Happy Holidays everyone.

I have a question about a demand letter that I consider an extortion letter and I would like to ask what I should do. I'll change all the relative information as to not divulge any information about myself or the other party.

I have received a 'demand letter' from an old landlord. I believe the landlord has committed extortion in the demand letter by telling me that I owe money or he/she will 'add the item to my credit report and/or garnish my wages'. On top of all that, the charges that are claimed are owed are for service periods on a water / wastewater bill when I didn't even reside in the residence.

I moved out of the residence, let's say, June 1st 2008. The landlord sent two bills that he/she wished to be paid. One is dated, we'll say, May 16th 2008 - July 16th 2008. The other bill (here's the kicker) is dated, we'll say, July 22nd 2008 - July 21st 2009. I moved out June 1st!

Ok, now one could say I could possibly be liable for the bill from the period of May 16th - June 1st, however, when I moved out of the house my security deposit was docked (for among other questionable reasons) $100.00. The reason the security deposit was docked $100 is because when I moved in there was an old, lets say, weed-wacker in a dilapidated tin shed in the back yard. The shed had holes in the roof which let water and snow inside. I never once was able to get that weed-wacker to work and I was forced to purchase my own, brand new weed-wacker to use while I was in the house. Well, when I moved out he/she docked me $100 because "the lease stipulated you leave a working weed-wacker, it didn't specify which wacker you leave".

So, I'm not really inclined to pay for the partial water service even if I do owe because it's still under the $100 I was screwed out of on the weed-wacker.

Now I got really ticked with that deduction but I was willing to let it go just to get away and never see the landlord again. Well, now I'm sent this demand letter for a water bill when I didn't even live there.

I received a similar bill from the landlord about a month after I moved out but I ignored it and never responded. Now, several months later I'm sent another one in which he/she threatens to put it on my credit report or garnish my wages. I consider this extortion.

Any advice on how to handle this situation? The letter says that he/she will start this process in 10 days and since it's the weekend before Christmas week, I don't have many options to seek legal advice. So I'm asking you smart folks here.

So I could:

A) Write a professional letter and advise why I am not responsible for the charges. (I see no reason to be cordial)

B) Write a letter advising that the received letter is extortion and he/she can piss off as he/she won't be getting any money from me (I wouldn't make threats in my response)

C) Go to the cops, but I have a moral issue with putting people in jail who have not committed serious crimes against others, so I'm not a fan of this idea

D) Ignore the letter again hope he/she tries to do something and when he/she does I can counter-sue on which I have no moral issues.

E) Something else that I'm not thinking of.....




Can anyone help with this?

Have you browsed through the information in LawInfo's Free Legal Resource Center to learn more about your issue yet? See: http://www.lawinfo.com/consumer.html. You can certainly try to speak to a lawyer to determine what legal options may be available. In the meantime, you may be able to learn more on your own. Search the "Free Legal Resources" tab, or browse the Consumer Resources. Good luck.