Hi,
Thanks in advance for reading this. So I broke my lease recently and moved out (awful mold issue in the apartment) and had to write a check for the early lease termination fee (two months rent). I mailed it to the property manager's office and didn't hear from them or see that the check was cashed for weeks. Last week, we had this exchange via email:
Me: Hi, I mailed you my check a few weeks ago and haven't seen it cashed yet. I just wanted to make sure that you received it?
Property Manager: Yes, we received your check, however, for move-out payments we require certified funds. Can you please provide a certified check or money order and I will return your personal check to you?
Me: I corresponded with you about this final payment quite a bit and no one ever mentioned certified funds nor was that request put on the final bill. Can you please just cash the check?
Property Manager: Okay, we will cash it.
A few days ago I got a call from a debt collector that the property manager had hired to collect my move-out fee. I told them that I had sent a check in and pulled up my bank account online while I was on the phone with them and saw that they had cashed the check the previous day. I gave the debt collector the check # and they said they would verify it with the property manager.
The next day I get a message from the property manager saying that the check wasn't cashed. I send them screenshots from my bank account showing that it was cashed. They asked for the image of the back of the check, so I sent it. The check had been signed with the property management company's name. Then this morning I get an email from them saying "We have been made aware that our company did not cash the check, therefore you will want to alert your bank that the check was fraudulently cashed in our name. Please feel free to provide the bank with our information as we are investigating the matter as well."
I don't see how it can be fraud if they confirmed that they received the check, had it in their possession, and were going to cash it? I've dealt with a few cases of fraud in the past where I've seen a charge on my card that I didn't make, I called Bank of America (which is the bank in this case) and they refunded me. Not sure if I should do anything different in this case? Should I just call Bank of America and describe my situation? The money I paid the property management company was from my tax return and I don't have a way of saving up that much money for awhile (~ 6 months) and with a debt collector already involved, this is freaking me out. (I know, I know, I should have an emergency fund, I'm working on it!).
Thanks in advance for your advice and suggestions!
Submitted April 06, 2017 at 08:37AM by heartsandthoughts http://ift.tt/2o1cU2w
