Good morning!
Thank you so much to the community here. After around three weeks of being a part of the forums here, I have had a 26 point increase on my eq fico and have had two collections deleted from my credit accounts. I can't wait to see my refreshed score including the two deletions. My biggest challenge, however, I have no clue what to do with.
In 2009, I was renting an apartment, but also had a tenant in my primary turned investment property. I had to evict the tenant and had trouble paying both rent and mortgage. I requested and submitted an early lease termination request, however, the complex said I would have to pay the current month rent ($867) plus the two month rent cancellation fee at the same time for it to take effect. I could not and they said I would have to go to court. Long story less long, the court had a mediation program due to my county's large number of evictions. I had a counterclaim which I entered with the court for a back injury due to unsafe conditions at the prop. The mediated settlement was that if I dropped my counterclaim, the complex would accept my request to terminate my lease early, would give me an additional 5 days or so to move (no eviction proceeding), and would give me additional time to pay the lease cancellation fee. Also, no judgement would be on my credit report. No additional fees could be imposed and I was not responsible for the dispossessory filing fees.
I complied with what was discussed and turned in the required funds by certified check to the courthouse in advance of the appointed date. I also moved all of my belongings out of the apartment as discussed. My current report shows a collection with an original balance of $1504 (the amount I was to bring to the courthouse) and a current balance of $2,214. I am assuming the additional amount is HW's fees.
Can anyone tell me the best way to go about resolving this? Do I need to go back to the court or the original complex rather than HW?
UPDATE: 8/12/14
Went to the courthouse this week to get a copy of the certified check I submitted. The clerk at the courthouse suggested I also speak with the apartment complex management. Drove over to the complex and spoke to a manager. Apparently, a week after the mediation was finalized in court, the complex added additional charges to my account - including charging me $867 for terminating my lease early and almost $700 in miscellaneous fees. The early lease termination was clearly outlined in the settlement, and the mediation paperwork (which became a court order) specified a date and time for me to turn in my keys as well as the total amount to be paid. The complex manager told me that it was standard practice for them to do a final move out review and assess additional charges after a settlement is reached. This sounds 100% wrong to me. If I sue someone and we settle, I can't later decide I have not appropriately assessed what I will accept and bill them for more. 
Additionally, the complex never sent me info about their new charges. According to the manager I spoke to, their standard practice is to contract directly with a CA if additional charges are assessed after a settlement is reached.
I am trying to compile my intent to sue letter and have been reviewing examples on this board. My question is how should I frame my challenge? If I say the account is settled and additional charges are in violation of the court court order, can Hunter Warfield simply reply that they are reporting the amount due as reported by the original creditor and continue to report the debt as is?
The complex bills itself as higher end residences for local professionals and city dwellers. Would a BBB complaint also be something I would consider in this instance?
Thanks so much for any advice.
@Anonymous wrote:Good morning!
Thank you so much to the community here. After around three weeks of being a part of the forums here, I have had a 26 point increase on my eq fico and have had two collections deleted from my credit accounts. I can't wait to see my refreshed score including the two deletions. My biggest challenge, however, I have no clue what to do with.
In 2009, I was renting an apartment, but also had a tenant in my primary turned investment property. I had to evict the tenant and had trouble paying both rent and mortgage. I requested and submitted an early lease termination request, however, the complex said I would have to pay the current month rent ($867) plus the two month rent cancellation fee at the same time for it to take effect. I could not and they said I would have to go to court. Long story less long, the court had a mediation program due to my county's large number of evictions. I had a counterclaim which I entered with the court for a back injury due to unsafe conditions at the prop. The mediated settlement was that if I dropped my counterclaim, the complex would accept my request to terminate my lease early, would give me an additional 5 days or so to move (no eviction proceeding), and would give me additional time to pay the lease cancellation fee. Also, no judgement would be on my credit report. No additional fees could be imposed and I was not responsible for the dispossessory filing fees.
I complied with what was discussed and turned in the required funds by certified check to the courthouse in advance of the appointed date. I also moved all of my belongings out of the apartment as discussed. My current report shows a collection with an original balance of $1504 (the amount I was to bring to the courthouse) and a current balance of $2,214. I am assuming the additional amount is HW's fees.
Can anyone tell me the best way to go about resolving this? Do I need to go back to the court or the original complex rather than HW?
If you have the proof you complied with the terms of the settlement you need to send ITS (intent to sue) letters to whoever is reporting this, the violation of law would be false credit reporting under the FCRA.
