Jillskylark
New Member
- Jurisdiction
- North Carolina
I moved out of an apartment I shared with a roommate, and my roommate stayed behind in the apartment. The girl replacing me in the apartment (we'll call her Jane) agreed to pay me $450 as a "deposit", because when Jane moves out at the end of her lease, she will receive (from the rental company) the deposit money that I paid when I originally moved in- it will transfer to her, because I signed away my right to that money when I moved out.
Long story short, Jane wrote me a check for 450$, my former roommate allowed Jane to move in, the check bounced, I texted Jane about the issue a.s.a.p and she offered to pay me the money the following week. It never happened. A week later I texted her a friendly reminder and got no response.
I took a month to research and decide what to do.
I ended up writing a letter which officially informed Jane that the check bounced, asked for payment of the money within 30 days, and made known my intention to pursue the 450$ to the extent of the law, etc.
I tried calling the evening before sending the letter, hoping to have a conversation and possibly work out the issue. I left a short voicemail with my name and that I was calling to collect the $ 450 for the check she wrote me that had not cleared. I also sent a text summarizing my concerns, saying that I was concerned she might not really intend to pay the money, and saying that I would prefer to settle the issue without invoking the justice system. (She didn't take it very well, and said that paying the money was just the last thing on her mind because she was busy.)
I sent the letter certified mail and planned to get copies of our conversations, which had all taken place by text message, besides the brief voicemail message.
Then, I changed my mind about filing the claim. As the deadline approached, it became way too stressful to me to go through with it, not to mention time consuming to file the suit in small claims before the statute of limitations expired. I also began to doubt whether or not I really had a case, since I realized my former roommate was the one who made the orriginal agreement with Jane in the first place (not I). At that point I was also worried this would constitute some sort of abuse of the legal system, and may extend to a mistreatment of Jane as a result. Anxiety got the bether of me, as I realized I hadn't handled anything about the original agreement properly.
So, is there anything I can do to simply take back the threat to sue and wipe my hands clean of the whole thing? If I have done anything legally wrong, how can I fix it? I've heard that extortion can be a concern if you send a letter like this and don't follow through.
Thanks,
Andrea
I moved out of an apartment I shared with a roommate, and my roommate stayed behind in the apartment. The new girl replacing me in the apartment (we'll call her Jane) agreed to pay me $450 as a "deposit", because when Jane moves out at the end of her lease, she will receive (from the rental company) the deposit money that I paid when I originally moved in- it will transfer to her, because I signed away my right to that money when I moved out.
Long story short, Jane wrote me a check for 450$, my former roommate allowed Jane to move in, the check bounced, I texted Jane about the issue a.s.a.p and she offered to pay me the money the following week. It never happened. A week later I texted her afriendly reminder and got no response.
I took a month to research and decide what to do.
I ended up writing a letter which officially informed Jane that the check did not clear, asked for payment of the money within 30 days, and made known my intention to pursue the 450$ to the extent of the law, etc.
I tried calling the evening before sending the letter, hoping to have a conversation and possibly work out the issue. I left a short voicemail with my name and that I was calling to collect the $ 450 for the check she wrote me that had not cleared. I also sent a text summarizing my concerns, saying that I was concerned she might not really intend to pay the money, and saying that I would prefer to settle the issue without invoking the justice system. (She didn't take it very well, and said that paying the money was just the last thing on her mind because she was busy.)
I sent the letter certified mail and planned to get copies of our conversations, which had all taken place by text message, besides the brief voicemail message.
Then, I changed my mind about filing the claim. As the deadline approached, it became way too stressful to me to go through with it, not to mention time consuming to file the suit in small claims before the statute of limitations expired. I also began to doubt whether or not I really had a case, since I realized my former roommate was the one who made the orriginal agreement with Jane in the first place (not I). At that point I was also worried this would constitute some sort of abuse of the legal system, and may extend to a mistreatment of Jane as a result. Anxiety got the better of me, as I realized I hadn't handled anything about the original agreement properly. It wasn't even written down, let alone notarized.
