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Former landlord possibly stealing property I left behind
Brodo Faggins
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
From May to August of this year, I lived in Las Vegas for a job I had. The landlord (homeowner) was also my housemate, but he was cool, and the rent was cheap, so whatever.
The company folded, and I moved back home to Los Angeles late August.
I had brought my Xbox 360 with me to Vegas, but since the house lacked a communal TV and my funds were already low, I just decided to leave it in the box. When I moved out, I had to do so in a hurry because I didn't want to stay an extra day and be charged rent.
And, you guessed it, I left my 360 there. As soon as I got home, I decided it would probably be fine where it was. I finally got around to tracking it down last week, and I got no response from him.
Finally, I asked my friend to go to his place and pick it up for me, but when she went inside, it was nowhere to be found. I called my landlord, left a voicemail, and e-mailed him. He replied "I'm dumping the house and already got rid of alot of things in the house."
So, right away, I'm suspecting one of two things:
A) He's hoping I'll never drive all the way back just for an Xbox, and is pretending he dumped it (which is retarded; the guy has a PS3, so he clearly understands the value of a game console)
He pawned it (the guy's been unemployed for over a year now).
Driving all the way there and finding out for myself is probably the best option, but the shoot I'm working on is on hiatus for winter, and I'm low on funds.
What should I do?
The company folded, and I moved back home to Los Angeles late August.
I had brought my Xbox 360 with me to Vegas, but since the house lacked a communal TV and my funds were already low, I just decided to leave it in the box. When I moved out, I had to do so in a hurry because I didn't want to stay an extra day and be charged rent.
And, you guessed it, I left my 360 there. As soon as I got home, I decided it would probably be fine where it was. I finally got around to tracking it down last week, and I got no response from him.
Finally, I asked my friend to go to his place and pick it up for me, but when she went inside, it was nowhere to be found. I called my landlord, left a voicemail, and e-mailed him. He replied "I'm dumping the house and already got rid of alot of things in the house."
So, right away, I'm suspecting one of two things:
A) He's hoping I'll never drive all the way back just for an Xbox, and is pretending he dumped it (which is retarded; the guy has a PS3, so he clearly understands the value of a game console)
He pawned it (the guy's been unemployed for over a year now).Driving all the way there and finding out for myself is probably the best option, but the shoot I'm working on is on hiatus for winter, and I'm low on funds.
What should I do?
Brodo Faggins on
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-There's nothing in the contract I signed when I moved in about property left behind.
-The reason I got around to this so late was because I started working as soon as I got back home, and didn't really think something like this would happen.
When you move out, you take your shit with you, otherwise you're giving it up. How long is he supposed to hold on to your forgotten possessions for?
Xboxs are cheap. Save yourself the headache of trying to fight this and just buy a new one.
I don't mean to sound unsympathetic, but that wasn't very responsible of you. I'd have assumed you left it abandoned as well.
And did your friend just walk into a house that wasn't hers without anyone being home/giving permission? That's called trespassing. With the intent to take something? Yikes. Do not tell your landlord about that. Or do it again.
I sent my friend there to knock on the door, not to trespass. The door was answered by our third roommate (whom I probably should've mentioned), and he looked through the house, not my friend. Granted, he didn't go into the landlord's room. I don't have this roommate's contact info, as it was on my old phone (now long gone).
Also, my landlord and I had a very cordial relationship, which is why I trusted him to just leave it be so that I could pick it up at a later date.
But yeah, this is why I posted. I know I have no legal action available to me, but I guess that's what I get for having to move out in a hurry.
No, no, no! That is what you get for not picking up the phone. It would've taken a minute, especially if your relationship was on good terms.
edit: That mindset in general is going to put a hurt on you in life. Take responsibility. Anyway, good luck in the future!
edit: I believe you can visit the microsoft site and remove credit cards. I told my roommate how to do it a week or two ago.
http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/legal_guides/lt-5.shtml
In the cases of property that has apparently been abandoned, where the renter was not evicted, the landlord is required to store your property safely and attempt to notify you of your abandoned property before disposing of it.
It appears that you have the law on your side. I don't recommend ever being so silly as to abandon an expensive piece of electronics and not at least call to remind the owner you want it back, but you are within your rights to pursue legal action.
Edit: A significant amount of this is going to be contingent, most likely, on you being able to prove you left an xbox there. It will be a simple matter for him to say that you did not and must be confused. Additionally, you will almost certainly have to spend more on legal resources than the item is worth. However, sometimes the threat of legal action is enough to motivate someone. Landlords notoriously know how to play the law to maximum effect for themselves, however.
Found that tenant law stuff in an article at the consumerist.
Still totally sucks though.
As for your credit card information, phone 1-800-4My-Xbox and ask them to remove it if you can't do so online.
Update: He said it gave it away to a guy. Didn't specify if it was a friend, no details, nothing. So I asked him for that guy's contact number, as I told him it makes me uncomfortable knowing that my xbox with my credit card information is out there in some stranger's hands.
As soon as I asked for that contact info, he suddenly stopped replying to my e-mails.
So, logically, I suspect he's either lying and keeping it for himself, or he really did give it to some random person out of spite.
Also, come on, clearly the CC thing isn't that big of a deal if he has had it since August.
Would it have been nice for him to at call you once and ask if you wanted it? Yes, definitely. Maybe even required by renter law. But dude, you left an XBox at someone else's house for nearly 4 months. This falls squarely on you so lessoned learned and get that card removed.
Just to clarify, leaving behind property when you move out does not mean you give up ownership of it.
However, while he wouldn't be entitled to just sell it or keep it, if he did sell it or give it away, you wouldn't really have a lot of recourse to get it back. At least not without spending more than the value of the 360.
Take it as a lesson learned, and be glad it wasn't something more valuable.
That's nice, but the thread's not about what you would do if someone left their stuff at your place. Chill out, calmly present other options if you know of them, and either way dial it down a notch.
I know I should've called, but now that he's suddenly not responding to any e-mails or voicemails, I guess I'll go the certified letter route. Where do I go about getting it done?
Anyway, try to get your info removed right away.
but they're listening to every word I say
Though, it's probably not worth pursuing just because the cost of the XBox is so low compared to how much you'd spend pursuing it. This is one case I'd say let it go and get a new one, shit sucks but you should've let him know you'd be coming back for it.
Edit: Which isn't to say he shouldn't send a letter, just if his landlord wasn't bullshitting him then it complicates follow-up action.