Two innocent questions may have cost me a lot of money

Discussion in 'Random Thoughts' started by Idle_Billy, Sep 20, 2019.

  1. Idle_Billy

    Idle_Billy Banned

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    So I was viewing a house about a month back after needing to relocate for a new job. On the day of the viewing, at one point when myself and the owner were in the living room, I asked about the TV. I was really only asking for the sake of making conversation, as there wasn't much else to say about the living room. That day I also asked if he had his own well or if he was on the town's water supply. He said he needed to have something done with the filtration and while he was saying so he was interrupted by a phone call. When he was off the phone I didn't bother asking him to continue what he had been saying.

    But as we continued to talk about various things before I left the house, he would say "and I can always get Sky in". Then we would talk a bit more and then he would say it again. I guess it was just out of politeness that I probably replied "yeah yeah, I'll think about it", even though really I knew I wasn't going to think about it at all because I didn't want it. I didn't think much of the fact that he made several references to Sky at the time, but I'd say he must have mentioned it about four or five times between talking. I was dealing with his mother on the phone about a week prior, and after she clarified the rent price, she also texted that he could also get in Sky (satellite TV) for €15 each per month if I wanted. I didn't think much of it that time either.

    So anyway the first night I arrived to stay there, after a few minutes talking he mentioned about how he'd got Sky in, that it would be €15 a month and that they were due to call in a few days. Seeing as I was only just in the door and I didn't want to kill the mood! What I felt like saying was to him was "you shouldn't have jumped the gun on that one... if you're expecting me to pay for it I'd liked to have had a choice in the matter first!". But of course I had to be all polite and shit. I told him that I'd never actually agreed to that with me. He replied with "I just wanted to be sure you have the best experience here". When I asked if he could cancel it he said "oh I can't cancel it now". He then started waffling about how (without Sky) that the WiFi could go down while I might doing something important". I felt like saying "well that's very kind and all but I'm not paying for it". The WiFi he already had in was fine! By the way, that night he also mentioned something about how he had somebody due to arrive about the well, and that the water wasn't drinkable for the time being unless it was boiled.

    He then said "well have a think about it", and me being me said "okay". This of course meant that there would be the inevitable moment when I'd have to revisit the issue! It's kind of funny because on the day of the viewing I should be straight up with him if I'd any issues, and here was I thinking that I'd come across as an asshole for being straight up. In the end I chose the wording of "I don't know if I can afford it". With that choice of words I thought it might make him think "oh fuck I never thought that this guy might be really tight for money". He said it was alright and that he was going to go ahead with it anyway. I'm pretty sure he cancelled it because there was no sign of Sky after the day he said they were due to call! I didn't like the situation it put me in though. There was I looking forward to turning over a new leaf and this has to be the first start.

    I got fired from that job after a week and had put down a month's rent. I stayed in his house for a total of nine days. I was hoping he's give me back some of the deposit. Of course it was entirely up to him. When I addressed this, he referred to how he had forked out €400 for a water treatment system for the well. Bullshit! He also added "I know you didn't want the Sky but I got in the Sky and I rearranged the room, etc."

    Now he probably would have kept the deposit anyway, but it just goes to show, you often need to anticipate other people's mistakes. That shit with the Sky annoyed me because for a while I was actually thinking "oh look I'll let it go, and just pay the €15 a month". But why should I always be appeasing people.
     
    Last edited: Sep 20, 2019
  2. ~Zen~

    ~Zen~ Ancient Mariner Administrator

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    There's a lesson to be learned here.

    What about the lease? Did you sign one that spelled out everything?

    Regardless, losing the deposit is common. Rare to get a refund in those circumstances. But if you had stayed and these other issues kept coming up you'd have a lease to fall back on.

    Over the years I have learned to work with property management companies rather than individual homeowners. Things get fixed promptly and there are no grey areas.
     
  3. Idle_Billy

    Idle_Billy Banned

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    No, there was no lease that I signed.
     
  4. I'minmyunderwear

    I'minmyunderwear Newbie

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    You deal with some shady people.
     
  5. ~Zen~

    ~Zen~ Ancient Mariner Administrator

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    Never rent a place without a lease. It is your only protection against scammers and ripoff landlords. There are lots of them.
     
    Candy Gal likes this.
  6. Candy Gal

    Candy Gal Lifetime Supporter

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  7. r0llinstoned

    r0llinstoned Gute Nacht, süßer Prinz

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    Why did yo uget fired after one week on a job?
     