So, is there anything I can do to simply take back the threat to sue and wipe my hands clean of the whole thing? If I have done anything legally wrong, how can I fix it? I've heard that extortion can be a concern if you send a letter like this and don't follow through. I'd like to be absolutely sure I've righted any possible wrongs on my part, even if repurcussions are unlikely.
Thanks,
Andrea
Long story short, Jane wrote me a check for 450$, my former roommate allowed Jane to move in, the check bounced, I texted Jane about the issue a.s.a.p and she offered to pay me the money the following week. It never happened. A week later I texted her a friendly reminder and got no response.
I took a month to research and decide what to do.
I ended up writing a letter which officially informed Jane that the check bounced, asked for payment of the money within 30 days, and made known my intention to pursue the 450$ to the extent of the law, etc.
I tried calling the evening before sending the letter, hoping to have a conversation and possibly work out the issue. I left a short voicemail with my name and that I was calling to collect the $ 450 for the check she wrote me that had not cleared. I also sent a text summarizing my concerns, saying that I was concerned she might not really intend to pay the money, and saying that I would prefer to settle the issue without invoking the justice system. (She didn't take it very well, and said that paying the money was just the last thing on her mind because she was busy.)
I sent the letter certified mail and planned to get copies of our conversations, which had all taken place by text message, besides the brief voicemail message.
Then, I changed my mind about filing the claim. As the deadline approached, it became way too stressful to me to go through with it, not to mention time consuming to file the suit in small claims before the statute of limitations expired. I also began to doubt whether or not I really had a case, since I realized my former roommate was the one who made the orriginal agreement with Jane in the first place (not I). At that point I was also worried this would constitute some sort of abuse of the legal system, and may extend to a mistreatment of Jane as a result. Anxiety got the bether of me, as I realized I hadn't handled anything about the original agreement properly.
So, is there anything I can do to simply take back the threat to sue and wipe my hands clean of the whole thing? If I have done anything legally wrong, how can I fix it? I've heard that extortion can be a concern if you send a letter like this and don't follow through.
Thanks,
Andrea
I moved out of an apartment I shared with a roommate, and my roommate stayed behind in the apartment. The new girl replacing me in the apartment (we'll call her Jane) agreed to pay me $450 as a "deposit", because when Jane moves out at the end of her lease, she will receive (from the rental company) the deposit money that I paid when I originally moved in- it will transfer to her, because I signed away my right to that money when I moved out.
Long story short, Jane wrote me a check for 450$, my former roommate allowed Jane to move in, the check bounced, I texted Jane about the issue a.s.a.p and she offered to pay me the money the following week. It never happened. A week later I texted her afriendly reminder and got no response.
I took a month to research and decide what to do.
I ended up writing a letter which officially informed Jane that the check did not clear, asked for payment of the money within 30 days, and made known my intention to pursue the 450$ to the extent of the law, etc.
I tried calling the evening before sending the letter, hoping to have a conversation and possibly work out the issue. I left a short voicemail with my name and that I was calling to collect the $ 450 for the check she wrote me that had not cleared. I also sent a text summarizing my concerns, saying that I was concerned she might not really intend to pay the money, and saying that I would prefer to settle the issue without invoking the justice system. (She didn't take it very well, and said that paying the money was just the last thing on her mind because she was busy.)
I sent the letter certified mail and planned to get copies of our conversations, which had all taken place by text message, besides the brief voicemail message.
Then, I changed my mind about filing the claim. As the deadline approached, it became way too stressful to me to go through with it, not to mention time consuming to file the suit in small claims before the statute of limitations expired. I also began to doubt whether or not I really had a case, since I realized my former roommate was the one who made the orriginal agreement with Jane in the first place (not I). At that point I was also worried this would constitute some sort of abuse of the legal system, and may extend to a mistreatment of Jane as a result. Anxiety got the better of me, as I realized I hadn't handled anything about the original agreement properly. It wasn't even written down, let alone notarized.
So, is there anything I can do to simply take back the threat to sue and wipe my hands clean of the whole thing? If I have done anything legally wrong, how can I fix it? I've heard that extortion can be a concern if you send a letter like this and don't follow through. I'd like to be absolutely sure I've righted any possible wrongs on my part, even if repurcussions are unlikely.
Thanks,
Andrea
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