[US-KY] Can Landlord Send Disputed Rental Charges To Collections? Other advice? legaladvice

I moved cross-country last month after living at a place for 8 years.

I received a letter today that they are keeping my entire security deposit ($700) plus demanding an additional ($425) for damages.

I'm pretty sure the property management company is attempting a money-grab since I gave them a forwarding address so far away.

Some of the charges I accept, but other ones were straight up fabricated. I intend to dispute those charges in a certified letter, but in the meantime the letter threatens to pay within 30 days or it will be sent to "collections".

My question:
Can I prevent a "collections" action by sending a certified letter of dispute along with a check for the charges that I do accept?

Do I have any other options? I'm guessing they're pinching because they know how expensive it would be to return to KY and challenge it.

Additional Information:
We had a move-out inspection scheduled for the day of our departure. The property managers did not show up at the scheduled appointment. We called and apparently there was a "mix-up" on their end and since we had a tight travel schedule, they told us to just leave the keys on the kitchen counter.

I did find a statute (http://ift.tt/1Udd9kx) that a "tenant shall then have the right to inspect the premises to ascertain the accuracy of such listing", which I was not afforded. Note that another tenant is now residing in the unit.

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Itemized Breakdown (see http://ift.tt/2bcYVPq)

Acknowledged:

• $175 - Interior Door Replacement - Forgot to repair this
  
• $20 - Refrigerator Ice Tray - OK, I took this out and misplaced it
  

Hesistant, but wasn't disputing:

• $440 - Carpet - 8 years on apartment grade carpet that wasn't even new when I moved in seems sketchy to push on me, but it was pretty worn/had some stains
  

Disputing:

• $75 - Odor/Ozone Treatment - House didn't smell at all
  
• $75 - Pest Control (Roaches) - There were NO pests of any kind
  
• $250 - Trash Removal - We did not leave any items behind
  
• $50 - Yard Not Mowed - I literally mowed this the day before turned over keys
  
• $50 - Broken Blinds - The interior mechanism broke so they wouldn't open/close (I don't view this as my fault)
  

Submitted August 23, 2016 at 06:10AM by pwnzasaurus_rex http://ift.tt/2bIg7gV legaladvice