I feel like I was fooled,,,PLease help!!!!!!!
@ccarabuena (442)
Cebu, Philippines
January 18, 2010 3:43am CST
I terminated my contract with my landlady last October, because I have my relative who can let me stay to their house for free. And aside from that because of my landlady is always asking for an increase every now and then. Light and water are paid in advance on time. We only had verbal agreement at the start of my occupancy to the said room. Prior moving out to the said place, I informed my landlady that my Aunt will let me stay to their house and she agreed to it, verbally. And as we agreed, she will give me back my deposit which i entrusted her. After a month I texted her if I could get the money already, but she said not yet, so I decided to give her time. It came to a point that I need the money so much because I have to give it to my mother, who is in need for medication, my landlady texted me saying that " I can no longer give you the money, because it's past December" which made me alarmed. Because of this I went to the barangay to report the incident and settle things out, however, my landlady insist that I should've informed her a month ahead. I understand because, that's what we agreed upon in the first place, BUT we had another verbal agreement the day before I moved out to the place, that she agreed that she will returned the money that I entrusted her.
And it turned out that, the counsil who is acting like a judge in a hearing appears to be bias. As he said, " It's very hard to prove things out because we don't have a lease paper " then, I showed him the UNOFFICIAL receipt that my landlady gave to me with her printed name and signature. And he told me that it's not enough proof. Is that true?
Other thing that I am concerned about is that, her husband is working in a government agency which is BIR here in Cebu City. In fact, he insist that her wife is not oblige to give back the money "my house rent deposit" because it's past December. I feel like I was fooled and was taken advantage probably because I'm not originally from this place???
Help me out my lotters. I have my 2nd hearing tomorrow. Especially if you're from the Philippines.
1 person likes this
5 responses
@mylesnarvaez (5450)
• Philippines
18 Jan 10
hi! i'm sorry to hear about your dilemma.
i hope you kept your text to your former landlady asking her about your deposit, as well as her reply to your text. that would help as a reference. make a record of it. write it down also.
if possible don't attend the hearing alone. bring along a friend or a family member. it's less intimidating that way.
if you can still do this, please take time to consider making a statement. draft your side of the story and write it down on paper and sign it. state there what transpired verbally between you and your former landlady and the events that followed. this will keep you focused on the story so that you won't get confused when you are asked questions. provide details: names, dates, times etc. that would help for accuracy. then make extra copies just in case. be careful what you write down coz they can use your own words against you if ever there would be technicalities. prepare to submit this statement if necessary, and have a "received copy" to make it an official record.
as much as possible think before you answer any of the questions you will be asked tomorrow. baranggay offices are not efficient in arbitrations and recording statements. it's best you are armed with your copies of statements.
receipts, official or unofficial... as long as signed, will have bearing. in the absence of a contract, it's proof enough that a business transaction occured. argue on that. ask them why else would your former landlady give the temporary receipt in the first place?
but for future reference, any business dealings you do, please have something written about it and get it signed. it would protect both parties involved.
there would be 3 hearings in the baranggay before it can escalate to the police level (if ever you did not reach an agreement). as early as now, you should be planning your steps.
let us know the outcome of the hearing. goodluck! don't lose hope... eventhough to be frank about it... your landlady didn't plan on returning your deposit at all.
@ccarabuena (442)
• Cebu, Philippines
6 Mar 10
@mylesnarvaez I won the case and my landlord/landlady gave it back to me and I'm so happy ^_^
@ccarabuena (442)
• Cebu, Philippines
18 Jan 10
Thank you so much for this response. I really appreciate it.
I will make a draft tonight for tomorrow.
And I will post the outcome for sure.
@lelin1123 (15594)
• Puerto Rico
18 Jan 10
I am not from the Philippines but I seriously think they are taking you for a ride. I just need to let you know that I have found many landlords do not give the deposits back. Yes they are ripping you off and its bad when the husband works for a government agency. They will cover each other and don't care about the rules. That is the way it is in most places I'm afraid. She should have given you the money back the same day you moved out after investigating that the apartment was left in the same condition you found it when you first moved in.
