Outrage and persistence bring deposit refund
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RONAN — “Not a soul on this earth cares about your money except you,” my mother said.
Mom is one of those women you can’t ignore because like most mothers, she is always right and whatever she says will come to pass.
Unfortunately, I always learn this the hard way.
We were hot, sweaty, and ridiculously tired after a week of cleaning and a day of moving my furniture, boxes and clothes from my old house to my new house. On our way to the county dump to dispose of the trash that always seems to materialize when moving, she told a story about discovering her accountant’s $600 discrepancy.
I listened to the story, but I didn’t realize how prophetic her sage advice was.
A few days later, when I was settling into my new home, I received an e-mail from my former landlord. His stately letter described crumbs in the cabinets, a dirty rug, undusted windowsills and a bathroom littered with hair. He said that he had determined to withhold my deposit in order to hire a cleaning crew.
I was outraged.
The house that we left was clean from top to bottom. We dusted, we scrubbed, we vacuumed and swept. The deposit was rightfully mine.
For the life of me, I couldn’t understand what the cleaning crew could have done.
But of course, I trusted they actually hired a cleaning crew.
I contacted my uncles, who are attorneys in Boise. They said that this behavior was quite common with landlords, and advised me to visit the Montana Attorney General’s website.
I did and in a futile attempt to remain calm, I drafted an e-mail. Using excerpts of mom’s irate e-mail and quoting attorney general’s language, I listed all the tenant violations committed and described in exact detail the state of the spotless house we left.
I demanded my deposit refunded within 10 days of the move-out date and asked for a receipt of the alleged cleaning crew.
And then of course, I had second thoughts.
Conflict is truly distasteful to me, but it was my hard-earned money and I cared.
So finally, I sent it.
Within 15 minutes, I received several phone calls from my landlord frantically trying to communicate the tracking number of the UPS parcel that he was sending my deposit in.
My deposit arrived and I promptly deposited the check.
Once again, mother knows best.
No one was willing to fight for my money, except myself.
As I retold the story to friends and co-workers I noted a common trend. Many Montana landlords and tenants are uninformed about what is required from both parties.
But all information tenants and landlords need is just a click away.
For further information on what the responsibilities of both landlord and tenant, visit the Montana Attorney General’s Office website at www.doj.mt.gov.
Kate Haake is a reporter for the Valley Journal.
