I missed a couple calls from an 844 number yesterday and today but didn't think much of it as there wasn't a voicemail. When I checked my mail today, myself and my roommate had letters from a collection agency stating that we owe our previous landlord $723 and some change.
We moved out a month ago, I have not yet received our security deposit back but they stated it could take up to 4 weeks, and with it being the holidays and me being out of state next week I wasn't looking to press them for it just yet. Prior to this letter I had not received a call, email, letter, or otherwise been contacted by them in any way, so I have no idea what these charges are for or why it's jumped straight to collections. We were all paid up upon moving out and our balance was $0; they deactivate your online account upon moving out so there was no way I could've checked that even if I thought something was up anyway. Our deposit on that place was $1000 and outside of some minor usual wear and tear (which shouldn't be covered by the deposit anyway according to our lease) I can't possibly imagine what could've cause them to need an extra $724 from us.
I'm a 24 year old student trying to figure out independence and adulthood for the first time and I have no idea what to do next. I really can't afford this until my next round of student loans comes in in January, but even then I have no idea what I'm even paying for. I have no idea if/how this will affect my credit. I've worked hard to bring up my credit score and it sits in the "very good" range, and as someone with very little credit history I'm proud of that score and I don't want to lose my progress.
Should reaching out to the landlord be the next step, or is there anything else I should do first? Is an email to their resident support acceptable (it is a company, not an individual), or should I go in and speak to them in person? Any advice is greatly appreciated, I'm at a loss for how to proceed and this really dumped a lot of stress on me just before the holidays. If it helps, I am located in Alaska. Thank you for your time.
Submitted December 21, 2017 at 02:56AM by sloosher http://ift.tt/2kTdCO9
