it, but my fellow scrabble players dispute this. Thanks (in advance).

How to get my £70 back?

altolinguistic — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 06:45:56 -0800

How can I go about disputing a Visa payment when it's more than 6 months since the payment was made (without my knowledge)? This is in the UK. On my bank statement (Nationwide FlexAccount) from April I have a mysterious debit of about £70 which seems to come from a collections agency in Northamptonshire, UK (identifier is DIRECT LEGAL & C BRACKLEY). I can think of no reason why a collections agency would be coming after me. I found their website and called them and they say there's no record of my name in their database, under my current or previous addresses, and that I should contact Nationwide to dispute the payment.

I did nothing for several months because I had surgery and was recovering. I wrote to Nationwide's Visa Disputes Chargeback Team in August, explaining the situation, and a few weeks later got a letter back saying that I was too late to dispute this.

Any idea what I should do next? I would like my £70 back, or a satisfactory explanation as to why it was taken from me. Should I explain about my surgery and hope Nationwide are sympathetic? Or should I be going after the collections agency?

how can i restore peace in my high school major class?

freddymetz — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:00:11 -0800

How can i restore peace in my high school major class? We were the first Music major class in 20 years and a class of ten people, and we had a funny relaxed leniant teacher so it seemed like the perfect course.
This lasted for about half a year and now after a year its become quite unbearable (which the teacher has remarked a few times now).

We all sit close together in a U formation and were all good friends. The thing is that people take the course way too relaxed and talk even when the teacher is talking and basically exploit the teachers kindness.
It all started as fun but now i can relate to the teachers annoyance.
Its not as if we're too stupid to stop chatting in lessons because every time he sets people aside and talks to them they agree about the atmosphere and to stop talking but eventually it drifts back to the original situation!
Please help, mefi!

Is there a situation when its good to give into an aggressive man?

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:46:45 -0800

Is there a situation when its good to give into an aggressive man? I live in a small place in the middle of nowhere with a few dozen other people spread out over miles and miles. My question is not a legal one; it has only to do with how to deal with a situation using both ethics and logic to decide a course of action.

My boyfriend and I have a small financial dispute with someone else in town ("Joseph"). We have basically no previous dealings with him. Joseph thinks we owe him $200 and we think we owe him nothing. We feel his position is unreasonable (and unsupported by the law). Nonetheless, we left him a check for $100 thinking it is a small town and to compromise is better than to make a fuss over an amount that, although significant, was within our means.

When Joseph got the check, he came and found me in a semi-remote location. It was broad daylight and outside, and no one was nearby. He made me take the check back, and became slightly aggressive. I told him I was feeling threatened and ask him not to stand so close. I was backed up to my car. He came closer and said, "Oh, you feel threatened? Well back up then." I edged around the car to get him out of my space.

He said a bunch of things about the merit of his position, then backed up. I didn't want to engage him while he was acting like this, but thought well it's not fair for me never to tell him my position either. I did so, and he was quiet and listened to my position. He said at the end that was fine and it doesn't change his bill, and that he's billed me.

He started repeating the phrase, "There are consequences to your actions, every action you take has consequences." I asked him what kind of consequences, does he mean litigation, and he just repeated himself or not answer or say something else. I tried to remain really calm throughout the occasion, not really engaging him emotionally.

Then, an older man that lives sort of around sometimes was driving by and my aggressor flagged him down. He then started telling this guy the whole story, emphatically and righteously, but still, I thought, aggressively. I didn't argue because I didn't feel it was fair to put this random guy in the middle; he looked like he just wanted to get away. He diplomatically said, "Well that's a relatively small amount of money. Sounds like something you all should work out," and sped off.

My aggressor gave a deadline of Friday to come up with a check for $200, "or there will be consequences." He said this several times very emphatically, and pointed at me menacingly.

A while ago, I started dating an abuser. Seeing the signs, I got out of that deal within weeks, but not without substantial fiasco and a set of slashed tires. Joseph going off like he was today, so many of the characteristics and mannerisms reminded me of that guy, and it kind of freaked me out.

I have identified several potential next actions:

1) Pay him the $200. My concern about this is I am directly rewarding very poor behavior, and is he going to think that I will pay him anything he wants whenever he demands?

