Back in October oflast year I ran into some extremely difficult times. I did not pay rent for the months of October, November or December. Long story, but my employer at the time had a hardship grant for employees that would pay their back rent if they had prof of a pending eviction (eviction notice).
The company that owned the building was very neglectful of the property (black mold everywhere, electricity to the building shut off for days at a time for "repairs") and did not get around to actually starting the eviction process until the end of December. By this time, I had transferred to a better paying employer with better hours, soI was unable to take advantage of the hardship grant. I owed for 3 months of rent at 775/month.
The owner apparently filed in District Court on December 20, and the court date was on December 28. I would have not been able to attend even if I had received notice because 6 business days is not enough notice for me to take off work. Not including the time it would have taken for the notice to actually get to me in the mail.
Now to the point of the story-The notice of the hearing was sent to the wrong apartment (114 instead of 605) and also the notice was posted on the door to the wrong apartment. The occupant of the other apartment tracked me down on the day I was moving out ( (Dec31) and handed me both the mailed notice and the notice that was posted on his door. I still am in possession of these notices.
The landlord got a default judgement in the amount of almost 4000. 4 months rent (they charged for January even though I had moved out), legal fees and other charges such as unreturned keys and cleaning the stove and refrigerator. I left the apartment in pristine condition when I left and gave pictures proving so.
Now, a collection agency has appeared on my credit report and is calling me demanding payment. This is the only negative mark on my credit report and I want it gone. Can I have the judgement overturned based on improper service? Should I contact a lawyer to handle this? Thanks in advance for the suggestions!
Submitted April 24, 2017 at 01:59AM by SecuredInfluence http://ift.tt/2oiYBtu legaladvice
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