First, I have been married for almost 39 years, and my wife is the most honest and forthright woman…read morewho would not lie if her life was at stake. We did make a mistake by hiring what we thought was a company that would take care of our new house the way we did. Since we are on a fixed income, one must be creative financially to get ahead. We soon found out that this decision was a big mistake in judgment.
Things started to go south from the beginning. A few days before the renters arrived, heavy rains clogged the drains, creating floods in sensitive areas around the house. I came to clear the drains, and I was told I was not welcome there now or anytime during the rental period. There was no explanation, just told in a scolding tone that made me feel that this was no longer my home.
We made it clear there were not supposed to be any pets staying at the house. We later discovered three dogs in the house: two Medium-sized dogs and one great Dane.
In the contract, we agreed that the two renters, a husband and a wife, would stay at the house. Again, we later found out that, at times, as many as eight people stayed overnight.
Mr. Dan Phelan, the President and Founder of Greenday, wrote in writing that he would be 100% responsible for any and all damages that occurred during the rental, so we thought we were covered.
When it came time for us to move back in, we found the following problems. A separation in the outside weather screen that blocked the sun and sand from coming in. We later discovered that the company who installed the screen had realized that the separation would only get larger and could not be fixed. It needed to be replaced. The outside cabinet that houses our dishware and silverware had a broken door that needed to be replaced. The hot tub that we were told needed to be drained and cleaned before renters arrived so it would be fresh and clean for them was left over chlorinated, mucky, and dirty.
I wrote an email to Mr. Phelan, President and founder of Greenday, and we set up a phone consult about what I thought was an opportunity for us to rectify all the damages he promised to take care of. Instead, it was twenty minutes of him berating me and saying that he had no intention of taking care of any of the problems now that the renters were gone. To add insult to injury, he then told me that if I did not concede to take care of all the damages myself at my own expense while resolving them of everything, he would hold back the last payment for the Month of April. Mind you, Greenday received the entire rental fee from the renters months before they moved in.
We took them to court to recoup last month's rental fee and any reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses. We were awarded the final payment and court costs. Being that going to court for both of us was foreign, It turned out to be a he said, and we said, so the court ruled accordingly. The court did order Greenday to pay us for last month's rent and court fees.
Also, the record should be set straight without mentioning names. The two women, who were elderly friends from Chicago, came to the desert in the winter to play cards and stay warm from the severe Chicago Winter. One was a retired schoolteacher. My wife met them while playing cards, and they told her they had a very unpleasant experience with Greenday. I'll leave it at that. Without singling them out, I would gladly give names privately to Greenday to refresh their selective memory.
As Paul Harvy would end each broadcast, "And now you know the rest of the story."