Collections Question (I'm the tenant)

[Nick Horob]

I might be feeding the wolves here but here is my situation.

I moved out of an apartment a year ago.  I was sent a bill for $600 (on top of my $300 deposit that was kept).  While I didn't scrub everything from floor to ceiling, I left the apartment reasonably clean and I took issue with many of the property manager's charges.

I sent them a letter highlighting my issues with the charges and a check for $250.

I never heard back.  I come to find out that they recently sent my $350 outstanding balance to collections dinging my credit score pretty bad.

I wanted to work on a mutually-agreeable resolution but that obviously didn't happen.  I wish they would've at least sent me another invoice before sending me to collections.

Is there anything I can do to fix the ding on my credit score?

[Matt Sicignano]

The first thing you should do is research the tenant/landlord laws in ND and make sure that you were notified within the proper timeframe with whatever the requirement is for deductions for damages. In other words, make sure that you, and he, followed the law for notifications of withholding moneys and disputing the charges. You can also ask the credit reporting bureau to open up a dispute resolution, which will require them to verify the debt. If there is no resolution from that, you could always contact the creditor and try to work out  a settlement. This tme though, get everything in writing.