2) File a police report. To be honest, unless I am going to pay him, there's no way I can't do this. I will be a sitting duck awaiting his "consequences." Please keep in mind that there are no cops for four hours, so I can't expect them to do any to prevent violent consequences, but at least there would be a record. His consequences may be nonviolent, like litigation, but the nearest court is also four hours away and seems a bit stupid to go so far over $100. I think he was intentionally ambiguous as to whether he might be violent.

3) Do both. I kind of like this if I can file a report anonymously, but I don't know about that. I think of his wife and if he could get so aggressive with me there, then I'm sure she gets it too. Once a man assaulted me (I fought him off), and I always always regretted not filing a report. Because if some other woman wasn't able to fight him off, at least there would be a record of his history.

I would not mind compromising certain ethical concerns and doing only #1 if I thought that it would actually make me safer, but I just don't know.

I would very much appreciate thoughtful suggestions, especially from people who have some experience or education with the abusive mind and remote living.

I made an involuntary donation for the sake of art

Wavelet — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:15:44 -0800

My favorite web comic took my money, didn't send the T-shirt...I feel robbed! And torn! But also robbed! Ugh. I ordered a t-shirt and hoody from my absolute all time favorite web comic (a long running internet institution and a favorite of many Mefites as well) on June 27th. I got sent the hoody in late July, but no T-shirt. After three emails to orders at myfavoritestwebcomic.com which elicited no reply, I finally (reluctantly) decided to file a dispute with Paypal. Alas, given all the time I gave myfavoritestwebcomic guy to respond, I am now outside the statute of limitations as far as filing a Paypal dispute goes. I get: "This dispute closed because it was opened for more than 45 days after the transaction date or did not meet other filing criteria."

So, now I'm torn. This is my favorite web comic. Did I mention this? I've ordered things from them in years past without issue. I also know that myfavoritestwebcomic has received a great deal of mainstream critical acclaim in the past year, and is probably doing a much larger volume of online retailing, while still handling orders processing personally. So, should I cut the dude some slack and treat this as a 22.50 donation (and make a mental note to never handle anything through Paypal again)? Or should I make a more strenuous effort to recover the cash (how)?

Again, if this were a big box retailer, I would be making a fuss, but since this was an effort to support a favorite artist, I'm just not sure what the protocol should be.

Unreasonable/crazy landlord question -- I accepted a job in a new city, and he's being VERY difficult.

BobbyVan — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 15:45:08 -0800

Here's my situation: I live in Washington, DC. I notified my landlord about a month ago that I was offered a job in another city, and would want to either assign my lease to someone new, or sublet. This is allowed with his consent. I have one roommate who wants to stay in the 2 bedroom condo we live in. We presented a prospective tenant to the landlord with a rental application, and now the landlord is accusing us of all sorts of things... This May, we signed a new lease with the landlord. We haggled over the size of the rent increase, but finally came to an agreement.

One of the things we gave up at the end of the first lease was the parking space in the basement. There were some building security issues early on, so someone spray painted some stuff across several parking spaces including ours. When the landlord got the space back, we heard no complaints for several months (and he even started advertising the space for someone else to rent).

In July, I was offered and accepted a great job in a different city. I had no expectation that this job would ever materialize. I had been in talks about the job for over two years, and it was always a dream situation that might never work out. Of course, I wasn't going to put my life on hold in DC and not sign a new lease because of something that may never materialize.

Now that I'm leaving, and have found someone to replace me, our landlord has suddenly decided to blame us for the spray paint in the parking space, charging that we either vandalized it ourselves or failed to report it when we noticed it.

The landlord had the parking space for months, and said nothing about it to us since we handed it over, despite numerous opportunities / meetings. We honestly thought the spray paint had been in the space for as long as we had been there. In any case, I understand that under DC law, he had 45 days to make a claim against us (and use our security deposit) and he did not do that.

Also, there is this ridiculous blog that some people in the building authored that aired all the building's dirty laundry. Someone (perhaps the bloggers) spread rumors that we were behind the blog, but neither my roommate nor I were. An investigation was done, and it determined that the blog was run by a group of condo owners who were using it to push their own agenda. Of course, our landlord still used those rumors against us, and now that we've told him about the investigation, he's asking us what we've done to anger people so much that they would falsely accuse us. Talk about blaming the victim!

I'd appreciate any advice anyone has. The ideal situation is for the landlord to agree to accept the new tenant and have my current roommate stay behind.

Failing that, I'd like to have the lease broken and get our security deposit back.

