Repairs, Maintenance Sublessor Overcharges and Gives Me Fictitious Receipt for Repairs

[MP8286]

Jurisdiction

Florida

Our commercial sub-lease has recently expired - a brief informal discussion with the landlord and we've stayed... The original sublease called for us to repair equipment on our side - we have 1/3 of a yogurt and operate a US Postal Contract Unit/Mini Boutique... We have had to continuously fix the a/c - thermostat on the sublessor's side and the unit on ours. We had several companies tell us they needed to move a waffle maker near their thermostat, covered with grease, turning a/c down to 63 degrees to keep yogurt toppings cool - our temperature fluctuation was nuts - things molding from the damp overnight temps - after freezing temps during the day... One of the most recent repairs was last year - it was a big one - new motor - sublessor told us his guys could fix it would be around $600 our company quoted the same. Recently problem with a/c again after paying off the $700 he changed it too and my a/c company wrote on invoice that they replaced all manufactured parts with after market - also invoice that was produced by him is fraudulent - no company exists - license no. 12345...

 

[Michael Wechsler]

This commercial lease issue is too complicated to settle here. If there were issues with the property that you failed to manage in the second term - including clauses calling for you to fix and repair - then the fault is yours. Now I'm looking at an issue that seems to be about the landlord's responsibility to make repairs. If you're saying that they performed a repair for you claiming that a third party company performed the repair with OEM or original equipment manufacturer parts but used aftermarket parts, then you seem to have a claim for fraud among potentially other remedies. If you're seeking to get out of your lease and move elsewhere you may also have remedies. This issue is one that will probably require an attorney unless you can find a way to settle. It's also possible that this could be an incident that could be reported the attorney general as a result of the fraudulent misrepresentation of state licensing. Good luck.