Continuing with new landlord holding mone

[dillerboi]

Thank you Gail in Georgia for the information you provided me on a prior question. The saga continues, however. The landlord is still refusing to refund any money even with the knowledge they are breaking several of the statutes. Here is my new question for you. As of the 18th we have proof through a text message saying that they never signed the lease and with no receipts, we will have an almost impossible time proving we gave them anything. Is there anything within the law that we can possibly do to take this from a civil matter to a criminal matter? To me this is nothing short of fraud or conspiracy to committ fraud. There has got to be something we can do to recover our money. If not punish them at least recover what is rightfully ours. Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Your next option is to consider a lawsuit against the landlord for the return of this money. These type of issues are typically heard in Small Claims court as they involve relatively small amounts of money (in Arizona issues under $2500 are heard in this court). Attorneys are not required and the filing fee is not unreasonable.

While you may not have receipts (not smart if all these transactions were handled in cash) it sounds as if you at least have several witnesses to what transpired.

Another option is to consider hiring an attorney to send one of these nasty letters threatening legal action if the money is not returned. Attorneys write these types of letters all the time and often a formal letter from an attorney will open the wallet of the party receiving this.

Gail