I think the landlord wants us out and wants to put the condo back on the rental market for a lot more money. But of course he's not admitting that.

Should we get a lawyer? Should we break the lease? Has the landlord's outrageous behavior/accusations broken the lease?

What should we do?

(I know, what an awful, awful place this must be to live in.)

How do I find a place to stay?

mebibyte — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 22:20:07 -0800

Tried to stay with someone in a college dorm - their roommates said OK, I booked non-refundable plane tickets, I'm here now, and their roommates are backing out. Help! I've wanted to meet someone for a long time now, and we arranged to meet at her university during spring break and for a week after.

When planning the trip in January, her roommates said OK. Right before buying the tickets, I confirmed with them again just to be sure.

During spring break, we stayed in a motel off-campus, but now I'm here on-campus and her roommates are getting cold feet. While I totally understand them being uncomfortable with a stranger, the problem here is that they said it was OK for me to stay and, also, they bring strangers in on a regular basis themselves.

I have a few options here from what I can tell -

1. Stay here anyway and probably have to go through arbitration with the RA or something
2. Book a room off-campus
3. Find some magic way of getting her roommates to like me :)

Any suggestions here? Am I in the right by insisting on staying here, or asking my friend's roommates to pay for my stay elsewhere? Is it likely that my friend will get in trouble for this?

BTW, the dorms allow guests, roommate selection is random (ie. my friend doesn't know her roommates at all, outside of living with them), and they don't get along very well anyway (which may have contributed to the roommates suddenly deciding to be, well, mean).

Who gets what in a band breakup?

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:05:24 -0800

Bassist buys the tour van then quits the band in the middle of the tour. What's a fair way to distribute the money now that it's over? The agreement at the beginning was that the bassist would be financially responsible for the van and that he would keep it when the tour was over. The bassist has 3 months to find a vehicle but doesn't look for one until a week before the tour, and buys one for $2400 the day before the tour begins.

Less than 1/4 of the way into the tour the bassist has a falling out with the rest of the band (to put things charitably) and abruptly takes off, leaving the van and all documents behind. He asks the band to pay him $2400 immediately, telling them to sell the van for more than that when the tour ends and to keep the extra money. Band feels they have no obligation to pay upfront, but plans to try and sell the van at the end and send the bassist his money at that point.

Over the rest of the tour it becomes clear that the van was not purchased in good condition as the bassist had said. The van breaks down multiple times. All the tires, the alternator, and the tensioner have to be replaced to keep the van running. The repairs run $850, which the band pays for. Two shows are canceled as a result of the van breaking down, representing ~$175 in lost revenue. The band still plans to sell the van for a profit, recoup their costs, and send the bassist what he paid.

Just before the end of the tour the transmission fails. The repair is estimated at $2k. The band finishes the tour and spends many hours trying to sell the van, but the best they are able to get for it in its condition is $1500.

How much money should each party get?

Does the band have a right to keep any of the money they spent on repairs? The bassist screwed the band by taking off in the middle of the tour. He did keep to his agreement to provide the tour vehicle, but the band incurred significant costs because he was not diligent in getting the vehicle checked out. The remaining band members must also take on the bassist's share of band expenses which existed before the tour. What's fair?

Two Against One. Can We Drop Someone From Our Lease?

SansPoint — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 22:02:29 -0800

How do I/how hard is it to take someone off a lease? Okay, About two months ago, I moved into a 3 bedroom house with two friends I go to college with. All three of us signed the lease, and it was cosigned by my father, who put up the third required month's rent towards the security deposit.

One housemate, J, has been nothing but a pain with regards to financial issues. We had to cover his first month's rent, a pro-rated payment coming to slightly over half a regular month's rent, as he had no money left. Admittedly, he had been having trouble finding a job, though was employed at the time. He did not receive his first check until after the rent was due, but he did not offer anything he had. We threatened to take him to small claims court unless he paid us back^1..

When J paid me, and the housemate back for this payment, he did it exceedingly grudgingly, and said he would take out a loan to cover his remaining share. We agreed under the condition that he not throw fits over paying bills.

When I informed him of cable and gas bills that arrived two weeks ago, he said he did not get paid until that coming Sunday. I informed him the bills were not due for two weeks. He still complained about being TOLD of the bills existence. Similarly, when the second month's rent was due, he threw a fit when I asked him for a check, as the loan had not come in yet.

