Bea's son had the same problem when he rented his house out for a year or so. The renters pretty much destroyed the interior.

 

E-mail from AMEX this morning:

"Thank you for contacting us regarding a charge(s) on your account ending in XXXXX from WAL-MART.COM.
While this matter is under investigation, you'll not be responsible for the amount under review of $208.97. We will adjust any interest charges or American Express fees associated with the disputed amount, if applicable."


At least I know they are looking into it.

 

^^ I had the same experience with my credit card. They removed the charges plus interest. As to the renters, yes we'll keep the security deposit, but it falls thousands of dollars short of the necessary repairs. In addition to the thievery, pet urine and trash all over the place, the renters painted over tongue and groove custom wall paneling (accent walls). It would have been cost prohibitive to remove the paint, so instead we had to have it professionally painted. Just before we moved out we had new porcelain tile installed in two of the bathrooms. They never cleaned the floors so all the tile was stained and the grout was just plain nasty. We're having all that professionally cleaned and polished and regrouted where necessary. All the hardware from the kitchen cabinetry had been removed and there were just holes where the hardware used to be. I could go on and on, but it would serve no useful purpose. We have contractors working feverishly to finish everything in a timely fashion, so we're just moving forward. The contractor told me this morning that the more he does, the more stuff he finds that was damaged. Such is life.

 

Valentine, that's horrible, what they did to your place! Grrr.

 

Val, I think given the damage you should go after them - even if just in small claims court for the max allowable.

 

Liz and I have been thinking about buying a New York City apartment in a co-op or condo and subleasing it. On paper is seems like a great investment. What happened to Val is exactly the reason we haven't moved on it. Aside from the problems of collecting rents and keeping it rented, the potential for damage is frightful.

Val, I imagine you must be heartbroken. It's more than just the money, its also a violation of something that's dear to you. I sympathize with you.

Unfortunately, going to court (small claims or otherwise) is probably more bother than it's worth, and, you might not be able to collect even if you win. Probably the best thing to do is chalk it up to a bad experience, repair the damage and move on. This kind of thing will eat you up if you let it.

 

A few years ago I got a phone call from Amex asking if I was buying gas in Florida. I wasn't (I wasn't even in Florida) and the charges never appeared on my card. I asked for and received a new card and account number.

About 3 years ago Discover enclosed my monthly bill with someone else's and sent it to them. The person who received my bill forwarded it to me with a note explaining what happened. That person was probably honest but I called discover and got a new card with a new number.

In the last few years Discover has called me anytime I charge a relatively big ticket item (computer, plane tickets, etc.) on my account.

Identity theft is getting bigger every day. This year we received quite a few rejected e-filed tax returns because the IRS claimed that the social security number had already been used on a tax return that had previously been filed. Apparently, people are filing bogus returns using stolen social security numbers and asking for refunds. When this happens the actual taxpayer has to jump through hoops to straighten it out and it takes a very long time for them to get their refund.

 

We thought about pursuing them, but frankly if they can't even afford to buy a house, they can't afford to pay us. We'd have to make several trips to VA, hire an attorney, give him half of the proceeds (if there were any) and it just isn't really worth it. We've gotten over being angry and are moving forward with plans to sell. The floors turned out beautifully and the repairs are moving along. We're just hoping to sell it soon and let it be a memory. I would not recommend renting a home to anyone. It is just not worth the headache. If you own a number of dwellings/apartment buildings, etc., I'm sure there's a lot of money to be made and you can hire on a handy-man to take care of repairs. We're happy where we are and we'll be happy when the house in VA sells.

 

Year's past, I've gone to small claims a number of times. Hardly any trouble at all. Probably every state is different. I would think the only real problem for Val is that she is no longer in the area but I doubt she would have to attend more than once. Even if they are not immediately collectible, I would still do it for principal and it would serve them right. As it stands now, no sweat.

 

You're assuming that if she won, which in itself is a big if, that she'd be able to collect. That and the fact that she lives far enough away that simply traveling to the court would be a bother and when you consider what she'd get if she did win its probably not worth the effort.

I've gone to small claims court too, and I've won, but the time and effort it took cost me more than I won. It's very honorable to win for the sake of proving a point and to right a wrong, but sometimes it just isn't worth the fight.