My Landlord "lost" My Security Deposit And Is Now Demanding That They Get It Back.

Location: Massachusetts. Am I in the wrong for expecting them to return my security deposit? TLDR; We moved into our apartment on May first, paying a security deposit of 1,999 before check in. Apartment said give the money to them and they would put it in an account for us. This never happened. At the end of June, I tried to pay my rent through flex and flex said no payment was requested. I called the apartment and they told me that we qualified for a free month of rent and July was that month. In August they reached out saying we owed them money, because they had used our security deposit to pay July rent. They did this before July rent was even due. They failed to put the deposit in an account, misplaced and misused the money, and now that we confronted them, they are changing their story and saying its our fault the money wasn't put in the account and that we are response to make up the money they lost. Has anyone ever had this happen to them? Do we have a case here? If so, are there any free or pro bono lawyers that could help us? Emails if yall want all the tea

Me:

I am writing in regards to the 1,999 I was told I have to pay because of an apparent mix up where my security deposit was used (by you) to pay my July rent. At the time I was told by flex there wasnt a payment due and when I called the office concerned I was told by someone on your staff that my July rent was "free" . I'm not sure what went wrong here and I feel uncomfortable about paying the 1,999 for that until I have it in writing that this is what it is for and that the mix up is all settled. but expecting me to essentially make up money I didn't lose is extremely concerning to me and also quite frankly not something I can do without putting my family at risk of starvation. Once I have all this is writing, I would be more than willing to make out some sort of payment plan for the 1,999. I would also like assured that this mix up will not happen again and what steps you will be taken to make sure. thank you.

Land Lord

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concerns. I sincerely understand and sympathize with your frustration and the confusion surrounding the July rent and security deposit.

The $1,999 balance currently due is for your security deposit which we have not yet received payment for. It appears there was an error that delayed the posting of the deposit, which was posted to your account on August 12. I have attached your full account ledger for your review and records.

Please also confirm whether you have successfully set up your WHALE account.

Regarding the $1,999 balance, please let me know what payment arrangement you feel would be manageable, and I can review whether a payment plan is feasible. We also understand your concern about avoiding this type of issue in the future and will work to ensure your account is properly updated moving forward.

Thank you again for bringing this to our attention. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to resolve this with you.

Me:

I paid you the security deposit when I first moved in and I have a receipt of when I paid it to the portal, because the whale account was giving both of us difficulties. I have emails showing that I paid the security deposit and all the fees when I moved in (attached).

For the whale account, I set that up and didn't know there were any issues until June 5th. On June 5th, I received a voicemail about you guys not knowing that I had one all set up. I called back immediately and assured you guys that I had one. Plus to make sure you guys needed nothing else on my end. I was then told that you guys would be in the process of depositing it. So my whale has been set up and you guys never finished on your end. Also on my whale account it says that it is in the process of you guys depositing the money. This was on June 5th. Attachment down below, you will see proof of this voicemail and the whale account set-up.

In July, I was told by flex that they couldn't pay my rent for that month, because it was never posted. So, I contacted the apartment about the whole situation. I was assured on the phone that my July rent was "free" and everything was okay. Down below I have the email from flex proving this. I have records of phone calls between us on June 30, July 2nd, and July 4th, showcasing my due diligence to make sure everything was okay.

Furthermore, because of this situation, I went looking into my rights as a tenant. It just seems like it is fishy and wrong for me to need to pay my deposit again when I already did, and you guys just missed it. It is putting me in a very difficult place financially and so I did some research and I found this:

Section 15B: Section 3(a) of Massachusetts General Law "(3) (a) Any security deposit received by such lessor shall be held in a separate, interest-bearing account in a bank, located within the commonwealth under such terms as will place such deposit beyond the claim of creditors of the lessor, including a foreclosing mortgagee or trustee in bankruptcy, and as will provide for its transfer to a subsequent owner of said property. A receipt shall be given to the tenant within thirty days after such deposit is received by the lessor which receipt shall indicate the name and location of the bank in which the security deposit has been deposited and the amount and account number of said deposit. Failure to comply with this paragraph shall entitle the tenant to immediate return of the security deposit."

This can be found at: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter265/Section15b.

I will be expecting a full return of my security deposit by September 1st for the amount of $1,999 or I shall be seeking legal counsel. All communications from this point should be done in writing. I'm sorry it has come to this point, but we are very frustrated.

Land lord

Thank you for reaching out and for providing the documentation. We understand your frustration and appreciate you taking the time to explain the situation.

To clarify, your total move-in costs were $3,598, a portion of which was to be paid directly through Whale. Although you set up your Whale account, our records show that the full $3,598 was paid through the Resident Portal, and we did not receive a separate payment through Whale.

To correct the account, we are moving $1,999 of the payment from your Resident Portal to Whale. Because that $1,999 was part of the original $3,598 payment, the transfer means the July rent was not paid. The $1,999 security deposit was subsequently manually posted to your account and remains due.

If you have documentation showing that a separate $1,999 payment was made directly through Whale, please send it to us and I will be happy to review it. At this time, based on our records, the $1,999 remains your responsibility. Your signed lease also outlines the security deposit requirements.

Thank you again for bringing this to our attention. We are happy to review any additional documentation you can provide