Ultimately, I had to embarrass him in front of a friend he had brought over on Saturday to get his $15 share of that cable bill, and get the $45 he owed me for the first cable bill, and a SEPTA Transpass I bought him to get to his summer class^2.. This, he had owed me, for nearly six weeks, even before the first month's rent was due.

He is leaving for California today, coming back August 1st, the day rent is due. I asked him to leave a post-dated check, and he exploded, calling his mother to get her to help him convince me to let him slide until his return, so he could pay all his remaining rent in one lump sum, as the loan he took out was delayed. He, essentially, accused me of extortion, even though this would be a post-dated check made out to the property managment company, not to me. Also, he left a threatening note to the other housemate, R, and I, causing R to fear for his life. Rather than live in a Demilitarized Zone, I told him that we're taking him off the lease ASAP.

So, first, do I have a case here? Secondly, I have contacted the property management people we are dealing with, and left a message explaining my situation: what can I expect to happen when I talk to them? Third, will I be able to take his person off the lease?

^1. We only did this because of his cavalier attitude. It felt like he wouldn't pay us back.

^2. A class he routinely showed up an hour late to—and failed, and then blamed me for it, saying he should never had taken the class by my suggestion.

Who's at fault in my rental dispute?

holympus — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 22:38:20 -0800

The three bedroom apartment I just leased is supposed to be "fully furnished," but I've just discovered that one of the bedrooms is empty. Is my landlord in the wrong? What do I do now? This is a total mess. Let me explain.

I just graduated from college in southern California in May. Two of my friends and I decided that we wanted to live together in Los Angeles for a bit. When school ended, we all went to our respective homes (I live in Maryland), and I took it upon myself to begin looking for apartments.

I found a listing on craigslist for a three bedroom house in Glendale, and the listing stated that the house was fully furnished. I asked a friend who was still in Los Angeles to go check it out and see what the house and the people who owned it were like. She was not one of the people who was going to be living with me in the house--just a friend doing me a really nice favor. She obliged, even taking pictures of the house to send to me.

The owners, a husband and a wife, were scheduled to leave the house at the end of May, so they were eager to find someone to rent it. My friend was very enthusiastic about the place, so I applied to rent it. The owners accepted our application, and we signed a lease.

Here's where it gets ugly. My first future roommate arrived at the house today, and the third bedroom is empty. There is nothing in it. No bed, no nothing.

The lease agreement states explicitly that the home is "fully furnished." It does not state that the home has three bedrooms, but the ad on craigslist and all of my correspondence with the landlord included mention of the "3BR..." home.

My two friends and I rented a place without ever having seen it. We did this mostly by my arrangement, because I trusted the judgment of my other friend, who had looked at the place and was very enthusiastic about it. She ended up not sending me the photos that she had taken due to of a combination of technical and personal problems, and I wasn't even that worried about seeing them because of her endorsement. There were also a few photos of the home in the craigslist ad, and it looked fine (and furnished) in those photos.

We called the landlord, and here's what he says: the sofa in the living room folds out and can be used as a third bed. He also says that my friend went and looked at the place, and she saw the room that was empty, so I should have known that it was.

Here's what I say (I'm really angry about this...): what my friend saw or did doesn't matter. She was doing me a favor and making sure that the place was not in disrepair and that the people were legitimate. We hadn't even seen the lease agreement when she was viewing the house, so there's no way it could have been her job to insure that the house met the terms of the lease. For all she knew, they were going to put a bed in that room before we got there. The ads said it's a three bedroom house, and the agreement says it's fully furnished. That means each of the three bedrooms should have a bed. Even if we take the couch out of the living room and move it into the third bedroom to use it as a bed, that would leave us with a living room that doesn't have a couch, which is certainly not fully furnished.

I think a fair solution is for the landlord to pay for a bed, and for us to pay prorated rent until the bed is not there in the amount of 2/3 of the rent stated in the agreement.

This has been quite the introduction to the real world. Help me (us) settle this. Who is right, and what is a reasonable solution? I plan on potentially showing this page to the landlord, just so you all know.

Apartment Exit Strategy, Part 2

LordSludge — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 08:08:50 -0800

Bob the Asshole, my old landlord, kept my security deposit. This is the Part 2 followup to my original question. I'll summarize:

I had rented an apartment from Joe the Friendly Landlord. I signed a lease agreement with Joe the Friendly Landlord and paid him a security deposit.

