I have been waiting for a delivery from Barnes and Noble. Today I got a Collection Notice from my former apartment building, Newport Village Apartments. Not the same. On October 8, 2010, The Southwest Collection Service, Inc in Orange California sent a communication informing me that I had been turned over owing $685.37 plus $7.14 in interest. Yet, I have never received a bill from either Newport Village or the parent company Norman Jacobson Realty. Which left me with the question, how can I be in collection for money I did not know I owe?
Befuddled, I phoned the office. After looking through my file, the woman who answers the phone lists the variety of ways they nickel and dimes away my security deposit. $150 for carpet cleaning, $10 for blind cleaning and so on and so forth. After being put on hold twice she informed me she would have to call me back.
Twenty minutes later, my phone rang. She now had an explanation of the collection notice. I owed money.
I have two issues with this. First, how can I already be turned over to collection on October 8, 2010 when I moved out on September 11, 2010 for a debt of which I wasn’t aware? Second, why are they charging me for “normal wear and tear” repairs and cleaning that they would do regardless of the state of my apartment.
When I inquired into issue number one, I was informed that I should have known I owed but they do not send bills. Never, not even when I returned my keys, did anyone inform me that I would owe money.
As for question number two, she claimed that the security deposit was supposed to go towards normal wear and tear. I asked if I had the carpet cleaned before I move would they still have had them cleaned. She said, “If it were not professionally cleaned.” Which I took as an unequivocal yes.
Finally, I spoke with her manager. She informed me that the same day she, Newport Village Apartments, reports the debt to the collection agency is the same day she send the information of amount owed to the corporate office, Norman Jacobson Realty so they can send a bill. Huh? You turn me over to collections before an invoice can even be printed. She is certain, as it is California law they sent me a bill however if I “received it is another question.” Seems illegal, at the very least unethical.
Granted, once it gets sorted out I will pay without any impact on my credit score; however the approach seems a bit, well, drastic.
Can they do this? Anyone in the know, please advice. If you know someone who might know please forward. Anyone else, pipe in.
http://normanjacobsonrealty.com/contactUs
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Seems like the smart business thing to do would have been to send you an invoice, not turn you over for collection in about a month's time.
ReplyDeleteIt may be legal, but it's bad business.
I have no idea what the usual procedure would be but it does seem strange and rather drastic to me. Especially be cause the collection agency probably takes part of the money you owe as a fee for having to collect! Um would have been easier they just deliver the invoice to you upon returning your keys! You were livin in crazyville so none of this comes as surprise really HAHA! So the people at the pool were not the only unusual characters!
ReplyDeleteI found out that California Law requires them to supply an itemized invoice--or check--within three weeks of the move out date. It has been over a month now so I am going to dispute the validity of the debt.
ReplyDeleteGo to Findlaw.com type in the issue it should help a little bit. I can't believe this crap it seems that every were we go people want to nickel and dime us just for breathing..
ReplyDelete