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I guess this is kind of random, but it frustrates me to no end...

Friday I came home around 1pm. While making my lunch, I go to get ice cubes for some ice water and was like... "Uh, why are my ice cubes water?" The refrigerator had apparently died (it was running, but not cold) and my food was half-defrosted and/or spoiling. I go over to the leasing office immediately and report it. They tell me the maintenance guy will be over to look at it with the hour. Cool, so I hang around and let him in.

First problem with this situation... the maintenance guy has got to be an idiot, or at least think that *I* am. He tries to tell me that this particular model of refrigerator is programed to shut down for 24 hours if there's too much frost on the coils. I'm like, are you stupid? As soon as he leaves, I call my dad who knows stuff like this. (Love the daddy. ) He confirms my assessment of the maintenance guy's stupidity and said that the refrigerator might shut down for 20 minutes or so, but not 24 hours.

The maintenance guy (who speaks little english, of course), had said he'd come back in an hour to check on the status of the refrigerator. So, he comes back, sees that it's still not working and says that he'll tell the office it needs to be replaced. He also writes down the make/model number.

As we were leaving for a baseball game Friday night, I call the leasing office (and of course they don't answer, even though it's still well within office hours) and leave a message saying that we'll be gone for the evening, but please call and let me know when they can have the appliance repaired/replaced. No response.

Saturday morning I go to the leasing office and I'm like, okay, can you tell me ANYthing... what's going on? They tell me I have to call my landlady and talk to her. Fine, I take the number and call HER. She tells me that she called GE and they'll have someone out to repair the refrigerator. Oh, and would I maybe like a temporary one while mine is not working? (She only offers this after I complain that that what food I was able to save can't sit in a cooler for days on end, something needs to be done.) She yammers on for a bit, but finally tells me that she has an extra one near her home and can get a maintenance guy to deliver it Sunday (today) and that she'd call me in the morning to let me know when they'd be here.

It is now 9:30pm Sunday. I have not heard from her. She didn't even call to say "oh, I'm sorry, I'm not able to get that refrigerator to you today." I sat home all day with my phone at hand, waiting for her call. I was going to call right after noon, but kinda sorta fell asleep in front of the TV. In any case, I've called and left messages three times (4pm, 5pm and 8pm) so far. It's a cell phone and she won't answer it. My messages are getting increasingly annoyed, and I'm seriously pissed.

It's not like the air conditioning went out on a pleasant 70-degree day. This is my refrigerator, I've already lost food and honestly, how long can I keep food in a cooler? I've been without a refrigerator for over two days now, this is ridiculous. If I got this sort of service at a restaurant or a store, I would walk out and never come back. You can be assured that I won't be renewing my lease. This refrigerator problem comes on top of them STILL not repairing things they said they'd fix BEFORE we moved in. It's been what, four months? ARGH.

Honestly, I don't know what to do or what my legal recourse is. My dad tells me that I could dock REPAIR for the refrigerator from my rent, but not an actual replacement. He suggests calling the landlady back and telling her that if I don't have a working refrigerator by tomorrow when I get home from work, I'll be calling my lawyer. (Not that I HAVE a lawyer.) I'm NOT a confrontational person by nature, I don't like being in this situation and it REALLY pisses me off. Anyone else been in this sort of situation and what did you do if you were? Any advice?

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

before you threaten lawyers you should have a vague understanding of your rights. try looking up "tenant rights" plus your city/state on the internet and see if there is anything you can claim based on your situation. if you can put together a somewhat solid case then threatening lawyers will have much more meaning if you can quote a city and/or state statute as well

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

Along with Moondog's suggestion - you can try calling her again and set a precident that if it is not repaired by a certain day and time (SOON!) that you will hire someone and send the receipt with your rent, adjusted accordingly. A pain in the neck for you but still better than living with the rancid food smell and living with no fridge.

You have left numerous messages and it has already been 3 days.

make sure you document the time that you have been calling and messages that you left also - That way she can't pull the "I didn't know you were going to do this" card.

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"it's the neck, it creaks under the weight of too much heavy thinking."

I find it weird that you have in your lease a fridge. Its not something I have ever heard of here.
In any case, there must be some sort of group that acts on behalf of tenants, I know we have that here. I wouldnt threaten lawyers unless you are prepared to bring them in. What if they call your bluff?

I like robyn's idea.

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Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

I definitely agree with moondog: check into your rights as a tenant. Realistically you might not be able to deduct anything from your rent (repairs, etc). Re-read your lease, everything in it. You seem to have everything documented, continue to do that as well.

Is this an independent-type place or owned by a management company? If it's the latter contact them and explain your situation. We had sooo many problems with our last apartment, including the air going out a number of times....3rd floor apartment when the outside temp was close to 100!