Joe the Friendly Landlord sold the building to Bob the Asshole (not his real name, heh). Bob the Asshole eventually distributed new lease agreements, but I never signed one. I don't think Bob the Asshole knows that I never signed it.

I moved out, left the place in the same shape it was when I moved in, and Bob the Asshole kept my security deposit, roughly $1000.

His assistant told me, over the phone, that he's keeping the security deposit to cover three items:

Carpet needed replacing -- Indeed it did. It did before I moved in, as the previous owner had dogs. I actually complained about the spotted carpet several times. (Nothing in writing, though. grrr...)

Apartment needed repainting -- Nothing beyond normal wear and tear; the paint was cracked and generally lousy when I moved in.

Ceiling needed repair due to water damage from a roof that leaked during an ice storm. Water damage due to a leaky roof is not my responsibility. I asked Bob the Asshole twice to fix it. (But again, nothing in writing.)

For reference, here's a representative list of things a landlord can withhold for.

Unfortunately, I have no photographs or anything to document the apartment's original condition, and neither does Bob the Asshole. I know this because I had the only key to the deadbolt. But I do have a witness (former neighbor) that would probably be willing to testify on my behalf.

Essentially, Bob the Asshole remodeled the apartment at my expense.
.
.
.
So... As much as I hate legal bullshit, I'm thinking it's small claims court time.

South Carolina rent law says the following (emphasis mine):

When you move out in South Carolina, you should give the landlord a forwarding address. The landlord then has 30 days to either return your security deposit or provide a written explanation of the amount withheld.

(a) Upon termination of the tenancy, property or money held by the South Carolina landlord as security must be returned less amounts withheld by the landlord for accrued rent and damages which the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with Section 27-40-510. Any deduction from the security/rental deposit must be itemized by the landlord in a written notice to the tenant together with the amount due, if any, within thirty days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession and demand by the tenant, whichever is later. The tenant shall provide the landlord in writing with a forwarding address or new address to which the written notice and amount due from the landlord may be sent. If the tenant fails to provide the landlord with the forwarding or new address, the tenant is not entitled to damages under this subsection provided the landlord (1) had no notice of the tenant's whereabouts and (2) mailed the written notice and amount due, if any, to the tenant's last known address.

(b) If the landlord fails to return to the tenant any prepaid rent or security/rental deposit with the notice required to be sent by the landlord pursuant to subsection (a), the tenant may recover the property and money in an amount equal to three times the amount wrongfully withheld and reasonable attorney's fees.

Here are my questions:

I never received any written itemized list of damages to the property, but I only gave my address over the phone (twice) when I requested the written list. I continued to check my old mailbox at the old apartment, and nothing was delivered there either. It's way past the 30 day point, but since I supplied nothing in writing, they may be able to claim they didn't have my forwarding address, which I'm thinking (?) may preclude me from collecting damages. (Here's an idea: Even though it's about 90 days after I've moved out, I could still send a certified letter requesting the itemized list. If they don't respond to that within 30 days, I've got Bob the Asshole by the short hairs...)

thinks

threaten

Should I just hire a lawyer? (Or is this too small-potatoes for a lawyer to deal with?)

Sorry this is so long, but there's my saga. Let it be a lesson to all tenants -- MAKE ALL YOUR CORRESPONDENCE TO YOUR LANDLORD IN WRITING. In retrospect, yeah, I should have just not paid the last month's rent... (And, yes, I enjoy typing "Bob the Asshole"!)

How to use my neighbour's driveway if they're unwilling?

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 15:24:01 -0800

A large truck needs to get into my backyard, but my driveway is too small. I don't get along with my neighbour. In the event he refuses, what are my options? A large truck needs to get into my backyard to conduct some drilling for some testing. However, my driveway sits right beside a hill and is much too small for the very large truck. However, there is access to my backyard from my neighbour's driveway, but we don't really get along well (that's an understatement). If he refuses to allow the truck to use his driveway, what are my options? Are there any laws that allow for reasonable access in this manner?

Ebay item broken in shipping, who is responsible?

