View Full Version : Security Deposit
berrybox
10-03-2012, 14:36
Hello:
We have been going to Florida for the last 8 years.
We have been renting from one management company only.
We have been leaving the security deposit with them from yr. to yr. for the last 3 or 4 years.
With no notice to us the management company is being run by different managers but still the same boss in the background and also they have still kept the same name.
They say now that since they have "changed people at the front desk" that there is a Florida law that states that they do not have to honor past contracts.
Has anyone heard of this law?
I have never heard of a practice like this at all - let alone a law that does not allow it. Very odd practice indeed
steph_goodrum
10-03-2012, 16:13
If the original Management company bosses are still around, thell them they have 7/14 days to refund your security deposit or you will be taking legal action. You have obviously been a loyal Customer and there is absolutely no way they should be rewarding that by witholding your money. You left it in good faith for the next holiday so they should either honour the booking or refund the money.
Unless I have missed something I am not sure what the problem your having is.
steph_goodrum
10-03-2012, 18:24
Paul
I took it to mean that, like some Guests of ours who have had such a good holiday they have aked that instead of the Security deposit beinng returned it is kept as deposit for their next holiday. In this case it looks like they are saying that the owners have changed and they are saying that they will not do that (and presumably because the money was paid to the original owners they want a new deposit for the next holiday.
If the company is still trading under the same name then you presumably have written evidence that is what they have said they will do so regardless of who is at "front desk" your contract is with the company of that name.
It's a bit like an hotel saying that if the receptionist leaves your booking isn't valid. Ask them to show you exactly what law they are referring to and I doubt very much they will be able to because I'm pretty certain it won't exist.
Katys Grandad
10-03-2012, 20:44
I sympathise with your situation but I don't think this is going to be the best place to access advice on Florida contract law. You'll get well intentioned suggestions and experience but you need to view it in that light.
If you feel strongly enough about it and the amount is worth fighting for, you'd be wise to take some qualified advice from a US Attorney
steph_goodrum
11-03-2012, 07:08
There is a similar thing to the Small Claims Court in FLorida which would cost less than going to an Attorney which may not result in you getting anything back by the time you paid their fees. (I'm assuming from the average security deposit it's less than $500). If you are like me it would not just be the money it would be the principle. If you have documentary proof of how much you paid, what it was for and what they are now saying, you would seem to have a good case, you would fill in a form and pay a filing fee which if you were successful they would then claim back from the other side.
Do you know if the MC is/was a member of the Better Business Bureau?
florida4sun
11-03-2012, 07:11
No need for attorneys (pointless unless you are claiming thousands), contact Dee Obrien at licensing. Make sure you have sme kind of paper work documenting the fact, even it is just email.
Katys Grandad
11-03-2012, 10:00
There is a similar thing to the Small Claims Court in FLorida which would cost less than going to an Attorney which may not result in you getting anything back by the time you paid their fees. (I'm assuming from the average security deposit it's less than $500). If you are like me it would not just be the money it would be the principle. If you have documentary proof of how much you paid, what it was for and what they are now saying, you would seem to have a good case, you would fill in a form and pay a filing fee which if you were successful they would then claim back from the other side.
Do you know if the MC is/was a member of the Better Business Bureau?
The Florida Small Claims process requires upfront payment for summons service by court officers and both pre-trail and substantive trail hearings really need the claimant or representative to be in court to present the case if they are to have any chance of success.
The biggest problem of all is that, even if you win, the court has no power to enforce the judgement if it involves monetary recompense. The claimant has to do it themselves unless the defendant pays up voluntarily. The OP can judge how likely that is.
I agree that there might be some value in contacting the licensing authorities but court action for a few hundred pounds in a foreign jurisdiction 4,000 miles away requires both financial and time commitment that many would see as not justified.
Not my call, but I wouldn't do it.
florida4sun
11-03-2012, 11:21
Trust me there is a ton of value in contacting them, much quicker and more effective than any court.
I agree that there might be some value in contacting the licensing authorities
berrybox
11-03-2012, 16:13
Thank You all for all your comments.
I agree the distance is a problem. Although we are not 4000 miles away, we are Canadian so we are still about 1350 miles away.
The amount of money is not a problem it is principle.
We have given them until the end of the month.
I will let you all know what happens then.
Thanks again
Katys Grandad
11-03-2012, 16:45
Trust me there is a ton of value in contacting them, much quicker and more effective than any court.
I agree - that has to be the better option.
One of the things you need to do is to look at the paperwork to establish whether the MC business was conducted in a company (e.g. an Inc. or an LLC), and if so whether that company was sold to the new owners. If that is the position, your contract would have been with that company, whoever owns it, so the change of ownership should not affect your contractual rights.
