I need some insight from fellow xchangers on this. I recently moved from my last apartment primarily because the landlord there was a complete and total bitch.

I moved in on 5/18/02. The rent was $565, and almost everybody has to pay the outrageous deposit of $565, which also happens to be the amount of the rent.

After living there only a few weeks, I HATED the place.

On July 2nd, I gave my bitch landlord her WRITTEN notice that I was going to vacate on 8/2. The rent is due on the 5th and the late fee is $50. She had 3 days to notify me of ANY problems, but what did this bitch do instead? She waited 6 DAYS until the 8th, then sent me a letter saying she could not use my deposit for rent, so I now owed $565 and the $50 late fee.

To top things off, when I was trying to get into my new place, she refused to give me a reference and kept telling them I used money. She wanted the $565, which I paid. She still refused a reference until I paid the $50 late fee. Even though she had my deposit, she would not use that.

I finally paid this bitch what I owed her just to get out. My new landlord as well as the credit agency all said my landlord is one hell of a bitch. I agree 100%.

I moved out on 8/2 and I took about 50 pictures of EVERYTHING in that apartment. I also left her a message today on her answering machine saying I expect my FULL deposit back and I want to know exactly when I will get it. If I don't get 100% back, I'm hauling her ass to court.

Has anybody else gone through this? Have you ever had a total prick of a landlord who just screwed the hell out of you?

There is more she pulled on us, not just this.

Is there anything I can do to make her life hell? I have already written some online complaints about her, and I was thinking about filing a complaint with the BBB. In the 10 years I have rented, nobody has pissed me off as bad as her. I am hot flaming pissed and so is my g/f over her.

She deliberately screwed me on my rent and screwed me on my move out so she could collect another $50. Had she told me on the 3rd or 4th that she couldn't use my deposit as rent, I would have paid it.

Any suggestions on retaliation?

See if you can get her to go on Judge Judy, that should straighten things out. :)

Are we talking 'legal' revenge here? Can we ask what state you live in, I think tenant laws vary quite a bit.

She is every bit as big of a bitch as Judge Judy.

I talked to my brother after writing that message and he gave me some pointers. After I get my deposit back, I'm filing a complaint with the BBB.

If I could get blood, I would. This lady is a USDA Grade A Head of the class bitch.

Like I said, its not just me. My new landlord, the credit reporting company, and my g/f all said she is a bitch.

The best thing I know to do is, look up your tenant's rights for your state. They do vary from state to state. I would definately turn her in to the BBB. Is she the actual owner of the complex or does a management company own it. If a management company owns it, then let them know of her practices.

She works for a company. The main reason I didn't complain about her to the company is because this bitch has worked there 4 years and I'm sure the company is well aware of her tactics, they might even be telling her to do this. All I know is I want to burn her at the stake because shes such a flaming bitch.

Well I left a nasty message on her machine today and said that I am expecting 100% of my deposit back. If I don't get it back, I'm hauling her sorry ass to court and I WILL get it back. I have pictures of the entire apartment.

As soon as I get my deposit back, I'm filing a complaint with the BBB over her actions.

I only lived there 2 months and I will never use her as a reference again.

My plan is to make her life as much of a living hell as I can.

I've only had one bad experience so far and that was about 7 years ago when I was unemployed and moved into a really crappy country cottage outside of town. It was a real mess with a lot of stains that could not be cleaned up. But the location was great. Out in the country side, nice and quiet. Safe for our toddler.

The landlady was great until we moved out. We cleaned up the place as best we could. We thought we did a great job because it was cleaner than when moved in. But then she later kicked up a big fuss that the place was a mess! We couldn't believe the audacity of it. She even sent a cleaners bill to us! Fortunately it was a cheap rental and we hadn't paid much of a deposit, but we refused to pay her bill. We even had witnesses who had seen the state of the house when we moved in.

Needless to say it left a bad taste in our mouths and we always make sure we sign something that identifies any damages or stains that were there before we move in.

Fortunately the land lady did not pursue the money she wanted. We are a lot more fussy these days about where we live.

Of course that doesn't help you with your problem, but I just thought I'd add my story. :)

It is best not to let people like this get away with their actions, otherwise she will keep trying to take advantage of others. I have been in a bad situation involving a landlord and I went to legal aid. They gave me good advice and I was able to get my money back without going through the court system since I had proof (documents) and she knew she was wrong.
My sister-in-law is going through difficulties with her landlord as well. The landlord is changing the date on her rent check in order to cash it in early. My sister-in-law talked to the bank about it and the bank said it is fraud and the landlord could be charged. My sister-in-law is going to have a discussion with her landlord and she will press charges if it happens again.:hammer: :hammer:

If you were on a month to month deal with her or on another deal that didn't involve signing a long lease, then what she is doing is wrong. She does have the right not to accept deposit as rent, but if she is going to do that she must give it back to you, minus any LEGITIMATE damages (not the ones she imagines). If she violated a company or local policy stating that she had three days to get back to you and she took six, get a photocopy of that (two or three copies will be better if you have to file a case) and highlight that part. There are more tenant rights than landlord rights now because of abusive landlords.

Make sure that you write a polite, succinct letter stating the dates that are the problem, the exact problem you have had in getting back your money, what you expect to be done and by when, and what the action will be if you do not recieve what you are asking for in the letter. Send it out registered, with the stipulation that SHE must sign for it. This will show the court that you have politely but firmly tried to straighten this out yourself, and she hasn't listened. If you make threats, you appear to be a hothead and that will NOT serve you well in court.

At the same time, send the same in an e-mail to her, to her corporate office, to her boss, to their lawyer and to her supervisors. Keep a copy of this for yourself in case the court you are going to acknowledges e-mails.

At the same time, call and politely leave your name, number and the reason you are calling, and when you may be reached. Be sure that you tell her that you are recording the message for your records (don't mention court). Mark the date and time that you called.

When this is all done, make a detailed and polite record of this to the BBB no matter what the outcome. She needs to be reported.

Make sure that she hasn't put a mark on your credit. If she has, sure for damages in court (typically it's three times the amount, but that is up to the judge and individual state variances.) That is a LEGITIMATE damage that you are entitled to therefore back it up with a credit report. The best way to do this is to apply for a credit card that traditionally is very hard to get without super-excellent credit. When you are denied, you are entitled to a free credit report and they will tell you how to get it. If it states on te report that you are denied credit based on this incident, that is damage and it's sueable.