After years of saving, Peter and Mary were finally ready to move into their ideal apartment, but their conceited landlord had other ideas. They realized they had to fight back when he withheld their security deposit and made false claims. Their landlord was shocked to learn of the sly and vindictive scheme that came to pass.
Greetings, I am Peter. I guess you could say that I’m a rather sensible man. At 34, I’ve worked as an analyst for a tech business for, well, longer than I’d like to confess. Figures? Reason? My bread and butter is that.
But because of our landlord, Mr. Hollingsworth, my head has been operating on a faulty software recently.
He’s a true piece of work, and let’s just say that his actions regarding our security deposit have left me furious and in need of an outlet.
And so here I am, letting my frustrations run wild on the internet, along with a few plans.
Let me now go back a little before I unleash the whole Hollingsworth horror show.
You see, there is more to this tale than a rapacious landlord. It’s about starting again for my small family. The dynamic three-year-old Ethan and my wonderful wife Mary, who can transform “bath time” into a full-blown monsoon event, are our little hurricanes.
Mary and I were able to accumulate enough money for our ideal apartment after years of budgeting and many nights of eating ramen noodles.
After what seemed like an eternity of living in a tiny apartment, our realtor showed us this beautiful apartment a few months ago that was within our budget.
When we made the decision to move into the flat, we paid it our first visit.
Ethan couldn’t contain his enthusiasm when Mary informed him about the new house and mentioned that his room will include a jungle gym.
“Gym in the jungle!” Ethan would shout while he ran about our small living room with joy. “Mom, can we see it yet?”
Mary would tell him, “You’ll have to wait for a few more weeks, honey.”
She turned our new flat into a warm refuge by spending weeks organizing and decorating.
We were all ready to move into the new location soon. The only thing left to do was get a few items from our previous flat.
We had no idea that our move would be the beginning of an unanticipated nightmare with our landlord.
When the landlord arrived on the day of the move-out, we took him through the whole flat to give it over.
Looking around, he murmured something about a little discolored carpet and a scratched doorframe (because of Ethan’s pudding-eating “artistic phase”).
But after a twenty-minute check, much to our relief, he sighed and said, “Okay, okay, everything seems in order.” You will receive your money back in the customary amount of time.
After exchanging greetings and shaking hands, we parted ways. As Mr. Hollingsworth closed the door behind him, a wave of relief overcame us. We mistakenly believed it to be the last of our communication with him, but it wasn’t.
However, a few days later, we received an irate voicemail from him.
“Peter!” he yelled, hardly making an effort to be polite.
What type of mess have you left behind in that flat, do you know? An odor so repulsive that it might drive a buzzard off a pile of manure! Even the living room and bedroom are too small for me to stand in.
“Let’s not even talk about the infestation! He screamed, “Cockroaches are crawling everywhere like they own the place!” It appears that your young child wasn’t exactly as well-behaved as you had told me. He left food all over the place.
The charge pricked me. Is Ethan disorganized? Yes, occasionally. Cockroaches, though? That was really ridiculous.
With a tone full of fake compassion, he went on, “The security deposit is obviously forfeit.” However, it is only the very beginning. In order to fix this, a thorough redesign is necessary. Whole floors torn out, new wallpaper, the whole nine yards. And who gets to pay for this small-scale biohazard cleanup? Peter, you really do. You and your… damaging… family.
Mary and I were shocked when the message ended. Considering that we had the flat thoroughly cleaned before returning it, what Mr. Hollingsworth described sounded implausible.
“Cockroaches? We didn’t even see an ant there, Peter! Mary cried out, her voice tense with rage.
“Yes, Mary,” I said. “This seems a little off.”
“We must give him another call. He needs to be corrected by us.
Not at all. I informed her, “We won’t give him a call back. “My plan is better.”
We still kept the nanny cam and a few other items from our prior apartment at that moment. I made the decision to watch the tape.
There was no other means to learn about Mr. Hollingsworth’s activities.
What I discovered was startling. My pulse raced as I watched the nanny cam video again. Initially, it displayed the vacant flat and the comfortable surroundings that we had meticulously cared for.