But if the business was conducted by the owner outside a company, using a DBA ("doing business as") name, then it could be more complicated. In that case your claim would seem to be against the previous owner of the business. Of course when a business is sold outside a company it is often the case that the new owner agrees with the old owner to pick up these sorts of liabilities - it's not good to start off your business by upsetting your customers.
Yes please keep us informed of your progress "berrybox"
Very interested to hear the outcome.
Val
berrybox
11-04-2012, 18:09
Update
Wehave not heard anything back from this management company. As I said before, itis not the amount of money, it is the principle. We are very disappointed inthem.
Thisis our story/vacation 2012.
Ourvacation started out a little rough, when we arrived on the day we weresupposed to get in the villa, one of the wheel bearings when out in our truck.So we got to the villa a little later than we usually do. To add to all therest of the drama over the next few days our truck had 2 more breaks. Have tochalk it up to normal wear and tear as the truck is only 4 years old.
Soanyways we got to the villa, put the key in the door and to our surprise whenthe door opened there was someone else’s belongings there. We phoned themanagement company and they couldn’t believe it either. In fact by what theysaid on the phone it kind of sounded like they didn’t believe us.
Wewaited for 2 hours for them to show up. They came and realized that we were notlying. Now when I said before that I know that there is still the same boss inthe background that was the first thing they did was to call him.
Theyscrambled around for awhile and then offered to show us 2 villas. They said thefirst one was only open for a couple of days but the 2ndvilla, the people that weresuppose to rent it had called and cancelled and so they knew that it would beopen for 2 weeks. We looked at both and decided that if the second one was openfor that long we might as well go there as we didn't know how long it would take to iron out the trouble at the villa we were suppose to be in. The management co. people lookedaround at this residence to see if everything was in order and also turned thepool heat on.
Thenext morning the management co. phoned and said the mix up was the fault of oneof there travel agents they use, that they gave the wrong house papers to thecustomer and instead of that villa it should have been a villa just down thestreet. Sounded to us like an honest mistake on the part of the travel agent.Also they said that we could go back to the villa, that they had a cleaningcrew in as we were speaking and we could move in the next day. When wequestioned them on the fact that they had said we could stay where we are theysaid that it was impossible that it was rented out. It wasn’t rented the nightbefore but was by noon the next day :confused:
Thenext problem we encountered was the pool heat or lack of. When we arrived atthe villa we were suppose to rent and found the pool not to have heat so we phonedthem again and they said that our contract stated that the villa was rentedwithout pool heat. We have ALWAYS rented the villas with pool heat. So we hadto go back to our e-mails (thank goodness for lap tops) and prove that in factwe had paid for pool heat.
Theyhummed and hawed and said that they guessed we were right but they couldn’tturn it on then because it was to cold. So for the 22 days that we had paid forwe had water warm enough to swim in for 11. It was so unfortunate because ourdaughter had accompanied us this trip and we were all looking forward to thepool. She never got to swim once.
The rest of our holiday was lovely but itsure was stressful the first few days.
Wewill be posting a complaint with the BBB and for sure never renting with thatcompany again.
canarypam
15-04-2012, 13:57
Hi Martin I am pretty certain that Dee O Brien has retired .
No need for attorneys (pointless unless you are claiming thousands), contact Dee Obrien at licensing. Make sure you have sme kind of paper work documenting the fact, even it is just email.
berrybox
20-04-2012, 21:17
Can I post the name of the managemnt co?
Or is that not allowed?
caroline
22-04-2012, 07:41
Can I post the name of the managemnt co?
Or is that not allowed?
I don't think that would be allowed.
florida4sun
22-04-2012, 09:24
Ok but she must have a replacement.
canarypam
22-04-2012, 09:27
Yes I'm sure she must have a replacement not sure who it is though.
berrybox
22-04-2012, 14:47
I don't understand "replacement"?
CERICROWLEY
22-04-2012, 15:18
The replacement for Dee OBryan in licencing
By the way, Dee O'Brien has retired but anyone who want to keep in touch with her, she posts on Facebook.
Andrena
berrybox
02-06-2012, 15:02
After waiting the time that the BBB allows for each complaint and they were very generous in extending the time twice, the management co. never responded. While we are not supprised we are very disappointed.
Does anyone else have any other suggestions?
It is not cost effective for us to involve a lawyer but we are still ticked off that they have done this to us.
Guess we will have to chalk it up to a life lesson learned.
Can I post the name of the managemnt co?
Or is that not allowed?
why is it not allowed, name and shame i say