Screwed, or how I learned to stop worrying and love the

Kits · Post by **Kits** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 2:15 pm

Financial Rape.

So fucking Lake Harbin Apartments just sent Nick and I to collections. Not for the 1400 it's supposed to be oh no....for over 2100 fucking dollars. I've never felt so consecutively pissed and helpless in my life. I just want to scream and hit things. I want to fight them for all I've got yet at the same time I know it'd be a wasted guesture. They'd just win and then some other clueless couple will move in and get robbed. I figure if we fight them though we'd make them spend more. I just don't want to go down without a damned fight. I wonder how one of them would feel if THEY got mugged on their doorstep. I fucking bet it wouldn't be "Oh you can't run away from it". It'd be more "I'm getting the fuck out of here, I don't feel safe". And I bet THEY wouldn't want to pay a lease breaking fee after only being there a month and a half either. Anyone know any cheap lawyers in the Atlanta area??

Tigger · Post by **Tigger** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 2:52 pm

Fight it - I think you can win, just based on the fact that you were mugged ON YOUR DOORSTEP. You shouldn't be victimized twice. You might up spending more money- but if they think you are going to fight it perhaps they'll roll. I can't believe they're trying to charge you even more - did they say WHY?

wocket · Post by **wocket** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 2:58 pm

Oh sweetie....wow. It's like they heard about your muggers and figured they wanted in on some of the action.
*hugs*

Fight them for everything they're worth. That's such bullshit.

Calus · Post by **Calus** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 2:59 pm

Lease breaking fee? Fight and I mean make a few calls to get noticed what they are doing.

Bigity · Post by **Bigity** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 3:24 pm

Really. Call your local news station.

Reasonable people should have been willing to work out some kinda of delayed payment for that month.

Post by **Blaze** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 1:53 am

[quote="Bigity";p="675359"]Really. Call your local news station.

Reasonable people should have been willing to work out some kinda of delayed payment for that month.[/quote]

That is an absolute truth. Call your news station and SOB. Play frigging whistleblower. Even if you don't win, you'll get donations to cover it.

Jezebel · Post by **Jezebel** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 1:55 am

As awful as the situation is, I don't know if there's actually anything that you can do if you signed a contract and the rental company is following the stipulations set forth in the contract.

Post by **Blaze** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 2:05 am

Chances are, the state has laws about unsafe living conditions. If they don't provide proper building security (which probably involves at least so many watts of light and an emergency button on the intercom), they might have violated the agreement too.

Jezebel · Post by **Jezebel** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 2:37 am

I skimmed and did a ctrl F on this page about Georgia tenant laws, and I didn't see anything that would be a state law. Though someone that feels like reading all of that may find something that I couldn't find with a logical search word or a brief skim. However, if the particular lease that was signed mentions providing any of those things and it didn't, a case could be made.

Metzgirl · Post by **Metzgirl** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 9:39 pm

<_<

Where's the lawyer when you need him?

*runs off to ask her friend*

>_>

That sounds like crap, but I would at least take a fine-toothed comb to the lease.

Edit:

My lawyer friend (just passed his bar in Iowa) says that if you check into Pro Hac Vice (litterally translated it means "for this case only"- it allows lawyers to take up one case in a different sate without being licensed there) laws in Georgia, he would be willing to take your case.

In fact the ball park figures he gave me... Well, I'll just quote it:

Charles says:
IF Georgia's PHV rules allow me to get involved without a fee, we'd probably look at $200-$400 for entry of appearance, research and starting correspondence and we'd take it from there, if my hunch is correct and they're extorting her, that'd be all, if I'd have to sue them for failure to provide a safe entry-way (which I think is a good case) I might need costs

He also mentioned that there are landlord/tenant laws tend to be more friendly to the tenant in general, and that most of the time general "lease breaking fees" are more on a per deim basis: For however long the appartment goes unoccupied, you pay the rent.

I'm not sure how much lawyers in Georia would charge, but the offer is definately open. I've known him since college and he was best man at my wedding, so I can definately vouch for him. PM me if you're interested.

Double Edit:
However, a quick google search turned up this page:
http://www.gas.uscourts.gov/provice2.pd ... e%20Law%22
Which indicates that there is a $200 fee for such cross-boarder lawyering

Kits · Post by **Kits** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 9:02 pm

/me sighs. We just don't HAVE that kind of money floating around right now. And that's about the cheapest we've found here as well. I mean, unless you're a drunk driver or bancrupt you're fucked in GA.

Jamie Bond · Post by **Jamie Bond** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 9:08 pm

I wish there was something I could do to help

Post by **Martin Blank** » Sun Sep 24, 2006 7:47 pm

[quote="KitsuneMusume";p="676334"]/me sighs. We just don't HAVE that kind of money floating around right now. And that's about the cheapest we've found here as well. I mean, unless you're a drunk driver or bancrupt you're fucked in GA.[/quote]
Is the apartment complex owned by another company? Do you have a police report about the mugging? If so, that may be used to garner some sympathy with the owners. If not, it's your word against the contract you signed, and the courts are unlikely to be sympathetic as their hands will be tied. They may encourage the managers to be lenient and at least allow you out with only the rent, but they cannot enforce that.

Other than that, take pictures of what it looks like at about the same time as you were robbed, and take note of any changes to the environment (new lamps, replaced bulbs) that have happened since then. At the very least, it's more circumstantial evidence in your favor.

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