Gamblor — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 07:00:31 -0800

I bought a stereo component off ebay, and it arrived broken. Thankfully, when I made the purchase, in the shipping options, I opted to include shipping insurance (vis USPS). I've already opened a dispute with PayPal, but we're at an impass: I say, "I'm not accepting broken merchandise, with the hope that the Post Office will pay me back at some point in the future." The seller says, "It was working when I sent it to you, and you wanted shipping insurance, so now it's your problem."

My issue is that shipping insurance isn't a guarantee of repayment. He packed the item, he shipped the item, but should I be the one to file the claim? I purchased a stereo component, not a bureaucratic errand. And I'm giving the seller the benefit of the doubt, but for all I know, he sold an already broken piece of equipment.

Has anyone had any experience with this kind of situation? Which party is responsible for filing the insurance claim when an item is damaged in shipping?

Help me diffuse a neighbour dispute...

gwenzel — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 09:05:14 -0800

I want to avoid a feud with my neighbour - what is the best way to go about doing this? Of course there's... Here's the background: I live in an upper-middle-class suburban neighbourhood. The neighbours are generally friendly, respectful people, with one exception - the people next door. They appear to be a nuclear family (mom, dad, two university-aged kids).

These people have assorted junk strewn about their yard (garbage cans, aquariums, etc) and their back deck is literally falling apart. In short, their back yard is an eyesore.

I could live with the back yard looking crappy, but a few years ago they left a rusted-out deep freeze sitting on their front driveway. After it was there for three weeks (!) I called the city's bylaw enforcement department, who came out and sent an official request that the junk be removed from their driveway (if they don't do it after the official request, they get fined). I know I should have just asked them to move the freezer before calling the city, but I didn't know them or want to have much to do with them.

This past weekend their son had friends over. One of the friends was kind enough to park his truck such that it was completely blocking my driveway. I was pissed off, went over and rang the doorbell, and asked that they have the truck moved. To their credit, the owner of the vehicle did move it right away, but I made sure that I voiced my displeasure about his poor parking decisions, pointing out that there were plenty of parking spots on the other side of the street that wouldn't block any driveways. The son and his friends came out, and seemed surprised that I was pissed off.

This morning I ran into the mom out front, and tried to ask her to remind their guests not to block my driveway. This deteriorated into a shouting match complete with assorted insults (going both ways) and several complaints from me about their yard, parking choices, etc. It became clear that these people don't like me because I called the bylaw people a few years ago (I knew they always suspected it was me, but I confirmed it for them this morning). The main insult that the mom had for me was to call me "a woman", which I found most ironic given her gender.

Anyhow, I've now calmed down and want to put this dispute behind me. I don't want this problem to escalate. Here's my plan:

- I will bring over a peace offering after work today, and sincerely apologize for calling the city before talking to them, and for any insult or offence I caused this morning and last weekend.

- If they don't accept the apology, I will leave the peace offering on their step, and let them know that they know where to find me if they want to put the dispute in the past.

After all that, here's my questions:

1) Is the above plan a good idea? Should I apologize ASAP, or wait a few days?

2) What is an appropriate peace offering in this situation? I was thinking something like a coffee gift basket or something similar?

3) The family is of Asian descent (Chinese, I think). Are there any cultural mores that I should know about that would let me handle this situation without creating more insults?

4) Any other advice from people who have had similar disputes? Any other advice at all?

Should we take the money and run?

Diskeater — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 19:34:22 -0800

Our landlords didn't give us the full security deposit and now that the hearing date is approaching, they offered to finally pay it to us in full. Should we or shouldn't we accept their offer? You just know that there is much... My roommate and I had a one-year lease that was up at the beginning of July. We decided to find a new place and not renew, largely because we were both completely fed up with our landlords. We gave them the appropriate notice and we moved out on June 30th, one day before our lease was up.

One of our landlords (the wife) did an apartment inspection. We were still in the process of moving out so we explained that we still had to clean the place, which she understood, she did note some tack marks in the walls from the four or so posters we had up, but the apartment was in otherwise great condition.

The problem was that I had the utilities taken out of my name and the landlords / new tenants didn’t bother to put them in their name….so we had no power on the last day. That meant that we couldn’t give the place a thorough vacuuming. We left a note and fully expected to be charged something for the floor cleaning.

We had given them $900 for a security deposit that we were supposed to get back 14 days after we moved out, along with an itemized list of any deductions. This is the law that states that (along with a bunch of other relevant facts).

Needless to say, they didn’t send anything to us, so near the end of July, I filed a claim at the Burlington Housing Board of Review, per information I gathered from this excellent website.

