Credit question

[Lee]

Well I broke an apartment lease down in Texas when I lived there because my roommates decided they wanted to move back to Alaska and I couldnt afford the place on my own. We told the people ahead of time that we were leaving, and they said it was ok because we had that month paid up. Well I just applied for an apartment here in Washington and they called me to tell me there is a 3000 dollar claim against me from the company that ran the apartments in Houston. It has been a year and a half since I lived there and I ahve not recieved one letter or phone call saying I owe them any money, so how can this be on my credit? Is there anything I can do about it? There is no way I can afford to pay it and it is basically screwing me out of getting any apartment here since this area is so up tight.

 

[CENTURION44]

same thing happened to me a few years back...all signees of the lease are equally responsible...theres no reason it should all be on your back...did they give you any paperwork saying that you were relinquishing responsibility of the apt...if you have anytihng in writing..dispute it with the Credit agency...its allot easier than fighting with a collection agency...

 

[Smurfy]

dont pay the collection agency. it will remain on your report even if you do. there was a thread about this recently. there are some people on this forum who are in this line of business.

 

[CENTURION44]

yea but how do you avoid the debt from changing hands..and carrying on forever...once its bought by another firm the aging starts all over again

 

[feisty11975]

go online to annualcreditreport.com

on this site you can get free copies of your credit files...all 3...then you can dispute the collection online.

Feel free to pm me for assistance if needed.

 

[jnevin]

Pay it. It will cost you more in the long run not to.

 

[heatherrae]

Call the apartment company and see what the underlying claim is all about. What sort of lease did you have? month to month or a year? Ask whether it was it for damages or for the remainder of the lease? If it were for the remainder of the lease, the lessor has a duty to mitigate the damages, which in this case would mean trying to relet the apartment to recoup the money that would have been lost from the broken lease. You may be able to pay a little amount in settlement of the claim in return for them removing the mark from your credit. You have to get that agreement in writing though. If this fails you may be able to clear it up by disputing it with the credit bureaus. There is more to it, but I don't want to type a novel. If you need more help, you can PM me. I concentrated my practice solely in the area of Debtor/Creditor law for a few years before opening my own firm.