  8. Idle_Billy

    Idle_Billy Banned

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  9. Idle_Billy

    Idle_Billy Banned

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    I'm not sure it would've made much difference if there was a lease.
     
  10. Candy Gal

    Candy Gal Lifetime Supporter

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    ZenKarma likes this.
  11. ~Zen~

    ~Zen~ Ancient Mariner Administrator

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    That was an interesting read, CandyGal.

    I must remember how different tenant rights are from country to country to state to state, everyone has a different angle.

    I recall the amazing rigamarole I had to go through to rent a home in the Netherlands, registering with the city, getting a residency stamp just to get a telephone, and further fun including the joy of opening a bank account there. It took so much effort I stayed 10 years.

    But the lease solved many problems during that time.

    Also made sure I now always have a lease, it gives you the renter many rights... as well as some responsibilities.

    In the end it's all just a business transaction. Thinking the landlord or lady might be your friend is another thing... another post, another thread.

    Sorry to ramble. We are having a Hurricane Lorena party! Tequila flowing swiftly into the blender... with other tasty ingredients.

    If I am gone for a while it's due to the storm!
     
    Candy Gal likes this.
  12. Candy Gal

    Candy Gal Lifetime Supporter

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    OH my, I will now worry. lol
     
  13. You just really don't know your place, Billy. Bosses expect subservience. Not that you're wrong. You should be working the job you were hired for, and you shouldn't lift things if it makes your groin hurt. But you're supposed to just do it anyway.
     
  14. I'minmyunderwear

    I'minmyunderwear Newbie

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  15. Idle_Billy

    Idle_Billy Banned

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    I think I got into a bit of an arguement with another user. That site is a lot more strict than this site!
     
  16. Idle_Billy

    Idle_Billy Banned

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    I don't want to be another guy who dies in a factory. I've seen it once a few years ago, and it had an effect on me. I have a place where I draw the line and some bully boss is not going to force me to change my value systems.
     
  17. themnax

    themnax Senior Member

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    property management places don't like me because i don't use credit and haven't for decades.

    "scam-loards" aren't that bad of a deal if they're cheap enough, and the rent covers everything.
    and if they're all that will rent to you, through no fault of your own, what there is is what there is.

    and if they let you fix yourself whatever you don't believe you can live without instead of bothering them about it.

    of course if we really lived in a free country, we could build our own shelters with our own skills and hands,
    and not have to pay protection to anyone to be allowed to do so.

    between what people throw away and what nature gives for free, and the amazing stuff you can buy at a hardware store on even a tiny pension,
    its only a matter of developing the knowledge and skill if you have an interest in doing so, and i'm sure more people would,
    if we didn't have laws requiring people to indenture themselves to a plot of land to build it on.

    only reason i've never done so and have always wanted to.
     
  18. rollingalong

    rollingalong Banned

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    I don't think having a lease is done anything to do with anything I don't have a lease and I've been living here eight years I have never even met my landlord.....the trick to not getting fired after a week and not getting f***** over by the landlords it's just stop being a f****** and become a responsible citizen
     
    themnax likes this.
  19. themnax

    themnax Senior Member

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    well i question judging anyone i don't personally see face to face all the time, but i generally agree with the rest of it. only place i've ever lived that had a lease agreement as such, was when i was furst getting togather and living with the lady who became my wife for 13 years, until she up and died on me.

    she and thus we, until we moved out of there, when its management started pulling shinnanigans, that place had one of those minimum six moths at a time leasing agreements.
    no observable bennifits to the tennants that i could see. they painted the outside and built a fence around it, which protected absolutely no one from each other already living inside of it.

    which i think someone must have eventually realized, as no one ever fixed the electronic gate lock when it eventually broke not long after having been installed.
    there was even the disadvantage of not being permitted to perform routine maintanence on your vehicle in the space supposedly assigned to your unit.

    well for what it cost to live there, less even, we found a whole tiny but big enough for us, house to rent to ourselves, and the most wonderful landlord,
    who shared his fruit trees, let us grow some garden of our own, and even gave us jams and preserves he'd made from his fruit and veg.

    there was even a lemon bush on our own side of the fence, that was ours for all the fresh lemon squeezins we could use.
    i don't recall if there was a formal written agreement with him, there might have been,
    but the one with that managed complex my wife and i were living in when and before we got married, was totally useless.
     
  20. Vanilla Gorilla

    Vanilla Gorilla Go Ape

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    Never lived anywhere so far where you cant just drink water straight out of the tap
     

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