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Yeah, I did some research last night after posting this... from what I can tell, the most I can consider this is a breach of contract, and can therefore legally sever my lease with no loss on my end. However, apparently, I'd have to live like this for two weeks (which seems absurd to me!) before I have legal recourse. In any case, I know I can deduct repairs from my rent (up to a certain amount, I think it's half the rent) if repairs are not done within a certain amount of time. I have to research further to find that info. After ten o'clock last night, I was more interested in my pillow than in more research.

Lindy, it's pretty normal for fridge, stove, even microwave to be included in a "non-furnished" apartment here. We have all three at this location... thankfully both stove and microwave work. I'd much rather have either one of those go out than the fridge, though!

It's a weird situation. Like, the complex is all under one name, but there's individual landlords. I'm not even sure that she's technically our landlady, but she takes care of this particular building. It's not a management company I don't think, but our rent gets paid to the building account vs other tenants who actually pay rent to a specific person/organization. They weren't very good about describing how the whole thing is actually set up, as you can tell.

That's why I went to the leasing office first, because I wasn't sure of the precedent for reporting something like this. I've gone there before for minor repairs ("oh, we'll put it in the to-do list, it should be done promptly" ...not done a month later).

This is all just SO frustrating, especially when I can't get a straight answer out of her. My two biggest pet peeves are lying and breaking promises... she's doing one or the other right now and it's ticking me off! *bangs head on wall*

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

You need to read the lease and see what it says about the appliances, they are responsible to fix and maintain them and if they are not repaired or fixed than you have the right to fix it yourself and deduct it from you rent. I would call the apartment owner that would be the person who you signed a lease agreement with as they are legally bond to you, and tell them that it has been days with nothing being done and you will have it fixed at there cost. Also you will be billing them for lost food an added cost because they took so long to correct the problem. You will be in your rights to do so. If you do contact legal help you can be assure that they will not renew the lease.

Djrichie
"So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish" Douglas Adams

Heh... do you think *I* want to renew the lease? No, thanks. I never expected such unprofessional behavior from a large complex. I left five messages between 4pm yesterday and 4pm today. I then called the leasing office in frustration and was probably a bit more abrupt than need be with the poor girl who answered the phone. (And gasp! This is the first time since the day we moved in that someone actually ANSWERED the phone during business hours.)

However, I DID get her to find Sandy (the landlady) and she gave me the message that someone should be here "within the next few hours." She didn't say whether they're coming with the temporary refrigerator or if she was talking about the repair guy from GE. I DON'T CARE. GET ME A WORKING APPLIANCE!

One of the first things the landlady asked me when I reported the problem on Friday was "do you have renter's insurance?" Uh, yes, but they cover power loss, not the lessor's defective equipment. I already called to ask. ("Uh... yeah, I think the answer is no, but do you cover my food in this case?" They confirmed my suspicions.)

In any case, I didn't lose much food and WAS going to let it slide, but this situation isn't making me very forgiving. I'm going to go to the store and price out what we lost and hand them a list. It's honestly not a lot, but heck, I'm going to squeeze the twenty bucks out of them if I can, if for no other reason than sheer frustration.

I guess there's one good thing for being tight on cash and not having much food stocked up. We lost a gallon of ice cream, package of bacon, two bags of frozen ravioli, miracle whip, ranch dressing... uh... a few leftovers, but can't price that, I guess. FROZEN FISH FOOD! (Dang it!) And I'll have to see how some of the food survived the 3+ days in a cooler. Not so sure about the eggs... they were cool/cold when I pulled them out of the refrigerator, probably because of the Styrofoam container, but I don't know how cold they kept in the cooler. Also, due to the limited space in the cooler, all the condiments are sitting on the table, so I'll have to check and see how those are...

It's just a mess and I can't believe that they could sit there and ethically think that they wouldn't have to provide a working appliance until I pestered them to death. Honestly, if I didn't complain and keep calling, I'd probably still be sitting here without ever having heard from them at all.

I guess I see how I have to proceed to get ANYthing fixed around here. Once this is fixed, I'm going to be writing up a list of the things that we asked them to do BEFORE we moved in and giving them a deadline of the end of the month. Nothing we've asked for and/or they've promised to do is taxing, time-wise. It should have been done months ago and I've been lax in not insisting that they follow through.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

This is all in complicated language, of course... skip this post if you don't care to read the legalese of my lease.

Looking at the lease, here is all the mention I find of lessor supplied appliances:

6C "Lessor covenants that at all times during the Term hereof, Lessor shall maintain the Apartment and the building to the following minimum standards: ...Gas and/or electrical appliances which are supplied by Lessor in good working order, and appropriate gas piping and electrical wiring system to the extent existing in the Building maintained and in good working order and safe condition..."

