bartleby

Wow, thanks for all the prompt, concise, and helpful replies! It was a twelve month lease. I stayed the whole twelve months, and I have never been late with rent, ever. In fact, I overheard my current landlord's bookkeeper describe me as always paying early. The lease that ended in August 2005 would have converted to month to month had I decided to stay. It was a largish complex, and another tenant was, to my knowledge, immediately found, so there wasn't a break in income for this outfit, which I believe to be substantial. Anyway, what would have made me liable is the clause on the lease—which was 30 pp long, each of whose paragraphs I initialed on a sweaty afternoon—that requires written notice to vacate, two months in advance. My notice was oral, and it was stupid of me not to review the lease. I was fresh out of school and had never encountered this sort of clause before. I'll send a DV letter. Does anyone have a good model for one? Indeed, I think I'm on an inappropriate board for this query. Thanks again!

In August 2005 I moved out of an apartment when my lease ended. I told the unit's office manager that I had gotten another job and would be moving across the country. She congratulated me. When it came time to move out, her boss came out and admonished me that I needed to have given my notice in writing, and that I would owe a month's rent, as per my lease. They were able to find a new tenant right away, and that was the last I heard of this obligation. Fast forward to today. I receive by post a "confidential" notice from a collection agency that I have 30 days to dispute this debt, which is $720, which is about $150 more than I remember my rent being. The statute of limitations in that state is six years. I've spent the past two years or more getting debt free. While I don't plan on applying for credit any time soon, I don't want to be tarred as a deadbeat. Moreover, I fear that my lack of debt has brought creditors from my old irresponsible student days out of the woodwork. How do I dispute this? Indeed, do I even owe it? I'd pay it to make it go away, but I don't want to start a precedent. (As far as I know, my only outstanding debt is with Verizon, an early termination fee that apparently cannot be PFD'd and that I am willing to wait out.) Thanks in advance for any advice.

After maybe a year of lurking, this is my first post! Except for an early termination fee that Verizon faithfully reports every month, I paid off all my debts last year (yay!) after two years of crazy-frugal living that I continue to practice. Before I started on that process I made a lot of catastrophically stupid money mistakes, such as overlooking bills for a year at a time because I was moving so often. I have never paid for my credit score, but I keep a close-ish eye on my credit report, which contains six negative accounts. One of these is the Verizon chargeoff, which I'm not going to dispute, because the internet (including CB) tells me those bastids never delete. The other negs are for accounts that are paid off. Four of these are closed accounts—and therefore not worth disputing, because the banks have no incentive to lift a finger for me. However, one of these is Sallie Mae. To spare myself a ton of interest, I paid the student loan off last year instead of by 2030. The notation on my credit report says that it will become a positive account in March 2013. Will it really, since it is paid off? It would suck to have paid off $50K only to have it be derogatory forever. Thanks in advance for any advice.