Reclamo N° 218676

Dear Sir/Madam Luxembourg, 13 December 2020 In the academic year of 2019/2020, I attended the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the University of Piedmont Oriental in Novara (Italy), the first year of the master’s degree in Translational Cosmetics and Dermatological Sciences. To be able to live near the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, I rented, for a period of 10 months, starting in 15/09/2019 and for the total price of 2.500,00 euros (payed in instalments of 250,00 euros per month, according to article 3 of the rental agreement (see doc. 1 attached), a room in an appartement in Novara (Italy), Corso Trieste, n.º 53, 1st floor, from Mr. Erman Verlengieri, resident in Novara, Corso Triestre, n.º 55 (together with a copy of the contract signed with Mr. Verlengieri). Plus, each monthly instalment, I should also pay an amount of 100,00 euros for condominium expenses, as settled in article 5 of the rental agreement (see doc. 1). This appartement was shared by two more girls. Each of us occupied an individual room and shared the common parts. At the beginning of the rental agreement, I gave Mr. Verlengieri the sum of 700,00 euros (two months’ rent) as a security deposit to guarantee the contractual obligations and, in particular, the conditions of the appartement (see article 4 of the rental agreement attached, doc. 1) (see also docs. 2 and 3 supporting the payment of 700,00 euros). Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, I was forced to leave Novara on 23/02/2020 and to return to Luxembourg, where I have my usual residence, together with my parents, at 59, Boulevard Prince Félix, L-1513 Luxembourg. Given that I had abruptly left Novara at the beginning of the pandemic crisis, on 13/03/2020, me and another tenant of the appartement in question, Cathy, of Dutch nationality, who also attends the master’s degree in Translational Cosmetics and Dermatological Sciences, (hereinafter "Cathy") asked Mr. Verlengieri by text message (through Whatsapp - see doc. 4 SMS 1 attached), to remove from the refrigerator all the perishable food we had left there and give it the destination he wanted. Mr. Verlengieri promised to carry out this verification by an intermediary of his acquaintance (see the same doc. 4 SMS 1). Since until the end of the school year 2019/2020 the master's degree was taught through distance learning. So I only returned to Novara and, thus, to the room I had rented from Mr. Verlengieri on the 20th June 2020, to recover my personal belongings (clothes, bedding, shoes, shampoos, creams, toothpaste, etc.). About a month before this last date, on the 21st May 2020, Cathy and I arranged with Mr. Verlengieri to meet him in the appartement, on the 21/06/2020, in order to check-out and return him the keys (see docs. 5 SMS 2 and 6 SMS 3 attached). We reconfirmed this meeting with Mr. Verlengieri, about a week before this last date (see doc. 7 SMS 4 attached). On the eve of our arrival, Mr. Verlengieri informed us that he could not be present on 21/06/2020 and that we should leave the keys in the mailbox of the appartement (doc. 8 SMS 5 attached). On that day, 21/06/2020, my mother and I, as well as Cathy and her parents, removed all our belongings from the appartement and proceeded to clean our rooms and the common parts of the appartement. My room as well as Cathy's room and the common areas of the appartement were in a state of conservation identical to that in which they were at the beginning of the contract, on 15/09/2019. This fact can be confirmed by my mother and Cathy's parents and by the photos attached (see docs. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 attached). On the same day of 21/06/2020, we left the appartement and put the keys in the appartement's mailbox, as agreed with Mr. Verlengieri. On 12th of July 2020, I asked Mr. Verlengieri to return the 700,00 euros corresponding to the security deposit, that had been delivered to him, in two instalments of 350 euros each, on the 5th and 19th August 2019, before the signature of the rental agreement (see docs. 2 and 3). It was with great surprise that we received (Cathy and I), on the 26/07/2020 (that is, more than one month after the date we left the appartement vacant), a Whatsapp message from Mr. Verlengieri announcing that the appartement was in a very poor state of repair and that it was damaged (see doc. 18 SMS 7). Mr. Verlengieri alleges damages in a bellows door of a closet (which we never used during the time we lived in the appartement in question), in the door of a bathroom and in the bed of my room. He also states that the kitchen counter wall was very dirty. He sent some photos regarding the alleged damages (see docs. 19 to 22 photos landlord 2, 3, 4 and 5), but they are not conclusive. On the same date, we replied to him denying that we had left the house dirty or damaged and sent him some photos confirming that, and I reiterated my request for a refund of the amount of 700,00 euros corresponding to the security deposit (see photo of the message attached). Until now, I didn’t receive further reaction from Mr. Verlengieri. I consider Mr. Verlengieri’s behaviour deeply dishonest and that he’s acting in bad faith. Actually, he did not respect the contract he signed and, furthermore, intends to take advantage of the fact that he is dealing with foreign girls, living far from Novara and who, he believes, will not follow up with any judicial or extrajudicial action in order to recover the amount due. In these circumstances, I request you take good note of the situation exposed and arrange to determine the proceedings deemed appropriate, so that Mr. Verlengieri will return the sum of 700,00 euros to me, plus the default interests according to the applicable legal rate calculated from the end of the rental agreement in question, that is, since 15/07/2020. On the 11th August 2020, my mother sent, also on my demand and with my knowledge, a claim to Mr. Verlengieri concerning this subject (see doc. 24 attached) to which Mr. Verlengieri did not respond. I have previously contacted the Luxembourg office of the European Consumer Centre and they advised me to send in my complaint to you. With my compliments, Sara Correia Fernandes Holder of the citizen card n. º 14659068 Issued by the Portuguese Republic E-mail: [email protected] Tlm: +351 913 372 817 Attached: 24 documents P.S. - Please send a request to the provided email for access to referenced documents.