6D "It is, however understood and agreed that buildings are physical structures subject to aging, wear, tear, abuse, inherent defects, and numerous force causing disrepair or breakdown beyond Lessor's reasonable control, and that components and skilled workmen are not always immediately available. It is further understood and agreed that for the most part Lessor's costs of operation are fixed and unavoidable and to permit rent abatement or damages to Tenant would create an intolerable burden on Lessor, other tenants and surrounding neighborhood. It is, therefore, understood and agreed that Lessor's delay in performing agreements set forth in Paragraph 6B (which says, "Lessor agrees that Lessor will perform work set forth in this Lease within a reasonable time not to exceed 60 days from the commencement of the Term hereof." ), interruptions in services provided by Lessor, breakdowns of equipment of disrepair caused by (I'll skip the parts that don't apply) ... (2) Tenant's unreasonable refusal of or other interference with entry of Lessor or Lessor's workmen or contractors into the Apartment or Building for purposes of correcting defective conditions (I stayed here all day waiting for them yesterday, don't think they can say anything about this!) ... (4)conditions beyond Lessor's reasonable control ..."

"TENANT REMEDIES: If Lessor:

A. defaults in its duty to maintain the Apartment of Building or in its agreements to perform repairs, remodeling, or decorating... and such default is not cured by Lessor within 30 days after written notice from Tenant to Lessor (unless such default involves a hazardous condition or failure to furnish heat, hot water or essential services, which shall be cured forthwith); and provided Lessor's failure to cure is not excused on account of one or more of the defenses set forth in paragraph 6C (above), in which case Lessor shall notify Tenant of specific facts constituting such excuse within said 30-day period (or in the case of a hazardous condition, or failure to furnish heat, hot water or essential services, within 5 days of Tenant's notice); or

B. defaults in the performance of any other covenant or agreement hereof and such default is not cured by Lessor within 10 days after written notice from Tenant to Lessor, Tenant may: treat such event as a breach of this Lease and, in addition to all other rights and remedies provided at law or in equity (including without limitation those provided in Chapter 24, Section 11-13-15 of the Illinois Revised Statutes relating to building code violations) may, by giving Lessor not less than 10 days prior written notice, terminate this Lease and the Term created hereby by setting forth the date of said termination in the said 10 days' notice and vacating on or before said date, with rent paid to said termination date. Prepaid rent and Security Deposit, if any, shall be promptly refunded to Tenant."

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

I called the landlady again at 7pm ("few" translates to three in my book and I was worried because we had an apparent run-by doorbell ringing that made me wonder if I'd missed the maintenance) and actually got her to answer the phone. She was like "oh, they haven't been there yet?" and she actually picked up another phone and called the maintenance crew while on the phone with me so that I could hear the conversation.

Apparently the guy who was supposed to deliver the refrigerator left before doing so (ARGH!), but another guy is willing to do it. He just needs to wait for his partner to finish repairing a water heater at another location, because he needs help to move the new refrigerator. Understandable.

She even gave me his number so I could talk to him directly. He was VERY nice and understanding about the whole thing. He explained the situation to me and was even worried about delivering the appliance too late and disturbing the neighbors. He said nine o'clock at the latest, and he'll call and let me know a more specific time when his partner joins him.

Apparently the new refrigerator is possibly a bit bigger than the current one (taller), so it might not fit under the cabinets in the kitchen. At this point, let's rearrange, as long as we HAVE a refrigerator. The landlady also said something about the refrigerator being dirty and refunding us some money because we'll have to clean it. Again, I don't care, I just want a working appliance! Not like I'd use it before cleaning it, whether it looks clean or not!

It's just SO freaking nice to have an idea of when I'll get what I'm supposed to have... a working appliance! That's all I really wanted in the first place, an idea of when the piece would be delivered, in a reasonable amount of time from the report of malfunction. Is that so much to ask?

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

And vóila... refrigerator was delivered around 9:30 pm. It works. It seems to be a little deeper front to back than the old one (by half an inch, maybe) and since it's in the corner butting up to the back door, the front left corner of the fridge rubs against the back door when you open the door. I don't care. It's cold, it works.

And hey, no one told me the maintenance guys were young and cute!

In any case, I'll have to ask the landlady about replacement parts (one of the "railings" that holds food into the door shelves is broken, and there's no shelf in the freezer), but I'm not going to complain otherwise. I have a working, COLD refrigerator. Thank the lord.

It's amazing how much you crave something as simple as a COLD drink when you have to conserve your ice so that your food stays cold. *slurps her Icee* Ahhh...

