2009/01/28

And let's share the brilliance (and yes, that line you're going WTF is true):

Hi (contact),

At your request, I am writing you regarding final invoices for
our old rental property located at (address), Ottawa, On.  There are four
charges total to us, but we believe that we should only be paying for two of
them.

As per our signed contract, we agreed to have the carpets steam
cleaned upon vacating the premises due to the fact we had pets.  As well, we
caused minor drywall damage as we were moving out, so it is fair to pay the
repair cost to the entrance.  However, we do not agree with the charges for (company) junk removal and (company) Housekeeping.

When we first took over
the property on Nov 1st, 2007 we arrived to find the home in a very poor state
of cleanliness.  The agent we were dealing with at the time actually informed us
that they had not had a chance to check the house and no one had been in to
clean.  We were forced to delay our move by two days so we could properly clean
the house, as it had seemed it had not been cleaned the entire time the previous
tenants had been living there. I spent a complete day trying to clean the
upstairs bathroom trying to remove a year's worth of soap scum in the shower and
tub which had almost turned to tar.  We also spent a complete day cleaning the
kitchen as it had not been touched in quite some time. The fridge had old
spilled juice inside, the counters were coated in dirt and the pantry was full
of soil.  The stove top and oven were also in rough shape. As an added bonus, a
box of used vaginal suppositories was left in the fridge as a gift from the
previous tenants.  In total, we spent roughly 12 hours each cleaning the house
prior to our arrival.  I also saw no indication steam cleaning had taken place
prior to our arrival, despite the previous tenants owning a dog.  Before our
departure, we spent three nights of five hours each cleaning and preparing the
home for the new tenants.  Our only concern was the bile in the carpets (not
feces as the note states) from a cat having vomited. We knew however the steam
cleaning would remove this, which we had previously agreed to.  It is not fair
to us that we should be charged for house cleaning when we left this house 100
times cleaner then the way we received it. 

As for the junk that was
left in the house.  Everything that was left in the house when we left was there
when we arrived with the exception of the garbage in the garage that was slated
to go out on Friday for pick up.  The previous tenants told us that the owned
had left behind some stuff for the tenants to use such as the giant TV, a broken
lawnmower, a broken BBQ, an air conditioning unit and a garage full of lawn
tools and various other things. The storage room in the basement also contained
quite of bit of junk such as paint, wood and old fixturing.  Since we were not
shown the house by an agent and rather by the tenants themselves, we had no
choice but to believe the tenants about the contents of the house. Everything we
left behind was there when we arrived.

However, since there was no clean
up crew prior to our arrival, no one noticed how much of a mess the house was or
how much junk was left behind. We were left to deal with the problems
ourselves.  It is not good business to let one client go and not check up on
them and charge the other one. I would gladly make up an invoice for the time
invested with our cleaning services prior to our arriving for 12 hours at 70$ an
hour and we could deduct it off our current bill if it will help ease matters. 
We are not trying to stiff anyone, we just want to be treated fairly.

If
you have any questions, don't hesitate to write back or call

Thank
you

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