Sometime during the second week of August, we finally got a portion of the security deposit back. It was something like $780, with about $70ish being deducted for carpet cleaning and the rest for “numerous tack holes in walls”. We cashed the check but we wrote “PENDING LITAGATION” on the back.

Also: A landlord is supposed to put the S.D. in an “interest earning account” and we are supposed to get the interest and it doesn’t look like they did that.

Last week, we finally got a hearing date of October 2nd, as well as a call from one of our landlords. She asked if we had received our security deposit and I told her that we had. She then asked “what were we expecting to receive?” I told her that after 14 days, they waived the right to make any deductions. She offered to pay us the full $900 in lieu of going to the hearing and I told her that I would have to get back to her.

My roommate is leaning towards accepting the offer because he is more hard-pressed for cash than I am…but I kind of want to go thru with the hearing. According to the law, if the withholding of the S.D was “willful”, they could be eligible for up to double the S.D., but I really don’t know what that means. Worst case scenario, we do have the $780 and I don’t see any reason why we would lose.

I think they’ve done enough improper stuff to give us a shot at some extra cash.

So what does the hive-mind think? I also tried to be as concise as possible but I can definitely give more info if requested.

Property Line Dispute, with a neighbor who is selling.

krudiger — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 11:03:20 -0800

Property Line Dispute, with a neighbor who is selling. Should we resolve it now, or hope for the best with the new neighbor? Live in L.A. Our property line, between us and the neighbor is a straight line, running about 3 feet from our garage. But, when the fence gets to the corner of our garage, it just cuts over and the side of our garage becomes the defacto fence (essentially giving away that 3 feet wide strip of land).

Now, we don't actually care about that piece of property. But, the problem is that the dirt is higher on the neighbor's side, so this current arrangement leaves dirt pressing up against our garage, trapping moisture and, long story short, causing termite problems. Zoiks!

So, given this, we've been trying to work something out with the neighbor where we rebuild the fence on the true property line. He has been dragging it out forever, saying he would help us, not getting back to us, and we've been sort of conflict avoidant for too long.

Now, I went over to talk to him yesterday about it, proposed a weekend to do the work, and he said we would have a new neighbor by them and should talk to him about it. We sort of know the guy who bought the house - he has done handywork in the neighborhood before (and we didn't know it was being sold, because it was in probate, so there wasn't the usual sigh, open house kind of thing).

So, sorry for the very long explanation, but here is the question - What should we do? We want to have a good relationship with the new neighbor, don't want to spring this on him, etc. It would have obviously been ideal to get this resolved before the sale, but now it is about a week from closing escrow. My more confrontational friends say, file a property line dispute, hold up the sale and get it resolved. I just think we are likely to make a permanent enemy of the new neighbor (and this problem isn't his doing). On the other hand, some have suggested that if we let the sale go through then we may be, in effect letting the new "property line" stand. Argh. Any advice appreciated.

Yeah SmallCompany, you go and threaten the yearly charity fundraiser. Jerks.

twiggy — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 17:51:34 -0800

I've received a phone call, but not a cease and desist (yet) on a domain name I own. There's lots Yes, I found a previous AskMe but it doesn't answer my question and didn't have a follow up / resolution.

Abridged version: Guy has trademark on words that match my domain name, I had domain registered before trademark was official. Do I need to hire a lawyer if I want to keep it?

It's really worth reading the rest though:

So I own a domain name. It's a few common words strung together, and was thought up entirely independently. In fact, I was somewhat surprised it wasn't taken. It's currently being used for a noncommercial purpose (a yearly charity fundraiser, actually).

Today, I came in to work to hear a voicemail, left on my direct line at work, from someone asking to talk to me about "my website". It should be noted that my direct line at work is not published anywhere (that I'm aware of), and that a valid number is available in the whois for the domain as well as on my own website (which is linked 2 clicks away from the website in question!).

As it turns out, this guy owns a trademark on the string of words that matches my domain. He filed for this trademark before I registered this domain, but the trademark was not approved until several months after I registered this domain.

I called him back at the number left on the voicemail, and he sounded nice enough at first, until he got to the "I'd just like to get the domain from you now, rather than have to take you to court", which rubbed me the wrong way especially given his tone of voice.