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Now that you have your refrigerator and your on the road to complete happiness, good for you

Djrichie
"So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish" Douglas Adams

I can't tell you about legal matters and your lease but I can tell you about keeping food cold in a cooler. Of course it helps to already have the cooler so you don't have to go buy one, but when I go camping, I take a Coleman cooler, wrap all the food I want to keep frozen in a couple layers of newspaper and Ziploc freezer bags, and cover in ice. If you only open the lid just long enough to get food out and put it back in, I've kept food frozen in there for a week at a time. Every couple days add enough ice to top off the cooler. Good to hear things are working again.

29g - 5 Head and Tail Light Tetras, 1 Black Phantom Tetra, 1 melanistius cory, 1 Featherfin Synodontis, 1 otto
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Being from the other side of this and helping my mom manage multiple apartment complexes I can tell you that sometimes things like this just happen despite the best efforts of the manager or on site manager(landlady). Occasonally you gotta go wack the maintenance guys alongside the head a few times before they do what they were told to do. We get real pissed off at tenants who just keep calling every few hours about something that we've already given instructions to someone else to have fixed. We don't have time to argue it 5times in the same day when we're busy with rent checks, cable checks, new lease agreements, and empty apartments that need fixed up again. 9 times out of 10 when someone gets all upset and something doesn't get done it comes down to the maintenance guys, the ups truck was late, or the company didn't send out the new one in time. 2nd problem is sometimes it's not in the budget to completely replace an appliance if it's not over a certain age. That means we gotta try to fix it which can take longer than replacing it especially if those maintenance guys are dropping the ball again. Keeping everything running at an apartment complex especially if you've got several is seriously a difficult job and things aren't always going to go 100% perfect so you do have to cut the management some slack provided they are trying. If my fridge went out at my house I'd expect it would probably take a week to get the exact same fridge ordered and delivered. The only other option would be to drive to menards and load one up myself but apartment complexes get discounts for ordering large numbers of appliances from the same company so just going and picking one up locally would run us over budget.

I understand it taking longer due to circumstances, but when someone promises to do something at a specific time and doesn't, or an answer has to be dragged out of someone, I consider that rude. She would not give me an answer, and wouldn't even answer the "emergency" maintenance line. I get pissed off at friends who promise they're going to call/show up at a certain time and then flake out; I have higher expectations when it is someone's job.

I've been on the other side of the matter, indirectly, because my grandfather used to own two apartment buildings in Chicago and my dad and uncle wound up managing them for a while when he passed away. My grandfather would never have promised something he couldn't do and he would never have left a tenant in the dark for as long as my landlady did. Granted, his was a much smaller responsibility, but common courtesy is all I asked for.

In the space of time that my family was taking care of the buildings, I can specifically remember one tenant having a malfunctioning stove. He called five times late one night in the space of two or three hours (my dad was out at a banquet or some such function) and wouldn't take the answer that the stove would be looked at the next day. THAT was inconsiderate, but had he called the next day, late in the evening and no one had come to look at the stove even though it had been promised, he would have been justified. You don't make promises and break them. If my dad and uncle had done that, you can be sure that my grandfather would have been rolling in his grave. If this apartment complex was a restaurant or a store, I would never give them my business again and you could be sure the waitress would not be getting much of a tip, if any at all!

If my landlady had even said "Oh, I'm sorry, we won't be able to get that to you for a week..." I would have been happy that she had told me SOMETHING. My anger and frustration was less to do with the lack of a refrigerator (I could have dealt with that if she had at least told me her reasoning for the delay) and more to do with her totally unacceptable lack of common courtesy and professionalism. Answer your phone, return your messages. Do what you say you're going to do when you say you're going to do it. I shouldn't have had to called half a dozen times before I could get any answer from her (and that through one of her employees who put me on hold for several minutes trying to track her down).

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

In Australia each state has a "Department of Fair Trading" - they cover things like what is reasonable in strata (unit/apartment) situations. They act as an ombudsman. Impartial 3rd party. One has to write a letter but it usually lets the other party know what is acceptable in case they ... um.... "forget".

All the best for a +positive+ outcome.

One has to feel good in one's little nest in one's little corner of the world.

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

Everyone breaks promises. I've known maybe 1 person in my life that showed up on time and I don't even consider that really a promise. Never make promises unless you're doing everything yourself and have someone to cover your back when something else comes up that needs attention at the same time. Otherwise you'll just find yourself in a corner with someone screaming at you in person or over the phone. Like I said the maintenance guys let us down all the time. We give a reasonable time frame and say we will try to have it fixed by then or it should be in by a certain date but make no promises. Then when someone fails to hold up their end I'm not the one getting yelled at. Wouldn't the world be great if other people actually did what they said and kept their promises..... Then I could actually make promises I could keep.