4 months ago I moved in with a roommate. I didn't sign a lease. I gave a deposit to her, not to the landlord. We moved out 7 weeks ago and she still hasn't given me my deposit back.

I keep getting the runaround every time I have contacted her. She recently received only half of the deposit because the landlord claims to not have one of the keys (That issue is between her and the landlord).

I have an email saying that she will have the money for me by next week (which was last week) whether she gets the check or not. I spoke with her on the phone and instead of paying me like she said she would, she is using the landlord issue as an excuse.

Since I gave the deposit to her, not to the landlord, is it her responsibility to pay me back my deposit regardless of any issues between her and the landlord?

I might have to take this to small claims court. Thank you for the help!

You got lucky... even if your not on the lease with the landlord you should have written something up between you and her.

I say you got lucky cause she could have denied you gave a deposit, but since she did go to small claims court. She is just hoping you forget about it and maybe in a few weeks or months she'll give you part of it back, or move and change phone numbers.

If you have an email where she agrees to give you back a certain specified amount file a small claims case, it's not much to file it and most cases are resolved without a hearing.

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Originally Posted by Lowtax4eva

You got lucky.... even if your not on the lease with the landlord you should have written something up between you and her.

I say you got lucky cause she could have denied you gave a deposit, but since she did go to small claims court. She is just hoping you forget about it and maybe in a few weeks or months she'll give you part of it back, or move and change phone numbers.

If you have an email where she agrees to give you back a certain specified amount file a small claims case, it's not much to file it and most cases are resolved without a hearing.

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In theory, I agree with this. And if she's not living up to your agreement I'd say it's worth a shot. But I don't believe your case is a slam-dunk. Emails are easily manipulated, so lots of judges won't even acknowledge them as evidence. I think it could go either way. But like I said - probably worth a shot.

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Originally Posted by rockinmommy

In theory, I agree with this. And if she's not living up to your agreement I'd say it's worth a shot. But I don't believe your case is a slam-dunk. Emails are easily manipulated, so lots of judges won't even acknowledge them as evidence. I think it could go either way. But like I said - probably worth a shot.

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Thank you all for the advice. I greatly appreciate it.

In regards to emails being easily manipulated, can I just log on to my email server during the trial, or have a certified computer expert show that the emails weren't manipulated?

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Originally Posted by TheHubbub08

In regards to emails being easily manipulated, can I just log on to my email server during the trial, or have a certified computer expert show that the emails weren't manipulated?

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Well, again in theory you could do all of that. However small claims court doesn't work quite that way usually. Most magistrates or Justices of the Peace just kind of have set ways they do things. Like not allowing emails as evidence. You can argue it. But if they don't allow it - they don't allow it. Then if the ruling didn't go your way and you felt like your evidence was valid you'd have to file appeals, have legal precident for using the emails as evidence (which as far as I know it's generally considered about the same as verbal communication - admissible but easily challenged.) I'm I making sense?

Also, all of that aside, you're still basing your case on a verbal sub-let. There are just a lot of factors that could lean the judge one way or the other.

What kind of person is she? Simply getting served with the suit may be enough to get her to pay up. Make sure she includes court costs, dismiss the case and move on down the road. Or she may show up and argue. If that happens I think you have a decent case, but like I said - not a slam dunk. It would come down, probably to what the judge believes to be true. Bring a copy of the email, but don't count on it as your only argument.