Have i had my money stolen - you decide !!

[Guest maxfactornackerlacker]

I need the help of everyone on PIA to help me understand if I am right or wrong....... whatever you guys decide, i will use as judgement on something, so please help

 

I recently rented a house from a person that i will not name at the moment !! I rented the house for the first 3 weeks after my arrival here in Adelaide. Everything was fine with the house, and the person was very helpful and informative. We really looked after the house and as far as wewere concerned, we left the house exactly as we found it? I had been asked to pay a large safety deposit, which was to be returned about a week after we had departed the house............ now is when the problem has started !!!

 

The day we left the property, the landlord called us to say that she had washed the linen from the house, and they had all turned pink. She suggested that it might have been from sun cream that we may have been wearing ?

 

My wife said that this sounded strange, and that we had not had any problems before ( or since ), and that she had actually washed the linen during our 3 week stay, and all was fine. However, my wife, being concerned, offered to help with the washing to attempt to help rectify a small problem.

 

The landlord said that she would try again, and call us if there was a problem............ she never called again.

 

6 days later, i received an e-mail from the landlord, which said that the linen was NOT sorted, and that it was our fault, and that it must have been from 'hair dye' ?? She said that she had replaced all of the affected linen, and had taken $241 to pay for it out of my deposit !!!! She did return the rest of my deposit minus this amount.

 

There has been no contact since, although I have e-mailed her, protesting the issue, and also the fact that she has taken my money !!

 

Here are my points:

 

The linen was perfect and unaffected when I left the property

The linen was only damaged by the landlord AFTER i had left it with her

She didn't consult me before going and replacing all of her linen

She used my deposit to REPLACE everything

 

Did i do anything wrong ? Should i have done more ? What can i do now ?

 

Your help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Max:arghh:

[noworriesmate]

I recently rented a house from a person that i will not name at the moment !!

 

I hope you get some feedback but just to pre-empt any wrong-doing on your behalf - it is against forum rules to 'name and shame'. You can however invite people to pm you for the name of any company you have had issues with should you not be able to get resolution on the matter.

 

NWM

[minty]

In my opinion If these are the facts then yes you have been robbed.

Edited February 12, 2013 by minty

[ian mc]

Sounds like you have been robbed. Did she leave somthing red in the machine when washing the sheets ??How can she blame you when she washed the sheets herself, has she never heard of bleach.

[Anne B]

Did you see the sheets after they had turned pink? How many beds were affected? If just one then $241 seems very expensive. Have you been shown the receipt? The hair dye and sun cream theories sound pretty bizarre. The only time I have turned my washing pink was when I washed white clothes with a brand new red dress that the colour just bled out of. Were the sheets washed on their own or with other washing? It sounds very unsatisfactory, but I don't know if you have any right to appeal if it wasn't an official type rental where you have some rights through the OCBA. You could try contacting them (Office of Consumer and Business Affairs). I'm sure someone else on here will know more about that.

Edited February 12, 2013 by Anne B

[SWMBO]

Call OCBA now called CBS on 131882,speak to someone about tenancies.

[Guest Guest6899]

i will send you a pm.

[waynecaz]

Can you remember me saying be careful with that landlord , I've had so many friends stop there and they have charged them all .Think they must be trying to renew everything in the house.

I would defo ring the ombudsman to sort it out ( it's free).

[minty]

Lets get the opinions of people on here that have short term rentals, what's your views guys ?

[scooterdan]

I would say robbed too.......!! if they were in perfect condition when you left and she washed after as far as i can see thats her problem! As above get on to relevant ppl about them!

 

Dan

[Ktee]

I would just like to remind members that this is not a witch hunt and as per the forum rules we do not allow naming and shaming. To the OP if you have an issue with the property owner I suggest you take it up with them or contact Consumer Affairs http://www.cbs.sa.gov.au

Regards

ADMIN

[Guest Guest75]

I do know the property owner concerned.

 

I know the story behind this.

 

I've known them for a long time and stand up in support of them.

 

They run a fantastic business, help an awful lot of people and do out of their way - way above and beyond the call of duty - or what guests have paid for.

 

I have no reason to doubt this property owner.

 

We too have had an awful lot of damage / misuse and horrendous service bills.

 

We have had linen ruined by blood,hair dye and yes sun cream. It must be a reaction to UK suncreams, not worked out why but we too get "body imprints" - fake tan???

 

We have had to stop returning the bond immediately as we have found damage days and weeks after.

 

If staying in a hotel,they have your credit card for backup.

 

The OP should take it up with the property owner and OCBA if they are unhappy.

 

It is difficult for the forum as they and the original poster could end up with court action.

 

 

The property owner has had so many compliments and recommendations in here.

 

Look at BOTH sides please.

[minty]

I do know the property owner concerned.

 

I know the story behind this.

 

I've known them for a long time and stand up in support of them.

 

They run a fantastic business, help an awful lot of people and do out of their way - way above and beyond the call of duty - or what guests have paid for.

 

I have no reason to doubt this property owner.

 

We too have had an awful lot of damage / misuse and horrendous service bills.

 

We have had linen ruined by blood,hair dye and yes sun cream. It must be a reaction to UK suncreams, not worked out why but we too get "body imprints" - fake tan???

 

We have had to stop returning the bond immediately as we have found damage days and weeks after.

 

If staying in a hotel,they have your credit card for backup.

 

The OP should take it up with the property owner and OCBA if they are unhappy.

 

It is difficult for the forum as they and the original poster could end up with court action.

 

 

The property owner has had so many compliments and recommendations in here.

 

Look at BOTH sides please.

 

Thanks for posting Tyke, it's good to get the point of view from someone who rents short term furnished rentals aswell then we get to see from both sides. Good communication of issues I think is important though.