I politely responded "I think based on my knowledge of trademark law that I'm not actually obligated to give this domain up", to which he responded that I am being unethical, and that perhaps he should call my employer.

Notes:
- As it turns out by complete coincidence, this person has done business with the gargantuan behemoth company that is my employer. Perhaps this is how he dug up my name.
- I might have been willing to part with the domain had he not rubbed me the wrong way with his two distinct threats. Now, as a matter of principle, I feel like holding on to it.
- I do not sell any product at the website which this domain displays, nor do I compete in any way shape or form with his "business".
- His trademark is a "Name Mark" for a product his business sells, not for the business itself.
- I have not offered to sell him the domain name for any given price - I know this is viewed as "bad faith"
- Based on my own readings of the ICANN dispute policy, I believe I have airtight ownership of the domain. Points 4.a.ii, 4.a.iii (applicable disputes) do not apply in this case. points 4.b.i, 4.b.ii, 4.b.iii, 4.b.iv all do not apply (bad faith use). Points 4.c.i, 4.c.iii (my rights/legitimate interest) do apply.

Also worth noting:
- Their company name .com is not even owned by them. They have the .net .. it seems the .com holder has a business of the same name, but does not own the trademark (the guy complaining to me does hold the trademark) .. still they own the domain name, which I think bodes well for me.
- They've bought the .net and .org of the domain name I own, but seem to not be content without the .com that I have.
- They claim their product has existed since 2002 in the market, but the domain wasn't taken when I registered it back in February 2005, and their trademark wasn't registered 'til much later in 2005.

So my main question is this: Can I go through one of these ICANN disputes without a lawyer, or do I have to lawyer up just to hold on to this domain name? I don't sell anything on this site, so I don't really want to pay for a lawyer at this point.

I'm also curious if there's any implications of harassment from his threats, or invasion of privacy, especially considering he avoided my publicly available and working phone number from the whois, and tracked down my private direct work phone number.

Demand for payment on already-paid-off credit card

moss — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 23:49:02 -0800

SketchyDebtCollectionsFilter: Someone calling and demanding payment on a credit card that was paid off and cancelled in 2002. Fraud? Error? What can be done? Asking for a friend who wanted to remain anonymous. Their words follow:
Someone left a message for me today about an "overdue Mastercard" -- a "Very Serious Matter" that I needed to get back to him about immediately. I called the 800 number he left and spoke to him, at which point he brought up a Visa account I'd paid off and closed in 2002 to the best of my knowledge. I had a bad run in with credit card debt and international life and not getting mail back in the first two years of this century, but in 2002 I paid off and closed nearly all my accounts. This man wanted proof. I wasn't sure I could find any, but what I seem to have found in my credit history on my three free reports gotten tonight is that two of them say the account is open and in good standing and last reported in 2001 and the third says the account was charged off in 2002. If the account was charged off in 2002 did I not pay it? Is this guy legit or a scammer (he does not appear to be with the company the card was issued by, but he does know my old card number)? If the account was charged off in 2002 will this all disappear in 2009? What should I do?

What do I owe my landlord?

papakwanz — Wed, 24 May 2006 19:23:38 -0800

I'm having some difficulty with my ex-landlord over $$... When I moved in to the rental property, there was an old upright piano there (I'm talking really old, out of tune, basically a piece of junk). He asked if I wanted it removed, I said I really didn't care, so he left it. It was not mentioned specifically in the lease agreement, nor was it mentioned in the move-in inspection.

Shortly after I moved in, one of the legs cracked while I was moving it to a different room, so I just had it hauled away. I didn't think it was a big deal so I didn't mention it to him, as I was under the impression that it was left over from his previous tenant (as a number of other pieces of property were).

When I moved out last week, we did a move-out inspection and my landlord did not mention anything about it and returned my security deposit (which I have already deposited). Today he calls me upset about the piano and demanding some sort of restitution on the basis of "principle." He asked for $400, which I said was ridiculous for an old broken-down piano. I offered $100, and he agreed.

Now, though, I'm a little upset, and I don't really think I should pay even that much. If the item meant that much to him, he should have taken it out of the house or put it into the contract. It obviously wasn't important enough for him to notice it when we did the walk-through. I feel like he's trying to juice me for money. What kind of legal obligation am I under? Should I just pay the $100 and be done with it? Should I counteroffer a lower amount (it cost me about $50 to have it hauled away)? What do I really need to be wary of here?