Then Mr. Hollingsworth suddenly materialized on the screen. He moved warily, looking over his shoulder as though he was worried about being discovered.
I was confused at first. For what reason was he present? How was he going about it?
However, as the video went on, my bewilderment gave way to terror. Mr. Hollingsworth was wearing a mask and gloves as he crept about the flat.
He moved almost surreptitiously, like a thief. He knelt behind the couch, and when he got up, he left something behind, which shocked me.
He did this again in the air vents, behind the sink, and behind the closets.
In an attempt to see what he was placing, I leaned closer to the screen. The knowledge hit me like a ton of bricks when he moved into better light. The food was rotten.
I recognized the slimy, decaying chunks of fish intestines, and my stomach turned.
It must have been an intolerable stench since Mr. Hollingsworth was constantly fiddling with his mask and covering his nose.
As I kept watching, disgust mixed with rage. Here was our landlord, purposefully breaking into the apartment to give the impression that we had left it in a very bad way.
It was terrifying how methodically he executed his strategy.
He was aware of the ideal location for the decaying food to hide its horrible odor for as long as possible.
I had a mixture of rage and resolve as the video eventually came to an end. Mary, who had been observing alongside me, turned to face me, her face blanched with horror.
Her voice quivering with anger, she added, “I can’t believe this.” “He positioned us for success.”
“I understand,” I said as a steely, hard resolve descended upon me. However, we won’t allow him to get away with this.
With her eyes flaming, Mary nodded. “Now what do we do?”
I could see from the video that he was determined to con us. I made the decision to outwit him and came up with a strategy.
I started by making duplicates of the nanny cam video and backing it up many times. Then, with perfect composure, I gave the landlord a call.
Mr. Hollingsworth, let’s talk about the security deposit issue. Could we get together in a few days?
“Ah, you’re finally waking up, are you?” He was snarky. Alright. Come together on Thursday.
I called my friend Mark, a lawyer, in the interim and showed him the video. He watched, his eyes getting wider.
Peter, this is pure gold. You possess him. Everything will be ready by us.
When Thursday finally arrived, Mary, Mark, and I arrived at the former flat. Mr. Hollingsworth gave us a self-satisfied smile. Are you prepared to cover the damages?
I feigned a laugh. “We decided it would be best to give you a preview first.”
I took out my phone at that moment and started watching the nanny cam video.
Mr. Hollingsworth’s expression changed from assured to terrified. “I… I can elucidate…”
With a calm yet authoritative voice, Mark intervened. “There isn’t anything to clarify. This is unequivocal proof of deception and deliberate harm. You will reimburse my consumers for the inconvenience in addition to returning the money.
Mr. Hollingsworth stumbled and said, “Let’s avoid getting into legal trouble.” I’ll promptly repay the deposit.
Mary continued, “And an extra $1,000 for the stress and inconvenience,” in a calm but angrily spoken voice. Otherwise, we’ll see you in court.
Looking completely beaten, he nodded. Within a week, we had our money returned plus an additional $1,000.
Mary and I were feeling victorious as we sat in the yard of our new apartment. Mary shook her head, “I still can’t believe he tried to pull that.”
I acknowledged it, but we didn’t back down. We also prevailed.
With laughter resonating across the room, Ethan dashed over. “Come play, Mommy and Daddy!”
With a smile, I said, “In a minute, buddy.” “Mom and I need to toast to something first.”
We lifted our wine glasses and gave them a little tap. Mary exclaimed, “To justice well served.”
“And to never allow anyone to take advantage of us in the future,” I said.
I was so grateful that I gazed at Mary while Ethan played joyfully nearby. “Don’t we make a good team?”
“The best,” she said, bending to plant a kiss. “Leading us into our fresh start.”
Mary laughed as I quipped, “And to making sure we always have a nanny cam.”
Though Mr. Hollingsworth may have believed he could con us, he misjudged the strength of a cohesive family. More than anything else, that added to the satisfaction of this win.
If you had been in my position, how would you have responded?