{"id":10244,"date":"2024-07-05T20:18:34","date_gmt":"2024-07-05T18:18:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/?p=10244"},"modified":"2024-07-05T20:18:34","modified_gmt":"2024-07-05T18:18:34","slug":"our-entitled-landlord-refused-to-return-our-deposit-so-we-taught-him-a-lesson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/?p=10244","title":{"rendered":"Our Entitled Landlord Refused to Return Our Deposit, So We Taught Him a Lesson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Peter and Mary had saved for years to move into their dream apartment, but their entitled landlord had other plans. When he refused to return their security deposit with outrageous accusations, they knew they had to fight back. What unfolded was a plot of cunning and retribution that left their landlord stunned.<\/p>\n

Hi, I\u2019m Peter. You could say I\u2019m a pretty level-headed guy. Been an analyst at a tech company for, well, longer than I care to admit at 34. Numbers? Logic? That\u2019s my bread and butter.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nA man using a laptop | Source: Pexels<\/p>\n

But lately, my brain feels like it\u2019s running on a corrupted program, thanks to our landlord, Mr. Hollingsworth.<\/p>\n

The guy\u2019s a real piece of work, and what he pulled with our security deposit\u2026 let\u2019s just say it\u2019s left me fuming and needing to vent.<\/p>\n

So, here I am, pouring my frustrations (and maybe a plan or two) out onto the internet.<\/p>\n

Now, before I unleash the full Hollingsworth horror show, let me rewind a bit.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nAn old man | Source: Midjourney<\/p>\n

See, this story isn\u2019t just about a greedy landlord. It\u2019s about a fresh start for my little family. My amazing wife, Mary, and our energetic three-year-old, Ethan, the little hurricane who can turn \u201cbath time\u201d into a full-blown monsoon event.<\/p>\n

After years of budgeting and countless ramen noodle dinners, Mary and I finally saved enough for our dream apartment.<\/p>\n

We\u2019d been cramped in a shoebox apartment for what felt like forever, but a few months ago, our realtor showed us this new apartment that fit our budget.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nAn empty apartment kitchen | Source: Pexels<\/p>\n

Our first visit to the apartment was when we decided to make it our home.<\/p>\n

When Mary told Ethan about the new house, saying his room would have a jungle gym, he couldn\u2019t contain his excitement.<\/p>\n

\u201cJungle gym!\u201d Ethan would yell, gleefully running in circles around our tiny living room. \u201cCan we see it yet, Mommy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll have to wait for a few more weeks, honey,\u201d Mary would tell him.<\/p>\n

She spent weeks decluttering and decorating, transforming our new apartment into a cozy haven.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nA woman writing in her notebook | Source: Pexels<\/p>\n

Soon, we were all set to move into the new place. All that was left was to pick up a few things from our old apartment.<\/p>\n

Little did we know, that our move would be the start of a landlord nightmare we never saw coming.<\/p>\n

On the moving day, the landlord showed up, and we walked through the whole apartment with him to hand it over.<\/p>\n

He poked his nose around, muttering about a scuffed doorframe and a slightly stained carpet (thanks, Ethan\u2019s \u201cartistic phase\u201d with puddings).<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nA older man looking at a stained carpet | Source: Midjourney<\/p>\n

But to our relief, after a twenty-minute inspection, he sighed and declared, \u201cAlright, alright, everything seems in order. Your deposit will be refunded within the usual timeframe.\u201d<\/p>\n

We shook hands, pleasantries exchanged, and that was that. Relief washed over us as Mr. Hollingsworth locked the door behind him. We thought that was the end of our interaction with him, but it wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

But just a couple of days later, we got an angry voicemail from him.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeter!\u201d he barked, barely bothering with the pleasantries this time.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nA man looking at his phone | Source: Midjourney<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you have any idea what kind of mess you\u2019ve left behind in that apartment? A stench so vile, it could knock a buzzard off a dung heap! I can\u2019t even stand in the bedroom and the living room.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd don\u2019t even get me started on the infestation! Cockroaches crawling all over like they own the place!\u201d he yelled. \u201cSeems your little\u2026 offspring\u2026 wasn\u2019t quite as trained as you led me to believe. He left food in so many places.\u201d<\/p>\n

The accusation stung. Ethan messy? Sure, sometimes. But cockroaches? That was outrageous.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe security deposit,\u201d he continued, his voice dripping with mock sympathy, \u201cis obviously forfeit. But that\u2019s just the tip of the iceberg. To rectify this\u2026 we\u2019re talking a complete overhaul. New wallpaper, floors ripped out, the whole nine yards. And guess who gets to foot the bill for this little\u2026 biohazard cleanup? You do, Peter. You and your\u2026 destructive\u2026 family.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the end of the message, Mary and I were dumbfounded. Whatever Mr. Hollingsworth said seemed impossible as we had the apartment professionally cleaned before handing it back.<\/p>\n

\u201cCockroaches? Peter, we never even saw an ant in that place!\u201d Mary exclaimed, her voice tight with anger.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, Mary,\u201d I said. \u201cThis seems suspicious.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to call him back. We need to set him straight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. We won\u2019t call him back,\u201d I told her. \u201cI have a better plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