[Guest Guest75]

Thanks for posting Tyke, it's good to get the point of view from someone who rents short term furnished rentals aswell then we get to see from both sides. Good communication of issues I think is important though.

 

I did forget to add that most of our guests are lovely.

Some have turned into friends.

 

Everyone knows they can talk to me.

[Growler]

To be fair though a response to the email should have been replied, also a chance to rectify any damage...or at least be shown either in person or via photographs etc.

[minty]

Agreed, as said above I think good communication 9 times out of 10 solves issues.

[Toni]

I agree with what Tyke has posted and also know the property owner concerned and the story behind it and also support them. They definitely do go out of their way to help people and I don’t doubt their integrity. They have glowing recommendations from many guests and have helped a lot of people.

 

I used to have coloured linen (years ago) in my homes but soon swapped to “white linen” and some stains won’t come out with bleach or stain remover. I’ve had to throw linen away and I consider myself a mean hand at laundry these days. I used to also get my linen professionally laundered and there were some stains beyond them.

 

I too have had damage and misuse of the property and while you can absorb some of the cost there is only so much that you can do, especially if you are giving someone a budget rate as I know this owner consistently does.

 

The OP should take it up with the OCBA if they are unhappy.

[Steve_H]

If the sheets were newly washed and cleaned when you moved in, it would be reasonable for the Landlord to expect them washed and clean when you moved out. If you left them needing washing, you should expect to pay at least the laundry bill.

However, the Landlord, having noticed the sheets needed cleaning, should have given you the opportunity to have them cleaned, or at least had them cleaned by a professional independent company, thus avoiding the suspicion that she is on the take.

 

I would put it down to experience!

 

Steve

[Sallyh]

If the sheets have been damaged, that is another thing entirely though. I would contact the OCBA and get their advice.

[JimandBarbinAus]

In my experience this landlord was really helpful and honest. We left the house spic and span they even refunded half our cleaning payment. Reading this from a neutral point of view the only thing I think the landlord could've done would've been to take photos and fwd via email and intention of buying new laundry. Hope it gets sorted soon.

[Guest Guest75]

I've been looking at this post and take the time to post a few thoughts upon it............ In red

 

 

I need the help of everyone on PIA to help me understand if I am right or wrong....... whatever you guys decide, i will use as judgement on something, so please help

deciding

Not the usual way of deciding a disagreement?

 

 

Here are my points:

 

The linen was perfect and unaffected when I left the property

 

Did you take photographs, have witnesses????

 

The linen was only damaged by the landlord AFTER i had left it with her

 

And you can prove this?????

 

 

She didn't consult me before going and replacing all of her linen

There had actually been exchanges in communication.

 

She used my deposit to REPLACE everything

Ermmm - that is what a BOND is for! - your credit card would be debited if staying in a hotel.

 

Did i do anything wrong ?

 

Yes.

 

Should i have done more ?

 

Yes.

 

What can i do now ?

 

OCBA - I am sure the property owner will volunteer said damaged linen for tests, pass on photographs and ask me to be a witness.

 

 

 

Your help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Max:arghh:

 

No probs. Tyke

[Guest mrsmin]

OMG never thought that I would be putting a message on here about something like this.

 

There's always two sides to everything you know. I know the other side because I was there. I have been doing cleans for the past couple of years and I just spoke to the property owner as i have another clean tomorrow. She is in tears. such a softkind person totally honest and no way would she take your money. you have not been robbed mate and you know it.

Let me give you the other side of things from someone who was there.

And by the way max you forgot to say that her hubby told you to contact the consumer affairs people. You also fogot to tell people that you only e mailed her yesterday asking for things to get sorted. You also fogot to mention that you threatened to ruin her business on this site too. Shame on you.

 

Here is the truth.

I was there when you arrived. You were agressive and abusive from the start.

That's not the point though is it but it does explain the owners relctance to speak to someone who's abusive.

Did you mention to tell people that you told her that you didn't break anything too? I don't suppose that the broken plate in the bin counts does it? People have no morals nowadays.

I need to stick to the point sorry.

 

You ruined all the white towels and sheets. I arrived there 5 minutes after you left. The washing had been placed in front of the washer and a load of just whites was put on. Whatever was on the towels or bedding came from you.

What hasn't been mentioned is that there's stuff that wasn't washed in that load. it still hasn't been washed and guess what. it's also stained with some sort of har dye or sun creme. you didn't menttion that your wife is a hardresser did you Max?

What the owner also hasn't told you is that there are items that have blood on them too.Like I said she's a decent person and to call people and tell them that they have covered new bedding with blood can;t be easy. I suppose you will say that either she or myself bled on them?

 

Just to sum everything up. the place was a total pigstye. one of the worste cleans ever in that house. The towels and bedding were all brand new. The owner attempted to get them clean. she's compulsive and washed and soaked and bleached them but whatever you put on them won't come out. She then sent the stuff ut to be landered but hey couldn't get them clean.

She did contact you. told you that she had no choice but to replace it and you were told to conttact consumer affairs if unhappy.

You were also told to that the stuff is not suitable to be be used and that it was packaged up for your collection.

I have no problem appearing befor the consumer affairs people. What you have done is wrong. The owner won't take legal action against you but I reckon her hubby will for what you have done on this site.

 

People have no principles anymore and it is shamful for what you have done on here when you havn't even contacted consumer affairs despite being told to by the owner last week.

 

just to repeat.

SHAME ON YOU

[Ktee]

I am going to close this thread, none of us know who is right or wrong and I think this matter needs to be dealt with off the forum. No one knows who the property owner is, in fact they didn't even know it was a PIA member as that part had been deleted prior, so by people coming on defending the owner and saying they are a member you have probably made matters worse.

I hope the owner and the member manage to come to some kind of agreement.