@ccarabuena (442)
• Cebu, Philippines
18 Jan 10
Yes, i moved out without any pending bills and whatsoever.
It's very unfortunate of me because, the council is bias.
@lelin1123 (15594)
• Puerto Rico
18 Jan 10
I feel so bad for you because I really hate when people take advantage of others.
@ccarabuena (442)
• Cebu, Philippines
18 Jan 10
I feel bad too. It's just that, I couldn't do anything.
I know I don't have enough money to pay for a lawyer in case I
decided to take it to the higher court if nothing will be settled tomorrow.
@sid556 (30953)
• United States
19 Jan 10
Hi ccarabuena,
She owes you your deposit back regardless of any verbal agreement you make. The purpose of a deposit is to give the landlord some cover if the place is damaged or rent is not paid before eviction. If your rent was paid and the place was not damaged then she not only owes you that money but she owes it to you with interest.Landlords are required to put deposits in a savings account and all interest on that goes to you. She can't withold your deposit unless it is to pay for damages to the property which she would have to prove. You need to fight back which is something she is not expecting you to do. You need a lawyer and you need your money back with interest and you need to ask the court to charge her all court fees and lawyer fees because you should not have to go to this extreme to get what is due you! She'll probably break and agree to settle out of court once she knows you are serious. What she is doing is illegal and she knows it. A lot of landlords play this game. The fact is that they owe your money back with interest unless there is damages. If they claim damages then they have to show proof and also proof that it was you that caused the damages and those damages are to be deleted from the deposit. If the damages exceed the deposit then the tenent owes the difference.
@ccarabuena (442)
• Cebu, Philippines
31 Jan 10
I totally agree, I know that verbal contract is also valid for as long as there is mutual understanding of the parties involved. I gave them the money in a month advance, and before I left we already agreed that she will give it back to me. When I left, the room that I rented is in good condition. You're right, there's a lot of cases reported in barangay which is similar to mine, the alarming statistics I found out was none of them resolved. If this would happened to me, that's not good either so that is the reason I need to fight for what is right. I know they are thinking that I'm not serious in this matter, I will really prove it to them that's not gonna happen. The problem is, I need to have a lawyer in "PUBLIC ATTORNEYS OFFICE" however, I'm not originally from Cebu, so I cannot take advantage of it. What should I do? I know I'm not well off person, but I never thought of quitting. Please advise me.
@lindiebiz (1006)
• Canada
19 Jan 10
It is rather unfortunate what has happened to you but a lesson you should learn is never have a verbal agreement with anyone no matter who, it should be written and I guess your landlady is using that to cheat you off your money because there is nothing the judge can prove. He can make a judgement based on verbal agreements and where there are no withness. Still say the truth and God will help you. Take care and sucess.
@ccarabuena (442)
• Cebu, Philippines
31 Jan 10
Thank you so much for the encouragement. Yes, this is one of my experiences that needs to outline.
@shuyin101 (206)
• Philippines
18 Jan 10
hi! Pinoy here! :)) I live in manila...
anyway let's keep it English para maintindihan ng iba.(so that others can understand it)
in my opinion, since she already agreed that she would return the money, she should and you have to get it from her but it really is very hard to prove since it is only verbal and you do not have a paper /receipt or whatever.. and maybe the Barangay Captain is also trying to weigh things out like you can easily cheat the receipt / paper and stuff (i dont think you did)
btw how much is the money?
@ccarabuena (442)
• Cebu, Philippines
31 Jan 10
Hello thanks for the comment.
I do have a receipt with her name and signature printed on it, however the receipt that was given to me was unofficial where you can purchase it 5php in school supplies in the market. How much? it's a $100 bucks though it's not that big amount but mind you..even American's will dispute it.