At that point, we still had a few of our things in our old apartment, including the nanny cam. So, I decided to check the recording.<\/p>\n

That was the only way to find out what Mr. Hollingsworth was up to.<\/p>\n

What I found was shocking. As I played back the nanny cam footage, my heart raced. At first, it showed the empty apartment, the familiar surroundings we had lovingly maintained.<\/p>\n

Then, out of nowhere, Mr. Hollingsworth appeared on the screen. He moved cautiously, glancing over his shoulder as if afraid of being caught.<\/p>\n

My initial reaction was confusion. Why was he there? What was he doing?<\/p>\n

But as the footage continued, my confusion turned to horror. Mr. Hollingsworth was sneaking around the apartment, wearing gloves and a mask.<\/p>\n

He moved stealthily, almost like a burglar. I watched in disbelief as he bent down behind the sofa, and when he stood up, he left something behind.<\/p>\n

He repeated this process behind the wardrobes, under the sink, and even in the air vents.<\/p>\n

I leaned closer to the screen, trying to see what he was placing. As he moved into better light, the realization hit me like a ton of bricks. It was rotting food.<\/p>\n

My stomach churned as I recognized the slimy, decomposing pieces of fish guts.<\/p>\n

The smell must have been unbearable because Mr. Hollingsworth kept adjusting his mask and covering his nose.<\/p>\n

Disgust mingled with fury as I continued to watch. Here was our landlord, deliberately sabotaging the apartment to make it look like we had left it in a terrible state.<\/p>\n

The meticulousness with which he carried out his plan was chilling.<\/p>\n

He knew exactly where to place the rotting food so it wouldn\u2019t be immediately visible but would soon create a horrendous stench.<\/p>\n

When the footage finally ended, I felt a mix of anger and determination. I turned to Mary, who had been watching with me, her face pale with shock.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe this,\u201d she said, her voice trembling with rage. \u201cHe set us up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know,\u201d I replied, feeling a cold, steely resolve settle over me. \u201cBut we\u2019re not going to let him get away with this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary nodded, her eyes blazing. \u201cWhat do we do now?\u201d<\/p>\n

The footage made me realize he was determined to scam us. So, I decided to outsmart him and devised a plan.<\/p>\n

First, I made copies of the nanny cam footage and backed it up in multiple places. Then, I called the landlord, acting completely calm.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Hollingsworth, we\u2019d like to discuss the matter of the security deposit. Could we meet in a couple of days?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, finally coming to your senses, are you?\u201d he sneered. \u201cFine. Let\u2019s meet on Thursday.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime, I contacted a lawyer friend, Mark, and showed him the footage. His eyes widened as he watched.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is gold, Peter. You\u2019ve got him. We\u2019ll prepare everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thursday arrived, and Mary and I showed up at the old apartment with Mark. Mr. Hollingsworth greeted us with a smug look. \u201cReady to pay for the damages?\u201d<\/p>\n

I forced a smile. \u201cWe thought it would be best to show you something first.\u201d<\/p>\n

At that point, I pulled out my phone and played the nanny cam footage.<\/p>\n

Mr. Hollingsworth\u2019s face turned from confident to horrified. \u201cI\u2026 I can explain\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark stepped in, his voice calm but firm. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing to explain. This is clear evidence of fraud and intentional damage. Not only will you return the deposit, but you will also compensate my clients for the distress caused.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Hollingsworth stammered, \u201cLook, let\u2019s not get legal involved. I\u2019ll return the deposit right away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary, her voice steady but edged with anger, added, \u201cAnd an extra $1,000 for the stress and inconvenience. Or we\u2019ll see you in court.\u201d<\/p>\n

He agreed, looking utterly defeated. We got our deposit back plus the extra $1,000 within the week.<\/p>\n

Back at our new apartment, Mary and I sat in the garden, a sense of triumph washing over us. \u201cI still can\u2019t believe he tried to pull that,\u201d Mary said, shaking her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know,\u201d I replied, \u201cbut we stood our ground. And we won.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ethan came running over, his laughter filling the air. \u201cDaddy, Mommy, come play!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a minute, buddy,\u201d I said, smiling. \u201cFirst, Mommy and I need to toast to something.\u201d<\/p>\n

We raised our glasses of wine, clinking them together. \u201cTo justice well served,\u201d Mary said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd to never letting anyone take advantage of us again,\u201d I added.<\/p>\n

As Ethan played happily nearby, I looked at Mary, feeling a deep sense of gratitude. \u201cWe make a good team, don\u2019t we?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best,\u201d she replied, leaning in for a kiss. \u201cHere\u2019s to our new beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd to making sure we always have a nanny cam,\u201d I joked, making Mary laugh.<\/p>\n

Mr. Hollingsworth might have thought he could scam us, but he underestimated the power of a united family. And that, more than anything, made this victory all the more rewarding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Peter and Mary had saved for years to move into their dream apartment, but their entitled landlord had other plans. When he refused to return their security deposit with outrageous accusations, they knew they had to fight back. What unfolded was a plot of cunning and retribution that left their landlord stunned. Hi, I\u2019m Peter. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10244"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10251,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10244\/revisions\/10251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}