Robert Stricklen... Detroit Landlord Dodging Tenant and Court For Security Deposit *REBUTTAL. Mr. Edwards agreed to the charges
Individual
Robert Stricklen
Address:
Detroit MI 48215
U.S.A.
Phone:
Myself and my husband were tenants of a Mr. Robert Stricklen in Detroit, MI for 6 years. We notified him that we would be moving in about 2 months and we were purchasing our own home. 30 days later, we gave him another notice to let him know that everything was still on schedule and we would be moving out next month. That next month, we turned in our keys and gave him a forwarding address and telephone number so after he inspected his property, we could settle the matter regarding the $600.00 security deposit we had given him when we first acquired the property.
For a week, we received no calls from Mr. Stricklen so I decided to call him. Mr. Stricklen expressed that he had not looked at his property and he would be doing so by the end of the next week. Well, I called him again and he was very rude yelling saying that he had plenty of time to look at the property and that he would call us back (getting rude about our money. Imagine that). At that time, my husband and myself expressed to him that we felt he was trying to not pay any of the security deposit and hoped that was not the case... Mr. Stricklen said to my husband and I "you know I wouldn't do that." After phone calls from myself and husband and 28 days later, I decided to demand the security deposit back in writing.
Mr. Stricklen did respond by telephone 31 days later saying on my voicemail that his "bookkeeper or anything you want to call him" will contact us regarding the deposit. Well, 38 days after moving from Mr. Sticklen's property, we did recieve a letter from Mr. Stricklen and not call from his bookkeeper as he had claimed. His letter stated that we had made $800.00 worth of damage to his property and 1 item listed which was for over $600.00.. Surprisingly was for a alarm system (the old turn key model) which was not in working order when we moved into the home as stated by him. I didn't know the alarm wasn't working until I made a mistake and opened the front door when the alarm was suppose to armed and it didn't make a single sound. Mr. Stricklen did have someone he knew personally to attempt to fix this fossil but it still didn't work.
While a tenant in his property someone tried to break in the house 3 times (1 time was the 2nd week I was in the home... Maybe they knew the alarm didn't work) and 1 time they did break into the home after I had been there 10 months and I have a copy of the police report to confirm this fact. After moving out of the home, I found out that the alarm system needed to be rewired from the inside and the box needed to be replaced outside the home as well.
I know wear and tear can easily come to $100.00 or even $200.00 but for 1 item $600.00 that I never had the opportunity to benefit from because someone attempted and finally broke into my house to prove that it never worked. I refuse to pay for something I didn't break and was possibly cause by his former tenants or the landlord himself. He wasn't the best landlord when we were tenants but we gave him the benefit of the doubt and paid our last months rent thinking he would be fair about the deposit. We could have easily stayed at his property rent free for 3 months because of the conditions of his property were not up to code and I have pictures and documentation of this fact. We just wanted to move and get into our own home and not have anymore dealing with the "shady grady" landlord.
To top it off, I have tried to get this piece of trashed served several times to settle the dispute but he has repeatly dodged signing for his summons via certified mail and officers of the court by not opening his door. He is a retired police officer and I guess he knows the law about appearing in court. The law in Michigan states that he must supply a list of damages before 30 days or the tenant is due back all of their deposit.
I'll keep trying to serve him until I get my day in court.
Rebuttal Submitted: 9/21/00 Modified: 10/23/00
In rebuttal to the listing by a pass tenant, Dena Edwards.
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Cc
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